My first business venture was in high school, manufacturing wood products with a small group of other teenagers.  As a young student with a business, I met many leaders in the business community, including executives at some of the large companies in my hometown.  Their interest in my success touched me, and it was foundational in my belief that most leaders want to be part of others' success.  They gave me the confidence to push myself, take some risks, and generally keep a good dose of humility.  I tried to live up to that ideal of leadership as I built an executive career growing companies, teams, and leaders worldwide.

 

A conversation with one of the executives I met in high school led me to apply and get accepted to the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University). I studied and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Administration and a job with General Motors when I graduated.

 

My first job was as a front-line supervisor of about 20 unionized factory workers who were thrilled at the prospect of working for a 23-year-old graduate with no experience. It taught me a lot about my leadership approach - what did and didn't work, and what was important for people to stay motivated and focused.   That was the foundation for a 30-year corporate career growing companies, teams, and leaders worldwide and ultimately attaining the top HR job at Volvo Cars Americas, Alstom NA, and Lafarge NA.  

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With a few years of work experience under my belt, I went back to graduate school and earned an MBA at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

 

In late 2017 I was working in what I thought was my dream job as head of HR for Volvo Cars Americas.  On a long flight home from China, I thought about my future.  I wanted to  focus on leadership development. My dream job was to work for myself and dedicating my efforts towards assisting leaders in being the kind of leaders they aspire to be and giving people the types of leaders that I was lucky enough to have at several points in my career.  Part of that dream job was to work with leaders across a variety of sectors and companies.

 

I coach and advise executives to make better decisions in shaping the future – for their business, their teams, their relationships, and their career.  I know the pressures in these senior roles. I've been there. I'm a thought partner as a coach and a solution builder as a strategic advisor.

 

I'll help build capability in an organization to lead better, perform, improve connection within and with their customers, and stay energized even in these challenging times. I'm adept at aligning with company cultures and missions.  And I'll bring helpful, scalable tools that are impactful and easy to deploy.  My job is to make leaders more effective, not busier.