Center for Effective Organizations

Peter M. Ramstad

Peter M. Ramstad is a Vice President with The Toro Company, a leading manufacturer of outdoor maintenance equipment and precision irrigation systems. His role is unique in that he not only has responsibilities for Toro's HR function globally, but also its business and strategic development activities, including mergers, acquisitions and technology joint ventures, the strategic planning process, and the Center for Advanced Turf Technology (CATT), which is Toro's primary research function. As a result, he can speak from experience to the unique issues of connecting the HR professionals to the strategy of the organization.

Prior to joining Toro, he was Executive Vice President with Personnel Decisions International, where he held a variety of roles including Chief Financial Officer. He also led the Organizational Consulting practice and founded the Strategic consulting practice. Pete has extensive experience in strategy, organizational design and development, HR functional strategy, and finance. He has been published in many different professional and academic journals and co-authored the book Beyond HR, which was published by Harvard Business School Publishing. In addition to his executive, consulting, and research experience, he has been a faculty member in executive education programs sponsored by Cornell University, Texas A&M University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Minnesota.