Our Team

We know the best science delivers the best solution.

Our research affiliates and practitioners work closely with CEO research scientists and their teams to provide forward-thinking leaders with trusted insights and hands-on learning.

Affiliated Research Scientists

Johanna Anzengruber, Ph.D.

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria

Strategy, capability management, organization design, human resource management of R&D, innovation management

George Benson, Ph.D.

University of Texas at Arlington

Training and development, human capital management, employee involvement and performance.

Beth G. Chung, Ph.D.

San Diego State University

Diversity and inclusion, organizational behavior, leadership and group process, human resource management, and industrial and organizational psychology

Cathleen Clerkin, Ph.D.

Candid

Diversity and inclusion, women’s leadership, mindful leadership, social cognitive neuroscience, innovation

Alan Colquitt, Ph.D.

Independent Advisor and Consultant

Global assessments, analytics, performance management and organizational effectiveness

Jay A. Conger, Ph.D.

CEO Affiliated Research Scientist

Leadership, talent, and organizational effectiveness

Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.

Founder of Data with Serena, Enterprise AI Transformation Leader & CEO Affiliated Research Scientist

Focused on helping F500 organizations move from GenAI experimentation to measurable, enterprise-wide impact

Bald man wearing glasses and a blue shirt against a gray background

Gerald E. Ledford, Jr., Ph.D.

CEO Affiliated Research Scientist

Focus on compensation and total rewards, employee engagement and involvement, talent management, the design of work, and large-scale organizational change

Jennifer Mueller, Ph.D.

University of San Diego

Evaluating creative opportunity and leadership potential, team creativity, emotional cultures that aid innovation, leading change

Margarita Nyfoudi, Ph.D.

University of Birmingham

Coaching, individual and team performance, employee engagement and citizenship, workplace learning, team knowledge, information sharing, adverse working conditions, and joy at work

Christine Porath, Ph.D.

Georgetown University

Workplace incivility, the effects of bad behavior, how organizations can create a more positive environment

Shreya Sarkar-Barney, Ph.D.

Founder, Human Capital Growth

Leadership assessment, digital leadership, translating business priorities to talent strategies, talent analytics, HR transformation, evidence-based talent management, culture and global issues

Benjamin Schneider, Ph.D.

University of Maryland

Organizational climate and culture, employee engagement, staffing, and the role of manager personality in organizational life

Rami Shani, Ph.D.

California Polytechnic University and Politecnico di Milano

Organization behavior, development, and change; organizational design and learning; knowledge management; collaborative research methods

Maura Stevenson, Ph.D.

Chief Human Resources Officer, MedVet

Employee experience, talent management, compensation and benefits, leadership and employee development, and organizational development

Carl Watson

CEO Affiliated Research Scientist

Transformation and strategic renewal, strategic organization design and innovation, high performance teaming, culture transformation, leadership and talent development

Affiliated USC Faculty

Paul Adler, Ph.D.

Professor, Management & Organization

Strategic management, organization design, human resource management of R&D, engineering, manufacturing operations

Arvind Bhambri, DBA

Professor, Management & Organization

Strategic change, strategy development, implementation

Tom Cummings, Ph.D.

Professor, Management & Organization

Employee involvement, organization change and development, self-managing work teams, organization design

Ann Majchrzak, Ph.D.

Professor, Information & Operations Management

Design and management of technology change

Nandini Rajagopalan, Ph.D.

Professor, Management & Organization

CEO succession, compensation, top management teams, strategic change and decision making processes, corporate governance in emerging economies

Affiliated Practitioners

Liz Vales Damron

Senior Affiliate Practitioner

Strategic organization design, change management, team performance, organizational transformation, employee engagement, organization effectiveness, global operating models, culture change, learning and development

Beth Gunderson

Senior Affiliate Practitioner

Strategic organization design, change management, leadership & team development, global assessment, leadership coaching, enterprise learning and development, and culture initiatives

Sarah Sonnenfeld

Affiliate Practitioner

Strategic organization design, change management, leadership & team development, global assessment, leadership coaching, organizational investments, enterprise learning and development

Our Team

We know the best science delivers the best solution.

Our research affiliates and practitioners work closely with CEO research scientists and their teams to provide forward-thinking leaders with trusted insights and hands-on learning.

Affiliated Research Scientists

Johanna Anzengruber, Ph.D.

George Benson, Ph.D.

Beth G. Chung, Ph.D.

Cathleen Clerkin, Ph.D.

Alan Colquitt, Ph.D.

Jay A. Conger, Ph.D.

Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.

Gerald E. Ledford, Jr., Ph.D.

Jennifer Mueller, Ph.D.

Margarita Nyfoudi, Ph.D.

Christine Porath, Ph.D.

Shreya Sarkar-Barney, Ph.D.

Benjamin Schneider, Ph.D.

Rami Shani, Ph.D.

Maura Stevenson, Ph.D.

Carl Watson

Affiliated USC Faculty

Paul Adler, Ph.D.

Arvind Bhambri, DBA

Tom Cummings, Ph.D.

Ann Majchrzak, Ph.D.

Nandini Rajagopalan, Ph.D.

Affiliated Practitioners

Liz Vales Damron

Beth Gunderson

Sarah Sonnenfeld

Rebekah Whisler

Stu Winby

Ian Ziskin

Center for Effective Organizations – CEO