Carl Watson is an Affiliated Research Scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations, USC Marshall School of Business, specializing in the organizational architecture of the firm and enterprise transformation initiatives.
Most recently, Carl was the VP of Transformation, Organizational Strategy, and Culture at Nike, Inc. He and his team drove enterprise transformation across the Nike, Jordan, and Converse Brands, including the strategic translation, design, and activation of the global operating model for the consumer sport evolution. Under his leadership, they successfully launched a new enterprise-wide focus on high performance teaming and multi-year work to re-energize Nike’s company culture.
Prior to Nike, Carl led Microsoft’s Organizational Development and Culture Activation team. He was the organizational architect of the strategic shifts for Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices business (E&D) and, later, the Windows and Devices Group (WDG). In this role, he orchestrated the strategic planning process and co-authored the strategic plan as these businesses shifted from an operating system that runs on PC hardware to a service powering experiences across a spectrum of devices. In addition, he and his team were accountable for major enterprise-wide culture initiatives and evolving the enterprise operating model, during a critical juncture in the company’s industry-defining culture transformation.
Earlier in his career, Carl held a range of key leadership roles at JPMorgan Chase, Inc. including VP of Leadership and Organization Development, VP of Strategic Talent Solutions, and Strategy Consultant, supporting LabMorgan’s portfolio by developing and advising on business plans, partnership strategies, and growth strategies.
Carl’s academic research focuses on strategic renewal to understand the conditions that support or inhibit systematic change within individuals, teams, and organizations. His current research program explores how firms build and deploy dynamic capabilities to adapt to turbulent, unpredictable business conditions. Carl holds a BA in Psychology from Claremont McKenna College, an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan and is currently a Ph.D. student at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
