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Founders and principals

Founders

Merom Klein, PhD

brings 30+ years of experience as an Organization Psychologist, entrepreneur, inventor, matchmaker, community-builder, author and innovation champion to Courage International — building leadership programs to accelerate change, ignite brilliance, develop high-potential talent and move enterprises from "what got them here" to "whats needed to fast-forward to the future."

Courage-building uses Merom's story-telling skills, drawing on history, legends and business cases, his personal experience as an inventor and expatriate, his depth of understanding of organizational and system dynamics and is knack, as an early adopter, to "get" the potential impact of innovation. And it builds on the reseaerch that led Merom to discover the 5 Courage Activators, which power innovation.

Merom has led a number of large-scale team mobilization and change initiatives mobilizing organizations to achieve breakthrough gains in R&D productivity, customer service, sales and risk management. He has coached top executives through transformation into matrix structures and partnerships. And has led Courage Institute™ workshops for high-potential, fast-track middle managers.

Merom is best known as a provocative and engaging speaker to executive groups who have to mobilize their organizations and to conferences of professionals are called upon to exhibit greater thought-leadership and influence. Merom is also known as a simulation designer who has developed dozens of action-learning exercises and training modules, many of which have been featured in corporate university and executive development programs across the globe.

Merom’s groundbreaking book, The Courage to Act, was co-authored with Prof Rod Napier and was published in 2003 by Davies-Black in the USA, featuring his discoveries about the 5 Courage Factors. Their second book, Luminaries, Luddites and Linkers: The Courage to Orchestrate Fast Strategy Execution is due out in 2011. Merom earned his PhD at Temple University, Philadelphia USA in Organizational Psychology, where he started his research on the courage to lift performance and “make things happen” in times of adversity.

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Louise (Yochee) Klein, PsyD

brings 20+ years of experience as a Psychologist, executive coach and facilitator to Courage International — empowering clients to champion innovation, woo sponsors and expand their influence and clout. As a Canadian in israel and the US, she understands the value of cross-cultural perspectives.

Courage-buiding uses Louise (Yochee)'s clinical skills as a rehabilitation and clinical psychologist, her power, as a petite womanm to be the alpha-trainer with Saint Bernards, her personal experience as a Canadian expatriate working and living abroad, and the soul-touching impact she has as a Cantor leading congregations in prayer — and harnesses those talents to impact business innovation,

Yochee (Louise) is best known for breakthrough work with senior leaders who are brilliant technically and now find themselves in leadership positions where they have to mobilize others and orchestrate team efforts rather than relying strictly on themselves to master new technologies, invent new best practices and achieve aggressive financial targets. She has equipped senior executives, engineers and scientists to become more inspiring, to use humor in a more engaging way, and to use their impatience and intolerance more constructively.

Louise (Yochee) has authored articles for a number of self-help websites and web-based counseling services, as well as lecturing on ethical issues in the practice of psychology for universities and nursing colleges in the USA. She earned her PsyD in Clinical Psychology at Widener University in Pennsylvania USA.

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Professor Rodney Napier, PhD

brings 40+ years of experience -- and an always fresh, creative, take-your-breath-away insightful perspective -- to his work with Courage International. He adds depth and colour to our work on the 5 Courage Activators, enriching our discoveries with his perspective on First Nation (Canadian Aborigonal) leadership styles and on social justice empowering entrepreneurship in the US, Israel and Africa.

Rod has been breaking down silos and flattenning hierarchies for decades. His hallmark wisdom urges leaders at all levels to "ask the tough questions," be "design-savvy" about the way they bring people together to solve vexing problems and seize tomorrow's opportunities, and approach the responsibilities of leadership with a Marine's self-discipline and righteous sense of responsibility. All with a sense of humor -- to take issues and responsibilities, but not himself, seriously.

Rod was a pioneer with open-space innovation techniques -- using wall posters and index cards before the process could be automated with Group Mind Express and other collaboration platforms. Many of his techniques -- Genie in a Bottle, Blue-Sky Future Mapping, Critical Thinking Scenario Planning, 2-4-8 Mind Mapping, among others -- are still staples in innovation and courage-building work, decades after Rod dreamed them up and debigged them.

Rod is also known as one of the original pioneers who developed the field of organization development. He originated the concept of 360-feedback and has over 35 years of experience advising executives on the human factors that affect sustainable team and organizational success.

Rod was founder of the Philadelphia-based Athyn Group and Professor of group dynamics and organization development at Temple University. He served on the faculty of NTL Institute and is President of The Napier Group, co-founder of the Temagami Institute and is a teaching fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Rod’s clients are a who’s who of corporate America, and include companies in the pharmaceuticals, energy, broadcasting, consumer products and high-tech electronics industries as well as non-profit social change and democratic advocacy organizations, heathcare institutions and universities.

Rod is co-author of the groundbreaking book, The Courage to Act, as well as Seduction of the Leader, Measuring What Matters, Groups: Theory and Experience, which is regarded as the seminal work on teams and group dynamics in organizations, and High Impact Tools for Strategic Planning.

Rod earned his PhD at University of Chicago and served in the United States Marine Corps.

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Managers

Jim Geier

brings 20+ years of experience as a corporate executive, entrepreneur, board member and venture capital advisor to his work as a Human Capital Management advisor and partner, including projects he manages with Courage International. Jim is Founder and CEO of Human Capital Consulting Partners LLC, our strategic partner advising senior management and boards of directors about innovative, results-oriented and solid human resources management solutions.

Jim works with senior management teams and Boards of Directors to identify the pressing business needs and then develops practical and results-oriented solutions that best fit the needs of the company. He is known for a unique blend of keen business insight, operational and logistical savvy, successful and proactive project management with a results orientation and ethical fiduciary responsibility. He understands how to ask the right questions to clarify the need, and has a range of HR solutions at his fingertips to advise C-level executives and their boards how to address people-issues in a way that is compliant with regulatory standards, and in a way that preserves trust and credibility at all levels.

Performance management, building an innovation culture, aligning reward systems, executive compensation, recruitment and scale-up, cost-cutting and right-sizing, post-M&A integration to make new partnerships and alliances work -- these, and more, are Jim's special expertise.

Before founding Human Capital Consulting Partners, Jim served as VP, HR for Quaker Chemical Corporation and Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals (now Sanofi-Aventis) and has advised large and small companies in life sciences, manufacturing and financial services. As an investment, banking and director, he has worked with small one-site business units -- in the US, Virgin Islands, Israel and France -- and with complex global, US and non-US based corporations.

Jim earned his BS in Finance and Labor Relations from LaSalle University.

For more information about Jim's approach, click here to visit the Human Capital Partners website.

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Andrea Zintz, PhD

brings 30+ years of experience as a Leadership Development, Talent Management and Human Resources professional to her work with Courage International. Along with boundless energy, a naturally upbeat and optimistic can-do spirit, a knack for asking the right questions to focus on the right possibilities, and a great sense of style. She is Founder and CEO of Strategic Leadership Resources.

Andrea currently works primarily with senior leaders and leadership teams in business units of Fortune 500 corporations to develop high potential and senior leaders through team alignment/development strategies and coaching. Her strategic focus in this work is the development of a strong leadership pipeline. She has deep expertise in training Human Resources and line leaders to coach, teach and mentor others.

Andrea specializes in Leadership Development, Change Management, Human Resources Development and high potential leadership strategy, succession and development. Prior to SLR, Andrea was SVP of PulvermacherFirth, VP of Hudson Talent Management, and co-founder of the Center for Inquiring Leadership. As VP of Human Resources and Management Board member of the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Ortho Biotech, Inc., Andrea helped lead the growth of the company from $40 million to $500 million in a 6-year period, and launched 2 breakthrough biotech products that lead the market today. She is also a recipient of the YWCA Tribute to Women in Industry Award. A special expertise is in the area of mentoring in which she focused her doctoral dissertation and has designed and implemented various programs.

Andrea earned her PhD at Fielding Graduate University and is a member of the National OD Networks. For more information about Andrea and SLR, click here to visit the SLR website >>

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Professor Robert Atkinson II, PhD

brings 40+ years of experience as a professor of marketing and an advisor launching young talented executives into corporate careers, as a corporate executive championing innovation, and as a Malcolm Baldridge Award investigator to his work with Courage International. All infused with the skills he developed as a decorated military officer, getting under the wings of his troops and lifting their spirits and aspirations.

Bob is known for systems thinking and for the positive use of power, politics, data-based decision-making rigors, logic and reason in asserting thought-leadership and championing change in large complex organizations. Bob served as Director of Academic Programs at Florida A&M’s School of Business and Industry, which is renowned as one of the premier and innovative MBA programs in the USA. Bob also served as Professor of Marketing at University and Illinois and Director of Planning for Supply Chain Management at Merck, and is an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie-Mellon University and a certified Malcolm Baldridge Award examiner. Bob’s consulting experience, both with The Courage Institute and as President of Atkinson & Associates, focuses on the pharmaceutical and biotech, aerospace, communications, financial services, heavy industry, consumer and food products sectors and advising educational institutions at the secondary and university levels.

Bob earned his PhD at Carnegie-Mellon University and is a Vietnam veteran, where he was awarded a Bronze Star as an officer in the signal corps of the US Army.

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Joel Katz

brings 30+ years of experience in Leadership Development to his work with Courage International -- as a pioneer with Action Learning and profit-from-application Corporate University programs.

Joel is a seasoned leadership/management development professional who builds pragmatic corporate university and leadership development programs that make a direct and immediate impact on business/technical success. Joel is known for action-learning methodologies to develop leadership acumen and a style of group facilitation that is highly interactive and provides hands-on practice and skill building, with systems that transfer learning from the workshop to the workplace. As a coach, Joel is known for pragmatic solutions that strengthen accountability and employee engagement.

Joel served as Chief Learning Officer at ARAMARK Corporation, with overall responsibility for a wide range of programs that built the leadership skills needed to ensure bench-strength and support aggressive business growth and to execute new business strategies. Joel's consulting experience, both with The Courage Institute and as Principal of Leadership Acumen, focuses on executive effectiveness building and mobilizing high-performance project teams, mentoring technical specialists to embrace new challenges, instilling accountability for aggressive and mission-critical goals, ensuring client partnerships and success in business development, and integrating operations after mergers and reorganization. Joel has a personable, engaging, down-to-earth style — and leaves a group with practical actionable take-aways, not just theories or principles.

Joel earned his MS in Education from Brooklyn College and did his doctoral work in Instructional Design at New York University, where he earned his CAGS.

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