Business Acumen and Strategy for Managers
Lori Cross
Lori Cross is the president of Mind Span Consulting, a firm that specializes in the development of exceptional, authentic leaders in high-tech environments. She coaches and develops CEOs and leaders of all ages on strategy formulation, execution, teambuilding, innovation and followership. Lori currently serves as a board member on several for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and is teaching strategy and leadership courses in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Enterprise MBA and Executive Education programs.
Lori has over 25 years of experience in leading global organizations through turn-arounds, start-ups and the execution of new business models. As group president of VIASYS NeuroCare, she led an aggressive turn-around with an innovative strategy and global implementation model. Previously, Lori led the renewal of GE/Datex-Ohmeda, where her team’s success was recognized with the Wisconsin Forward Award. She has also started several successful new businesses in medical and information technology both in the United States and Europe.
Lori’s career has taken her around the world—California, Boston, Germany and Sweden—and she has spent the last eight years in Madison. She earned a Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and a Masters in Biomedical Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She also holds an Executive MBA, with a focus on international marketing.
Jim Woodrum
Jim Woodrum is Associate Dean of the Enterprise MBA program at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Prior to this, Jim served as the Program Director for the Advanced Management courses at Executive Education for 2 ˝ years. Jim teaches courses for Executive Education on business acumen, strategy and talent management and teaches in the university’s MBA program.
Prior to joining the university, Jim spent more than 20 years with Hewitt Associates, an international human resources consulting and outsourcing firm.
Jim has a B.S. in Finance from Millikin University as well as an M.M. in Finance and Industrial Relations from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Buck Joseph
Buck Joseph, Ed. D., is professor emeritus of management for Executive Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 1982, Buck has spoken at over 150 national and international conferences about leadership, teamwork, motivation and communications. He has earned himself a reputation as an engaging, thought-provoking presenter who is dedicated to helping people grow in their abilities to communicate, lead and manage in their professional and personal lives. Buck regularly works with companies such as Abbott Laboratories, 3M Corporation, General Electric Health Care and American Family Insurance to develop and conduct in-house training and development programs for executives, managers and first-line leaders.The University of Wisconsin–Madison, as a member of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), authorizes this course for 2.1 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or 21 hours.
jcorkery@exed.wisc.edu