Our Team
Leo F. Flanagan, Jr., Ph.D.
President
As founder and president of Flanagan Consultants, LLC,
Leo Flanagan has developed a unique practice around the creation and execution
of business, marketing and human resources strategies to drive sustained
business success.
A hallmark of Leo’s work is an ability to meet the
unique challenges faced by individual leaders and their organizations,
within the context of their markets… the alignment of an enterprise’s
people and processes with its brand and customer loyalty strategies.
Recent assignments have included:
-- crafting and implementing a customer-centered growth strategy for a
major retailer, which yielded an 18% increase in transaction value;
-- advising the CEO of a global financial services firm on implementation
of a cultural change process, which generated an estimated $200 million
in incremental revenue;
-- installing a process for tailoring global strategy by country specific
requirements, for a multinational consumer products company;
-- realigning the Human Resources function of a $20 billion global firm
to drive measurable business performance; and
-- creating and implementing a brand/client loyalty strategy for a hospitality
chain, which increased customer satisfaction from 22% to 86% and revenue
by 15%.
Prior to launching his own firm, Leo was Group Director,
Learning & Development/Chief Learning Officer for The Willis Group,
the global insurance broker, where he launched the company’s first
integrated, worldwide learning and development strategy, as well as a
global sales training system for middle market and premier accounts, which
produced 700 new client relationships in its first four months, with a
training ROI of 228%.
Previously, Leo was with Merrill Lynch where, as Director,
Global Leadership & Organizational Development, he managed orientation
and interventions for 5,000 employees following September 11. Leo also
led scenario planning and analysis of new business models for the Board
in response to dramatic market shifts, designed the firm’s first
integrated learning system and planned the first firm-wide leadership
development process that links and measures the impact of a leader’s
performance through employee loyalty, client loyalty and financial results.
He also integrated the Firm’s succession planning and talent management
processes in order to facilitate the Board’s selection of the new
Chairman/CEO.
Before joining Merrill Lynch, Leo was Senior Vice President,
Practice Leader - Employee & Customer Loyalty for The Forum Corporation,
a global diversified financial services firm. At Forum, he introduced
a leadership development strategy that included simultaneous coaching
of top executives around the world, developed and implemented business-specific
leadership models and implemented decision-making models for the Office
of the Chairman and Executive Management Committee. These actions saved
525,000 payroll hours annually over traditional training approaches, and
achieved financial benefits comparable to $450 million in new business,
with an 18% ROE.
Leo also spent eleven years in academia, as a member of
the faculty at Cornell University’s, School of Industrial and Labor
Relations, where he was also Director, Office of Management & Executive
Education and Director, Human Resources & Management Development.
He is an active volunteer, most notably as a member of Heart
911, a group of New York City rescue and recovery workers committed to
sharing lessons learned from September 11 with those affected by other
disasters. Professionally, Leo is a member of the Learning and Development
Committee of the Human Resource Planning Society.
Leo received his B.A. from Fordham University with a double
major in Psychology and Sociology. He received his M.A. in Social Psychology
from Hunter College and his Ph.D. in Psychology from the City University
of New York. He resides with his family in Stamford, CT.
Richard D. Badler
Senior Client Advisor
Capitalizing on more than 30 years of practice in all facets
of corporate, consumer, reputation, positioning, issues management, advertising
and sports marketing work, in the U.S. and around the world, Richard D.
Badler is a senior client advisor with Flanagan Consultants in the areas
of corporate communications, organization structure, internal and external
relations and crisis management.
Previously, Dick was executive vice president, corporate
communications and public affairs, for the Western Union Company. In that
capacity, he was an executive corporate officer, reporting to the CEO
and serving on the executive committee, and was responsible for creating
and leading all internal and external communications, the internal and
external web, global branding, public affairs and issues management on
a worldwide basis.
Before joining Western Union, Dick was senior vice president,
corporate communications for Unisys Corporation, reporting to the CEO.
He oversaw the corporation's activities worldwide in the areas of reputation
management, public and media relations, consultant relations, advertising,
employee communications, corporate identity and public affairs.
Previously, Dick served as vice president, corporate communications,
for General Instrument Corporation, where he led the global communications
program for the $2 billion world leader in analog and digital systems
for the cable and satellite industry. Prior to that, Dick was an executive
vice president and account director with Golin/Harris Communications in
Chicago, handling a variety of business and consumer accounts including
McDonald's and Michelin.
Dick spent 11 years with Philip Morris Companies, Inc.,
most recently as director, public affairs for Kraft Foods in Northfield,
Illinois. He also had served as director of public affairs for Kraft General
Foods International and spent a year in Lausanne, Switzerland, with Philip
Morris Europe. Before joining Philip Morris, he managed a variety of consumer
and business accounts for agencies in New York. He began his career on
the assignment desk at WCBS-TV News.
A member and past trustee of the Arthur W. Page Society
and a past trustee of the Foundation for Public Affairs, Dick is also
a past director of the Public Affairs Council and a past chairman of The
Conference Board's Council of Corporate Communications Strategy I. He
is currently program director for The Conference Board’s Council
of Corporate Communications Strategy II. Dick has been named a PR All
Star by Inside PR, and to Who's Who in Corporate hi-tech PR by PRWeek.
Dick is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University,
where he co-edited his college newspaper. Married with two daughters and
the survivor of six corporate relocations, Dick now calls Denver home.
Barbara A. Collins
Senior Client Advisor
As a senior client advisor for Flanagan Consultants, Barbara
Collins partners with client organizations to envision their desired outcomes,
develop strategic plans for change and, most importantly, carry out effective
implementation of their plans.
Certified by the Haines Centre for Strategic Management
in Managing Enterprise-wide Change and Strategic and Systems Thinking,
Barbara has been providing organizational change and management consulting
since 1982. Current assignments include work with a global bank to deliver
products and services more competitively, as well as facilitating the
strategic planning process for the New York State Office of Children and
Family Services as it “right-sizes” its juvenile justice programs.
Other recent clients include the Bank of New York Mellon
Corporate Trust Division, Chubb Insurance and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Barbara spent ten years as Director of the Program Development
department at Education, Training and Research Associates in Santa Cruz,
CA. In this position, she generated and managed over $1 million per year
in grants to design educational and health behavior interventions, as
well as develop, administer and analyze all surveys, tests, focus groups
and interview protocols about the effects of various intervention programs.
Using adult learning principles, Barbara has also designed
and delivered more than 100 training programs over the last 30 years,
including Coaching Skills for Benjamin Moore Paints and Systems Thinking
and Strategic Management for the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
as well as for Avon Products and Montgomery College.
Barbara is also active in association work. She’s
a founding member and past president of the national Juvenile Justice
Trainers Association and currently serves as its project manager. In addition,
she’s a member of the board of the International Association of
Correctional Training Personnel, and is developing its Correctional Trainer
Certification program.
A graduate of Manhattanville College with a B.A in Social
Psychology, Barbara also holds a M.S. in Education from the State University
College at New Paltz, NY.
Nanette Miner, Ed.D.
Senior Director
Nanette Miner, Ed.D. is Senior Director of Learning Solutions
for Flanagan Consultants, LLC. In her role Nanette is responsible for
the Firm's thought leadership in the areas of learning strategies and
systems, performance support, instructional design and the measurement
of learning and developments impact on business results.
Nanette has been the chief architect of learning solutions
for premier companies in a variety of industries, including: financial
services, insurance, broadcasting, manufacturing, engineering, telecommunications,
retail and publishing. Learning systems have driven measurable results
in areas such as sales, leadership development, strategic planning, financial
management, customer service, project management, technical skills and
construction.
One recent assignment was for a leading financial services
firm with a need for a uniform process for selling, cross-selling, and
account management since each of a number of recently acquired businesses
had its own methodology. To accommodate the needs of a global sales force
and a need to limit travel and time requirements the solution consisted
of a series of "tools" downloadable from the company intranet.
Tools ranged from 3 – 20 pages of written instruction that described the
skill and its execution step by step. Tools also included small executable
programs that made practicing the new skills easier. Sales managers were
trained to coach their sales-teams in using the new knowledge and skills
acquired via the tools. Key tools were introduced via synchronous learning
events to reinforce the coaching. A total of 14 tools and three "courses"
were designed and disseminated in 7 months. Over $750,000 in new business
was directly linked to the first sales team of 30 using the tools. These
remarkable results were achieved in the first 90 days.
In addition to increasing revenue her learning solutions
have increased customer loyalty, improved efficiency and increased retention
of high potential talent.
Nanette is a widely sought after speaker on the latest trends
in learning, measuring business results, leveraging limited learning and
development resources for maximum business impact. She has also written
dozens of articles as well as authoring or co-authoring a number of books.
A recent publication is "The Synchronous Training Primer"
with co-author Jennifer Hofman.
Nanette, has a doctorate in adult learning theory, a master's
in training and organizational development, and a bachelor's in business
& communications.
Gary R. Owens
Senior Client Advisor
Following an award-winning 30-year career overseeing large-scale
customer service operations and human resource teams, Gary Owens brings
to Flanagan Consultants a proven understanding of the customer service
paradigm and how to generate organization responsiveness.
Recent engagements have included process development for
a national wireless communications company’s start-up of Internet
access on US airlines, and service upgrades for a global bank’s
credit card validation and transaction management operation.
Prior to joining Flanagan Consultants, Gary was CEO of Accent
Marketing Services which, under his leadership, doubled in revenue and
quadrupled in profitability. The firm ranked as the number 11 marketing
services agency in Advertising Age’s 2004 annual marketing services
report.
Previously, Gary held executive positions in customer service
operations with Sprint Long Distance, most recently as Vice President,
Customer Solutions, Mass Markets Organization. During the course of his
tenure, his groups were recognized for “Best Customer Service”
by the Yankee Group, won six “Highest Customer Satisfaction”
awards by J.D. Powers and Associates, garnered the International Customer
Service Association Award of Excellence and earned the Sprint Chairman’s
and State of Missouri’s Quality Award.
A frequent national and international speaker, Gary has
been a guest lecturer at Avila College’s Executive MBA program,
Cornell University’s Executive MBA program and Miami University’s
School of Business. He’s also been a member of the Business Advisory
Council to the Dean of Miami University’s School of Business, and
a member of the Board of Directors for the University of Southern California’s
Center for Telecommunications Management.
Gary is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where
he earned a B.A. in Political Science with an English minor. He now resides
in Salem, SC.
Linda Brainin Solon
Senior Client Advisor
For Flanagan Consultants, Linda Solon draws on 15 years
of experience working directly with clients and in operational leadership
roles. She partners with organizations to improve their business performance
in three areas: organizational development, learning, and sales and marketing
strategy.
Recent engagements include helping several professional
services firms define and implement consultative sales strategies, and
leading a large-scale initiative to define and implement a major information
services provider’s client experience strategy.
Previously, Linda was with GlobalEnglish Corporation, a
provider of online learning and support for English as a second language.
As Director of Global Account Management and Consulting, she helped develop
the company’s go-to-market strategy and led the team responsible
for all post-sale customer relationships, worldwide. Linda’s efforts
led to a 100 percent renewal of existing business and a 50 to 100 percent
growth across all accounts.
Prior to joining GlobalEnglish, Linda was Vice President
for The Forum Corporation, a global training and consulting firm. Selling
a full range of learning, technology and branded customer experience services,
she achieved a number of milestones, most notably a $1 million relationship
with an industry dominating high tech firm.
Linda has also held strategic positions with several public-private
partnerships and non-profit organizations in the areas of project management,
assessment and organizational development.
A graduate of James Madison University with a B.A. in Political
Science and Spanish, Linda also has an Ed.M. from Harvard University,
with a concentration in Adult Education and Organizational Behavior. She
resides in San Francisco.
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