A strong balance of theory and practical application enables Babson educators to be trusted, pragmatic advisers. Babson’s educators offer a breadth of practical innovation and global business experience, as many are former executives themselves and/or active consultants to the business world. These educators are consistently rated highly by clients, program participants, and the media.
Module 1: Leading in a Dynamic Environment
Martin Anderson
Senior Lecturer, Management
A.B., Brown University; M.B.A., Harvard University
Professor Anderson has been on the Babson faculty since 1996, teaching in the MBA program and at Babson Executive Education. His courses have included global supply chain management, retailing in the networked economy, and extended enterprise management (a rapidly growing area that views demand and supply chains as unified emerging industry systems that link markets and supply chains). He has piloted innovative research and teaching methods in these areas. He has extensive industry expertise in automotive, consulting, electronics, information technology, manufacturing, and retail.
Professor Anderson conducts executive education programs world-wide in strategy, leadership, technology, and operational implementation for large companies and for start-ups.
More recently, Professor Anderson has been associate director for the MIT International Motor Vehicle Program where he conducted extensive research into advanced retailing and distribution processes and the introduction of advanced technology. In his role as North American Director, International Car Distribution Program (ICDP), Professor Anderson has also extensively analyzed dealer logistic systems, customer buying practices and the effects of the internet and related networking technology in relation to dealers, logistics, customers, etc.
Before joining Babson, Professor Anderson had more than 20 years of business experience in market development, technology management, and supply chain management. He has worked with companies on linking markets to operations in more than 30 nations, and has researched the information technology that links organizations across industries. He has been involved with the launch of several start-ups and has helped with the turnaround of several global companies.
Professor Anderson's clients have included Home Depot, Compaq, EMC, Lucent, J. Walter Thompson, Mullen Advertising, Sodexho, PDVSA, Infinion, Siemens, Inchcape, BMW, SONY, ABB, Sun, FreeRide.com, Schwans Sales Enterprises, Gemplus, Novell, Cadbury-Schweppes, Whirlpool, General Motors, Andersen Consulting, JP Morgan, Ford, the National Auto Dealers Association, and a number of other retail companies. Professor Anderson has advised governments around the world on technology and competitive policy, has testified many times before the U.S. Congress, has advised two White Houses and the European Parliament, and has managed two research programs at MIT.
Professor Anderson has appeared in a variety of global news media, including Jim Lehrer News Hour, NPR, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Boston Globe.
Les Charm
Lecturer, Entrepreneurship
B.S., B.A., Babson College; M.B.A., Harvard University
Professor Charm has taught throughout the world on a variety of topics regarding entrepreneurship. He is on the President's Council at Babson College and is the recipient of the Appel Award for Entrepreneurship.
Professor Charm has been a partner in the firm of Youngman & Charm since 1972. The firm specializes in directorship functions for firms owned and operated by entrepreneurs and in assisting companies that are experiencing operating and/or financial problems. Youngman & Charm has operated in a variety of industries and channels of distribution, and has been involved in many successful financings, acquisitions, and mergers.
From 1977 to 1990, Professor Charm was chairman and president of a major distributor and specialty retail chain. He has been active in other specialty marketing companies, and served as a member of the board of directors of the International Franchise Association from 1983 to 1988. He is currently director of the National Association of Corporate Directors–New England, as well as director of several public and privately-held firms.
Jay Rao
Ph.D., Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA;
M.S., Operations Research, University of Kentucky;
B.Engg., Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
Dr. Rao is a faculty member in the department of Technology, Operations, and Information Management at Babson College. He teaches in the MBA, Undergraduate, and Executive programs. His research has appeared in
Sloan Management Review,
The Academy of Management Executive,
Journal of Business and Management,
Production, and Operations Management Journal,
Quality Management in Health Care,
Journal of Innovative Management, and the
Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. He has written over a dozen business cases that range in topics from Operations Strategy, Corporate Strategic Alignment, Supply Chain Management, Quality Management, and Customer Service. His case "Velky Potraviny: Prague" won the 1999 CIBER (Center for International Business Education and Research) and POMS (Production and Operations Management Society) international case competition award.
Professor Rao has extensive experience in Executive Education and Consulting. He has lead the Innovative Management & Entrepreneurial Leadership program for HEC, Paris (since 2000); Driving Innovation and Entrepreneurial Thinking program for the Stockholm School of Economics (since 2001); and Innovative Management & Corporate Entrepreneurship program for ESADE, Spain (since 2004). He has also taught in customized executive programs for Lucent, Cambridge Technology Partners, EMC, France Telecom, Vivendi, Parametric Technology Partners, International Group of Department Stores (Switzerland), and Novartis.
Dr. Rao has a family-business background and is a partner at Edusult, a Boston based consulting firm that specializes in Corporate Strategic Alignment and Execution. He is also a consultant for BFA Quatrion (a subsidiary of BFA Conseil, Paris). He has consulted for Boston Scientific Corporation, Fidelity Investments, Teradyne, VSG, LoJack, VIT (India), and sits on the board of The HJKP Educational Trust (India).
Joel M. Ristuccia
Adjunct Professor, Management, Babson College
B.A., Yale University; Ed.M., Harvard University; M.B.A., Boston University
Mr. Ristuccia currently teaches Organizational Behavior at Babson College. He operates a private consulting practice focusing on organizational change. Before joining academia, Mr. Ristuccia was a management consultant (economic analysis based on optimization modeling) and also has been owner/operator of domestic and foreign automobile franchises He is a state- licensed psychologist
Sydel Sokuvitz Associate Professor, Management Communication
B.A., University of Florida; M.A., Ph.D., Ohio State University
Dr. Sokuvitz is a communications specialist who conducts training programs in areas that include high-impact presentation and writing skills, listening competencies, cross-cultural and gendered issues in communication, negotiation strategies, and leadership. At Babson she directs the MBA communication programs and is active in Babson Executive Education. She has extensive experience in consulting and communication training at such organizations as Access Technologies, Alfa Laval, Algonquin Gas, Brooklyn Union Utilities, Dun & Bradstreet, The Federal Home Bank of Boston, Harvard School of Public Health, John Hancock Funds, Instrumentation Labs, Verizon (formerly New England Telephone), and William M. Mercer.
Dr. Sokuvitz has been honored as Professor of the Year at Babson and has also been a member of the faculty at the Radcliffe Seminars Management Program. Her writings have appeared in The Business Communication Quarterly and Human Communication Research. Dr. Sokuvitz’ current research focuses on cross-cultural business communication and communication competencies of entrepreneurs. She recently presented the jointly-authored paper (with Professor Stephen Spinelli) Communication or Content? Decision Criteria for Funding Entrepreneurial Ventures at the annual meeting of the Association for Business Communication.
Joseph R. Weintraub Professor, Management and Organizational Behavior;
The Charles C. Barton Term Chair in Management
B.S., University of Pittsburgh; M.A., Ph.D., Bowling Green State University
Dr. Weintraub is a faculty director for Babson Executive Education. He is the founder and co-director of the Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork Program at Babson College.
Dr. Weintraub is an organizational psychologist whose interests focus in the areas of individual and organizational effectiveness. He is considered one of the top thought leaders in the area of organizational and executive coaching. His research on coaching has received major recognition including the award for Management Development Paper of the Year from the Academy of Management. He is the co-author of the book, The Coaching Manager: Developing Top Talent in Business (Sage Publications, 2002). His latest book, The Coaching Organization: A Strategy for Developing Leaders, co-authored with Professor James Hunt, was published by Sage Publications in 2007.
In addition to his extensive work in coaching, Dr. Weintraub also teaches and consults in the areas of leadership development, interpersonal effectiveness, high performance teams, and the assessment of key talent. His work has appeared in a diverse group of publications including the
Journal of Management Education,
Journal of Organizational Excellence,
Harvard Management Update,
The Wall Street Journal,
The New York Times,
Fortune, and
Entrepreneur.
Dr. Weintraub has both domestic and global experience in working with organizations and teams from a variety of industries and disciplines. He has been an instructor for General Electric’s Interpersonal Skills Program as well as a member of the faculty for the School of Banking at Williams College. He is also the president of Organizational Dimensions, a management consulting and assessment firm in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Dr. Weintraub has worked with clients such as Children’s Hospital Boston, New England Baptist Hospital, Miriam Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, Serono, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Harvard Business School Publishing, Citizens Financial Group, Citigroup, Whirlpool Corporation and the Los Angeles Dodgers.