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Board of Directors
The Ken Blanchard Companies' Board of Directors pictured above from left to right.
Back Row: Howard Farfel, Tom Muccio, Pat Hyndman, Robert L. Lorber, Garry O. Ridge, Richard Whiteley
Front Row: Tom McKee, Debbie Blanchard, Ken Blanchard, Margie Blanchard, Scott Blanchard
Debbie Blanchard
Debbie Blanchard is the Executive Vice President, North America for The Ken Blanchard Companies. She focuses her energy on leading business development and client services, recruiting, and creating the organizational structure for future growth. Debbie joined Blanchard in 1990 and has served in marketing, sales, and relationship management roles throughout her career. Debbie’s experience outside of Blanchard has included being the Executive Director of Conference Planning for Success Magazine. She also taught executive level English for Berlitz International while living in Concepcion, Chile.
Debbie received a Master's Degree in Executive Development from the University of San Diego and a Master's Degree in Organization Development from American University in Washington, DC. She earned her undergraduate degree in Communications from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Garry O. Ridge
Garry Ridge is President and Chief Executive Officer of the WD-40® Company headquartered in San Diego, California. WD-40 Company is the maker of the ever-popular WD-40 multi-use product as well as 3-IN-ONE®, BLUE WORKS®, and WD-40 Specialist™ product lines. The company also markets home-care and cleaning brands, including X-14® mildew stain remover and automatic toilet bowl cleaners, 2000 Flushes® automatic toilet bowl cleaners, Carpet Fresh® and No Vac® rug and room deodorizers, Spot Shot® aerosol and liquid carpet stain removers, 1001® household cleaners and rug and room deodorizers, and Lava® and Solvol® heavy-duty hand cleaners.
Garry has been with WD-40 since 1987 in various management positions, including executive vice president, chief operating officer, and vice president of International. He has worked directly with WD-40 in 50 countries.
A native of Australia, Garry has served as national vice president of the Australian Marketing Institute and the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association.
Garry received his master of science degree in executive leadership from the University of San Diego, CA, in June 2001, and he is currently one of their adjunct professors. He teaches leadership development, talent management, and succession planning in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership program.
In March 2003, Garry was awarded Director of the Year for Enhancement of Economic Value by the Corporate Directors Forum. In April 2004, he received the Arthur E. Hughes Career Achievement Award from the University of San Diego. In 2006, he was awarded the Ernst & Young - Master Entrepreneur Award.
In 2009, Garry coauthored a book with Dr. Ken Blanchard titled, Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A.
Howard Farfel
Howard Farfel, President of The Ken Blanchard Companies, has nearly 20 years of sales, marketing, business strategy, and general management experience. Prior to his current role, Howard served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and started with Blanchard as COO of Coaching.com.
Before joining Blanchard, he spent six years at The Upper Deck Company, the world's largest sports and entertainment collectibles company. Howard also worked in the brand management function at Clorox and, prior to that, he was with Bain & Company, one of the world's leading strategy consulting firms, where he helped develop and implement strategic initiatives for Fortune 500 companies.
Howard received an undergraduate degree from Duke University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Ken Blanchard
In addition to being a renowned speaker, consultant, and bestselling author, Ken Blanchard currently serves as the Chief Spiritual Officer of Blanchard. Ken received a master's degree from Colgate University, and a bachelor's and PhD from Cornell University.
Margie Blanchard
Marjorie heads Blanchard’s unique Office of the Future—a think tank charged with shaping the future of both the training industry and the company. She served as president of the company from 1987–1997, and was instrumental in leading its rapid growth and success.
Pat Hyndman
For many years Pat Hyndman has filled leadership roles in the business, education, and cultural affairs in the San Diego area and the State of California.
In 1953 Pat Hyndman founded the PHD Corporation, one of the nation's pioneer truck, car, and equipment leasing companies, and served as chief executive officer until the firm's sale to Leaseway Transportation Corporation 25 years later. Pat served as president of Vistage International during its formative years. He currently chairs Vistage groups in San Diego. He is a founder of Grossmont Bank and served many years on its board. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater San Diego and filled presidential roles in the Executives' Association of San Diego, the Kiwanis Club of San Diego, and the Presidents’ Roundtable. He also serves on the boards of several companies.
In support of charitable institutions, Pat served as president of the YMCA of San Diego and spent many years on its board. He was chairman of the United Way as well as its campaign chairman, served on the board of the Executive Service Corps, and assisted the Urban League and other charitable agencies in various capacities. For the City of San Diego, Pat served on the Water Reclamation Commission and the Commission on Light Rail.
In the field of education, Pat served more than 20 years on the San Diego County Board of Education. He is a Lifetime Chancellor's Associate at UCSD, and he played an active role in establishing the campus in San Diego. Pat is a graduate of UC Berkeley, served on its Alumni Council for six years, and was honored as a Berkeley Fellow for services to the University. Pat received a gubernatorial appointment to the Constitution Revision Commission of the State of California and chaired its committee on education. Later he served as president of the State Coordinating Council on Higher Education. He is the past chairman of the Business Roundtable for Education and serves on the advisory board of the San Diego Charter Schools.
Richard Whiteley
Richard Whiteley co-founded The Forum Corporation, a global training and consulting firm that grew to a 700-person global training and consulting firm with a 29-year average annual shareholder return of 36 percent. He was also the sole proprietor of a retail store in Boston’s famed Faneuil Hall for nine years.
Richard is a recognized and sought-after keynote speaker and has presented to more than one million business people in 300 organizations in 30 countries. He is the award-winning author of The Customer Driven Company, which was named one of the top four business books by Fortune Magazine and one of the top 10 business books of the decade by Human Resource Executive Magazine. He also authored Customer Centered Growth, which was ranked top five by Selling Magazine and a Business Week’s best-seller. Other books include Love the Work You're With, a best-seller read by CEOs, and The Corporate Shaman. Whiteley is currently co-authoring a book with Dr. Ken Blanchard on leadership, working on a book on sales, and another book titled Meditating for Type A’s.
Richard is a business practitioner who can relate to executives because he has "walked in their shoes." Clients have included Intel, American Express, DuPont, General Electric, Marriott, Merck & Co., Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, Aetna, 3M, SKANSKA, British Airways, Campbell Soup Company, Pfizer, and the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency.
Richard was named one of the top 100 consultants in the world by Executive Excellence Magazine; named one of the top 100 "Best Minds" in the area of leadership; and received Instructional Systems Association's (ISA) Thought Leadership (1997), Spirit (2007), and the ISA Industry Legend (2011) awards.
Richard taught classes at Harvard Business School, the MIT Sloan School of Management, Babson College, University of Southern California, Boston University, Texas Christian University, and others. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Wesleyan University and his MBA from Harvard (conventional), and he studied extensively with medicine people for the past 19 years (unconventional). Whiteley served in the United States Navy for 3 ½ years.
Robert L. Lorber
Dr. Robert L. Lorber is President of The Lorber Kamai Consulting Group, a firm formed in 1976. The organization has implemented productivity improvement systems for companies on five continents. The Lorber Kamai Consulting Group's client roster has included Kraft Foods, GlobalSantaFe, Teichert Inc., Occidental Petroleum, Gillette, Sutter Health, American Express, Mattel, AlliedSignal, Raley's, VSP, Teichert Inc., Maxtor, ETS, Wells Fargo, Waste Connections, Pillsbury, Pfizer, Kaufman & Broad, Tower Records, PRIDE Industries, Mechanics Bank, and many other medium-size and Fortune 500 companies.
Dr. Lorber is an internationally recognized expert and published author on executive coaching, performance management, leadership, teamwork, life planning, culture, and developing strategy. Bob spent a large part of his career working with family businesses. He is considered one of the leading resources worldwide on executive coaching with chief executive officers and senior executives. He coauthored the New York Times' best-seller, Putting The One Minute Manager To Work, with Dr. Ken Blanchard. He has also coauthored One Page Management with Dr. Riaz Khadem; Safety 2/7 with Greg Anderson; Doing What Matters with Jim Kilts, a retired CEO of Gillette; and Who Are You What Do You Want? with Dr. Mick Ukleja.
Dr. Lorber is an established professional speaker who has delivered presentations for profit and nonprofit audiences throughout the world. He has also shared his insights with television, radio, and newspaper audiences across the country. He has received many awards and honors in his field.
Dr. Lorber works with numerous boards of directors on governance and effective board participation. Currently he serves on the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees, was past Chairman of the Dean's Advisory Council for the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis, and sat on the board of the UC Davis School of Medicine's National Board of Advisors as well as many other corporate and nonprofit boards. Some of these include: Tower Records, The Blanchard Companies, Basic American Industries, The Hugh O'Brian Youth Foundation, The Sacramento Region Community Foundation, Sukut Construction, Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, LeadershipTraq, and J&M Realty. He has also served as Co-Chair of the PRIDE Industries Foundation.
In addition to his executive coaching, consulting, writing and speaking pursuits, Dr. Lorber is an Associate Professor of his alma mater—the Graduate School of Management of the University of California at Davis—where he teaches two courses on Leadership. Dr. Lorber received a masters degree in sociology and a PhD in organizational psychology. He resides in Davis, California, with his wife Sandy and has three daughters Tracie, Lindie, and Kaylie.
Scott Blanchard
Scott Blanchard is Principal and Executive Vice President of The Ken Blanchard Companies. He is also co-founder of Blanchard's Coaching Services, which has coached more than 10,000 clients worldwide. Since joining Blanchard, Scott has played a number of different roles, including trainer and organizational consultant. As a Senior Consulting Partner, Scott led major training interventions at numerous Fortune 500 companies.
Scott is the author of several books, including Leverage Your Best, Ditch the Rest coauthored with Madeleine Homan, Leading at a Higher Level, and is the coauthor of Blanchard Coaching Essentials training program.
Scott was educated at Cornell University and received his Master's Degree in Organizational Development from American University in Washington DC.
Tom McKee
Tom McKee is the CEO, Family Business Manager, and co-owner of The Ken Blanchard Companies. Since starting with the company in 1987, he has also held the positions of CFO, General Manager, Vice President, and Chief Operating Officer.
Prior to joining The Ken Blanchard Companies, Tom worked in the restaurant and food industry for 12 years. He was in management with The Rusty Pelican Corporation, and was an account executive with Lady Baltimore Foods in Kansas City. Tom helped found the Masters of Science in Executive Leadership (MSEL) program with the University of San Diego, as well as the Ken Blanchard College of Business at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Tom's other Board Member participation has been with The Better Business Bureau, The Private Industry Council and Workforce Partnership, The Golf University of San Diego and The Instructional Systems Association (ISA).
Tom earned his Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado.
Tom Muccio
Tom Muccio retired at the end of 2003 after a successful 34-year career with Procter & Gamble as President of Global Customer Teams. Since 1987, he was the founder and team leader for Procter & Gamble's much publicized relationship with Wal-Mart. During his leadership, Procter & Gamble's sales to Wal-Mart increased from $350 million to $8 billion, and both companies have prospered greatly because of the relationship. Since his retirement, Tom has held a variety of sales and marketing assignments in both the United States and internationally.
In recent years, Tom consulted for numerous leading companies in the domestic and global markets. He was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of BioBased Family of Companies. These companies develop and manufacture a variety of breakthrough environmental-friendly products and ingredients.
Tom serves on the board of The Ken Blanchard Companies® as well as on the board for Cardone Industries. He is married and has two children and seven grandchildren. He is very active in both the community and numerous Christian ministries and organizations.