Michael Lee Stallard
Michael Lee Stallard is a leading authority on leadership and teams as they relate to employee and customer engagement. He is the co-founder, president and CEO of E Pluribus Partners, a consulting firm that specializes in helping leaders create “Connection Cultures” to form strong bonds among the management, employees and customers of an organization. Connection Cultures increase employee and customer engagement as well as productivity, profitability, innovation, employee retention and customer loyalty.
Michael is the primary author of the book Fired Up or Burned Out and a chapter in the book What Managers Say, What Employees Hear: Connecting With Your Front Line (So They’ll Connect with Customers). The latter book, edited by Regina Maruca, the former senior editor of Harvard Business Review, includes contributions from several Harvard Business School professors and well-known author-consultants. Fired Up or Burned Out has been widely praised by well-respected leaders and thought leaders. Russell Reynolds, Jr., founder and former CEO of Russell Reynolds Associates wrote, “An enthralling and impressive work. It shows how to empower people and create great societies, corporations and cultures. I’m giving it to everyone at my own firm.” Frances Hesselbein, Chairman of the Leader to Leader Institute, described the book as “the indispensable leadership guide for leaders everywhere.” Michael Fitzgerald, The New York Time’s columnist, wrote on BNet, “The soft stuff counts and Stallard’s book helps…It’s impossible not to find some example that will make you rethink your own approach to other people in your working life.”
Michael’s work has also been featured in the media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Leader to Leader, Leadership Excellence, Human Resource Executive, The Economic Times (India), Rotman (Canada), Developing HR Strategy (UK), Capital (Dubai), Shukan Diayamondo (Japan), Live Mint (India), and Fox Business Now. He has spoken at organizations such as GE, Google, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Northwestern University, The Conference Board, Harvard and Wharton Business School Alumni Clubs, and Yale-New Haven Hospital. He is a guest lecturer on employee and customer engagement at the University of Virginia’s Darden graduate School of Business.
Prior to founding E Pluribus Partners, Michael was chief marketing officer for the private wealth management businesses at Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab. The programs identified and implemented by the team he assembled and led at Morgan Stanley contributed to doubling the business unit’s revenues over a two year period. The practices he and his team developed became the genesis for his approach to elevating the productivity and innovation of individuals and organizations. Earlier in his career, Michael worked as an executive in investment banking, marketing, finance and business development-related positions at Texas Instruments, Van Kampen Investments and Barclays Bank, PLC. Michael’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, an M.B.A. from University of Texas in Odessa, Texas, and a J.D. from DePaul University Law School in Chicago, Illinois. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1991. Michael is married and has two daughters.
Carolyn Dewing-Hommes, cofounder and partner at E Pluribus Partners, spent fifteen years at Citibank working in New York City, Sao Paulo, London, and Hong Kong. She was selected to lead a global team, reporting to Citibank’s CEO, which identified the best practices of companies worldwide that successfully engaged their employees, specifically in the area of work/life balance. Carolyn’s industry experience comes out of corporate and private banking where she managed significant client relationships in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Carolyn received a B.A. in political science and languages from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in economics and international affairs from Columbia University.
Jason Pankau, a cofounder and partner at E Pluribus Partners, is the president of Life Spring Network, an organization that promotes spiritual growth. Previously, Jason was an associate pastor at Stanwich Congregational Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he focused on mentoring and leadership development. Jason also was involved in starting two churches in Providence and Boston. He serves as a consultant and life coach to many corporate executives and ministers. He is sought out as a speaker by organizations for his wisdom in teaching leadership and mentoring leaders. Jason earned a B.S. from Brown University in business economics and organizational behavior/management. He was captain and pre-season All-American linebacker in football, school record holder in discus, and national qualifier in track while at Brown. Jason earned a Masters of Divinity from Southern Theological Seminary. He is presently completing a doctorate degree in Christian leadership at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.