STS - Key Persons
With over a decade of experience in leadership and organizational assessment and development, Drew specializes in the psychological assessment of individuals, teams, and organizations.
He utilizes psychological testing, interviewing, and behavioral observation to provide recommendations for targeted leadership development efforts and facilitated developmental feedback sessions. His leadership coaching experience ranges from individual contributors to C-Suite executives. His work also includes succession planning, team awareness, and development.
In his role, Drew enjoys helping clients with complex questions around leadership selection and development, executive coaching, and organizational development.
Drew works for Management Research Group (MRG) where he oversees the design and maintenance of MRG's suite of assessments. He is also a key component of their practitioner team, delivering assessment education, leadership coaching, and team development. He's also helped develop a global leadership development training program and participated in employee life cycle recruitment efforts through individual assessment and assessment centers.
Anjali is an industrial/organizational psychologist with nearly a decade of organization development experience across industries, including finance and healthcare. Well-versed in the design and implementation of large-scale talent management interventions, Anjali is passionate about the pragmatic application of behavioral science in designing elegant solutions to create tangible impact for her clients.
Anjali has consulted with organization leaders on a variety of areas, including selection and hiring systems, leadership development, employee learning and development, and performance management. In organizational development, she has designed and implemented competency models and integrated them into all aspects of talent management. Anjali has also implemented data analytics programs and designed and conducted numerous organizational research studies.
Working across various industries, Anjali has held positions internally and in consulting. At I/O Solutions, Anjali helped design and implement selection systems for fire and police officers, and while at UI Health, she redesigned the onboarding and orientation program for the hospital and laid the foundation for their leadership competencies. Her work at Golub Capital, a private equity firm in downtown Chicago, included building and eventually, leading, the talent management function for the firm, designing leadership and technical competency models, implementing individual development planning, designing and launching a tailored learning and development curriculum including leadership development, and overseeing executive coaching. Anjali returned to consulting in 2021, energized by the opportunity to partner with businesses in designing exceptional places to work.
Anjali received her PhD and MA in Industrial / organizational psychology from Roosevelt University and graduated with her B.S. in Psychology from Berry College.
Ben brings diverse consulting experience and a passion for helping leaders identify and commit to new success paths. At the heart of it, he loves helping clients and colleagues solve challenging, complex business problems. The partnership he builds with his clients provides a front row seat to that moment when a leader or team has a breakthrough, allowing him to help build the conviction needed to take action.
He specializes in providing assessments and coaching for leaders and leadership teams. Ben works across organizational levels and with a variety of industries including energy, utilities, retail, manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare. A partial list of Ben's clients include: McDonald's, Walgreens, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Sargent & Lundy, W.W. Grainger, AArete, Topco, Kerry Group, Ajinomoto, InvenTrust Properties, and Kansas City Southern.
Ben leads the energy and utility practice for the firm. His experience supporting hundreds of leaders in high-reliability, operationally excellent organizations has given him a clear understanding of the characteristics needed to be successful in driving high standards and sustainable results. In this sector, some of Ben's clients have included Southern Company, Duke Energy, Omaha Power District, Entergy, Ameren, Tennessee Valley Authority, Entergy, Midwest Energy, and Dominion.
In addition to executive assessment and coaching, Ben's experience includes support for organizational effectiveness initiatives. This includes broad organizational assessments and the administration of engagement surveys. He has also developed leadership competency models, conducted assessment centers, written and validated certification exams, and developed computer simulation-based selection instruments.
Before joining STS, Ben led the financial services practice at the Center for Research and Service, a not-for-profit consulting center associated with the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). In this role, he partnered with financial service organizations to leverage employee engagement surveys to improve organizational results.
He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from IIT and a B.A. in Psychology from Baylor University. Ben is an active member of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the Nuclear Human Resources Group.
He and his wife Kim are parents to four children, Emilyn, Greyson, Quinn, and Gavin. They have roots in Texas, Illinois, and Colorado, and they love spending time as a family on long hikes and bluebird ski days.
Brendan Neuman has developed, designed, and implemented a variety of leadership assessment tools to provide sensible, practical solutions for his clients, with a particular emphasis on drawing out the innovative and creative talents already present among the leaders with whom he works.
Brendan founded and ran his own boutique consultancy through which he provided assessment, leadership development, and innovation consulting. Earlier in his career, Brendan served in a variety of talent management and talent acquisition roles at United Airlines. His areas of expertise include executive and high-volume assessment, HR analytics, leadership development and organizational creativity.
He has designed and deployed 360-degree feedback systems, assessment centers, simulations, and executive assessments for organizations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors across industries including technology, financial services, transportation and logistics, utilities, consumer package goods, retail, and telecommunications. He has supported leaders and teams in organizations ranging in size from small businesses and start-ups to large multi-national organizations, and in countries around the globe.
In addition to his consulting work, Brendan has served as an adjunct faculty member at various universities. He has designed classes in organizational psychology, statistics, and the psychology of creativity. He also provides pro bono consulting to Chicago area arts organizations through the Arts & Business Council of Chicago.
Brendan earned his PhD and MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL and a BS in Psychology from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.
Brian has been with STS for over a decade helping his clients sell more and sell more effectively. He consults with sales and account management teams to help them perfect their sales and relationship expansion efforts.
He specializes in working with professional services and business services firms. His work spans a wide variety of subjects including analyzing and segmenting markets; developing sales methodologies and sales management disciplines; training and coaching on sales and client relationship management skills; and developing more productive sales cultures.
Before joining STS in 2010, Brian enjoyed a 23-year career with Hewitt Associates. Brian spent twelve years on the firm's executive committee and was instrumental in leading Hewitt through its highly successful initial public offering. He also chaired the firm's stockholder committee.
Brian left Hewitt in 2007 to join Chicago 2016 where he spent three years helping develop and deliver Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Brian was an adjunct faculty member of the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is a guest lecturer at Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Center for Learning and Organizational Change and the University of Illinois College of Law. He serves on a number of corporate and not-for-profit boards.
Brian earned a B.S. in business administration from Bradley University.
The common thread cutting across Brian's work is the level of partnership he provides his clients along with his practical and action-oriented approach. He emphasizes trust and candor so that the insights and feedback he shares can be truly heard and translated into meaningful action that improve a leader's effectiveness and elevate their business' performance.
A partial list of his clients include: Entergy Corporation, Omaha Public Power District, Southern Company, Union Pacific Railroad, Deloitte, Federal Home Loan Bank System, Medtronic, Water Street Healthcare Partners, TreeHouse Foods, American Hospital Association, Northwestern Medicine, and the University of Wisconsin Health.
Prior to joining STS, Brian was a member of the clinical faculty at the University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics in Madison, WI. While there he specialized in providing medical/surgical consultation and liaison services, developing innovative service-delivery programs, and managing a consult service to a large tertiary care medical center.
He is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, HRMAC, and the Society of Consulting Psychology. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and a B.A. both from The University of Texas at Austin. He completed his internship at the Vanderbilt University and Nashville VA Medical Centers.
While Texas born and raised, Brian and his wife live in Chicago with their two tumultuous terriers (because Tracy doesn't like slobber/big dogs). They are often escaping to southern WI with friends and family for fish fries and old fashioneds, woodworking, snow shoeing, and deck sitting.
Brian is a senior advisor and coach with nearly 25 years of experience within corporate and private equity environments. He partners with Boards, CEOs, and executives during periods of high growth and change. His areas of expertise include executive assessment, coaching, top team performance, and succession planning. His training in business, psychology, and leadership provides him with a first-hand perspective of the demands and challenges that senior leaders face in organizations today.
A business leader himself, he brings deep experience within private equity, retail, financial services, technology, professional services, and life science sectors. From his past work leading M&A activity, strategy development, organizational restructuring and culture transformation, he provides sharp insight, challenge, and collaborative problem-solving to help his clients succeed in the complex contexts they must lead through.
Prior to joining STS, he spent over seven years at YSC Consulting where he worked with clients at executive levels within some of the world's most reputable organizations, helping to strengthen the leadership of CEOs and their teams in service of their business strategies. He also led the growth and performance of YSC's coaching practice in North America.
Brian holds a Master of Arts degree in Psychology and Organizational Leadership from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He completed the post-graduate program in Organization Behavior and HR Management from Sheridan College of Advanced Learning and has participated in executive development programs at the Wharton School of Business, INSEAD and CEDEP. He also holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto in Commerce and Sociology (Crime & Deviance).
When not working, Brian can be found on adventure trips in the outdoors pushing the envelope of his own comfort zone, or conversely, at home, being spoiled by the indulgences of modern civilization. Brian currently lives in Palm Springs, California though frequently returns to Chicago and the Midwest where he and his wife spent the last 16 years.
For over a decade, Brittany has leveraged her diverse background in leadership development, HR consulting, counseling psychology, and career development to generate deep insights and provide maximum impact to clients. She integrates her expertise in business and psychology to bring a unique perspective to her work.
Brittany's areas of expertise include team coaching, individual leadership assessment, 360 feedback, and executive coaching, with particular foci in emotional intelligence, executive presence, self-awareness, and career development. She uses a pragmatic, goal-driven process that is built on a collaborative, egalitarian relationship with clients.
Brittany began her career at Mercer, where she worked in the Human Capital practice. While earning her PhD, she served as a career coach and course instructor at Florida State University's world-renowned Career Center. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship with one of the pioneers of executive coaching, Brittany joined a number of consulting firms where she gained experience across a range of industries including: retail, energy, engineering and construction, logistics and transportation, not-for-profit, financial services, and banking. She regularly works with Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 clients.
Brittany holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Florida State University and a bachelor's degree, cum laude in business from Rhodes College. She is an active member of the Society of Consulting Psychology, a Board-Certified Coach, a certified Hogan assessor, and is a licensed psychologist in the states of Louisiana and Texas.
Christy comes to STS with nearly 20 years of leadership, executive coaching, and consulting experience. Her core areas of expertise include individual and team assessment and development, executive-level coaching, succession planning, and the design and implementation of leadership development programs. Christy works with privately held organizations and public corporations across diverse industries, including utilities, real estate, pharmaceutical, insurance, construction, financial services, nuclear, manufacturing, professional services, renewable energy, healthcare, and non-profits.
She is valued for her integrity and credibility and builds long-term, trusted relationships with all of her clients. She has a keen eye for others' potential and advises leaders on how to best leverage and empower all people within an organization. Specifically, she has developed expertise in quickly improving the performance of leaders who must enhance their abilities to meet the requirements of a new role. She is a true partner with her clients and maintains an acute focus on achieving desired business results.
Before joining STS, Christy was a co-founder of Opus Leadership Group, a boutique consulting firm focusing primarily on executive coaching with senior leaders. Christy also worked previously with an international consulting firm specializing in management psychology and executive development. Her previous leadership experience included being a member of a senior leadership team at a State of Colorado agency where she developed and managed new programs and interventions, resulting in recognized best practices. She also consulted with large government agencies regarding effective programming, change implementation, and employee retention.
Christy earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Oklahoma State University. She completed her internship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and is a fellow with the Institute of Coaching, McLean/Harvard Medical School. She was a board member for a Colorado-based credit union and often volunteered for Dress for Success.
Connie Lincoln is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience as a leadership coach, organizational development consultant, and training professional with clients representing the utility, manufacturing, service, health care, construction, agriculture, and energy industries. For the last 24+ years, her consulting business has specialized in the utility and nuclear power industries where she has successfully implemented culture change efforts at over 30 power stations across the US. She has a proven track record in assessing, designing, and implementing changes that lead to improved organizational performance.
Her nuclear experience has included conducting senior team alignment and strategy sessions at plants within SCE, DTE, PG&E, STP, Exelon, PPL, FENOC, Entergy, PSE&G, Duke, and Southern fleets. Other nuclear assignments have included participating in NRC mandated Safety Culture Assessments; several root cause teams on various OE issues; mid-cycle INPO assessments; SCWE and organizational effectiveness assessments with individual work groups; and safety culture and SCWE organizational assessments.
An experienced utility executive coach, Connie brings wisdom and excellent relationship building skills to her work. Prior to her consulting career, Connie specialized in training and development in the healthcare setting. She earned her Master's degree in Education and Bachelor's degree in Social Work from the University of Toledo in Ohio where she is based.
Since 2007, Denise has been working with STS clients to improve leadership effectiveness through assessment and coaching. Her work is grounded in the understanding that organizations are successful when leaders are well positioned to leverage their strengths, manage their challenges, and adapt to the evolving needs of the business. Her ability to provide clear, actionable feedback and the guidance to make meaningful change enables leaders to elevate their impact.
Denise works with large and small organizations in a variety of industries, including energy/utilities, professional services, healthcare, and consumer products. Her work is grounded in helping organizations reach business goals. Her specialties include executive selection, leadership development, and team coaching.
Before her consulting career, Denise worked in the law department for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, leading its global ethics and compliance training program. Before joining Wrigley, Denise was the Vice President of Organizational Development for Near North National Group, an insurance brokerage and financial services firm. So, she has experience working within organizations in management training, employee counseling, performance management, and career development.
Denise received her B.S. in Psychology from Bradley University and her M.A. in Community Counseling from Loyola University Chicago. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois.
Ed Gubman founded Strategic Talent Solutions in 2004 and remained active with the firm through 2009. The firm was formed to advise companies on how to align their business strategies with their leadership talent, organization design and people practices to increase business results. Ed helped build the firm with a number of key clients, some of whom retain close relationships with STS to this day. Many of the key services that STS offers, including leadership assessments, talent inventories, organization design studies, and executive team coaching were created during this period, though they have been refined and improved many times since.
Though retired from consulting, Ed remains a close advisor to STS leadership on issues of strategy, marketing, and personnel. After his 35-year career in consulting, mostly at Hewitt Associates where he started and led its global practice in Talent and Organization, Ed now leads an extremely active retirement. He is a Board member and Chair of the Investment Committee for Wilshire Mutual Funds. He also volunteers for the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center in Rancho Mirage, California, helping it stage its largest fund-raiser. Previously, he was the Executive Editor for the journal People & Strategy for HRPS, led a presidential campaign for a congressional district, served as a Board member for several community organizations and was Board President for both a large social service agency and a community golf and homeowners association.
Ed received his PhD from Cornell University and wrote two best-selling business books, The Talent Solution and The Engaging Leader. He splits his time now between his California home and his Wisconsin lake cabin with his wife Rachel. Their favorite activities revolve around their two wonderful grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Manager, Administrative Services
Jenn Moser brings more than two decades of experience as an administrative professional. Prior to joining STS, her career spanned various sectors, including environmental, security, insurance, and family office environments. She applies a unique combination of business acumen, emotional intelligence, and adept conflict resolution skills, all of which enable her to provide unwavering support to her team.
Jenn's educational achievements include a Master of Arts in Counseling and a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, reflecting her strong commitment to professional development.
In her personal life, Jenn calls the Chicago suburbs home, where she resides with her husband, son, and three beloved dogs. During numerous evenings and weekends throughout the year, you'll often find her either chauffeuring her son to practice or passionately cheering him on from the sidelines of the lacrosse field.
Job Titles:
- Director, Financial & Firm Services
Jennifer joined STS in 2009 and currently serves as the Director of Financial & Firm Services as part of the Leadership Team. Her responsibilities include managing all aspects of the firm's financial reporting, maintaining account receivables and payables, and ensuring overall administrative operations run smoothly and efficiently.
Jennifer is also responsible for contract processing, overseeing the submission of proposals and assisting in meeting client service needs. She is also involved with the development of the STS website and other marketing initiatives.
Prior to joining the firm, Jennifer was a Senior Marketing Associate within the American Girl catalogue division and has also served as the Director of Public Relations for Baum Realty Group. Her business administration background includes working for PwC, as well as serving as the financial manager for a leadership consulting firm, a publishing firm and as the business manager for a psychology practice.
Jennifer graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English.
Born and raised in Chicago, with a brief stint in Madison, WI, Jennifer is proud to call this city her home. She now lives in Hyde Park with her very large Labrador Retriever and reminds her child, who now lives in Portland, OR how great the city by the lake really is.
John joined STS in 2005 and since that time he has helped leaders drive toward improved business results. He consults on a wide variety of topics, including business unit alignment, talent management, and organization design. With an eye toward both individual executive development and team effectiveness, he helped design STS's approach to team coaching.
As part of his consulting practice, he is frequently asked to facilitate leadership meetings when topics are more strategic rather than focused solely on talent management or organization design.
John's individual clients include executives and professionals (physicians, attorneys, and consultants) in for-profit, not-for-profit, and academic settings. He serves Aon, BCU, Consumers Credit Union, Endicott College, First Midwest Bank, The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Guidehouse, Misericordia, Northwestern University, and Summit Credit Union.
Before joining STS, John was a partner at Hewitt Associates. He was an adjunct faculty member of the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Center for Learning and Organizational Change for 14 years. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Illinois College of Law. He was a book review editor for "People and Strategy," the journal of the Human Resources Planning Society.
John holds a B.A. in Journalism from Creighton University and an M.S.J. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Kristy Braden is a seasoned facilitator, coach, and organizational effectiveness consultant who specializes in helping organizations transform individual talent into team results. She is known for her ability to provide bold insight and ask tough questions with uncommon warmth and presence.
Kristy's 25 years of experience in organizational effectiveness and leadership development roles spans several industries with a focus in the pharmaceutical and life sciences areas. In internal roles, she led organization-wide initiatives focused on employee engagement, leadership development, and career development, and acted as a trusted advisor to executives and their leadership teams. For the past six years, her consulting practice has focused on building leadership and organizational effectiveness with a variety of clients including the National Football League, McDonalds, Beam Suntory, Omaha Public Power District, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Cornell University, and Astellas Pharma US.
Kristy brings a pragmatic, immediately applicable approach to her clients that is grounded in solid, research-based theory, resulting in simple, powerful solutions that help leaders, teams, and organizations reach their full performance potential.
Kristy holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and education from Michigan State University, a Master of Arts in adult education from Vermont College, and a certificate in Organization Development from DePaul University. She was trained and certified as a professional coach through the Coaches Training Institute.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Services Associate
Lindsay joined STS in 2021 as an Administrative Services Associate. In this role, she is responsible for supporting the company's consulting and operations team with individual and project scheduling, assisting with programmatic assessment services and marketing efforts, maintaining the company database, and planning of firm and team events.
Prior to joining STS, Lindsay worked as a paralegal for Levy Restaurants, one of the largest food and beverage companies in the country overseeing their alcohol compliance nationwide. Previously, she worked as a project assistant at Kirkland and Ellis, LLP in Chicago in their Intellectual Property department supporting attorneys through various stages of the litigation process.
Lindsay earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Political Science and has a Certificate of Paralegal Studies from Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Lindsay was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and recently moved back with her husband, daughter, and Cavapoo.
Melanie partners with clients to align strategy, develop leaders, and strengthen culture. Specifically, Melanie specializes in organizational assessment, leadership selection and development, safety culture change and integrated talent management. She is passionate about helping organizations to align their people-practices with their organizational values and strategy. She specializes in developing integrated competency-based talent management solutions and coaching leaders throughout implementation.
Over the past 14 years, Melanie has worked with clients to design and deliver leadership development and culture change initiatives to universities, family-owned businesses, Fortune 500 and non-profit organizations in a wide range of industries such as oil & gas, mining, construction, utilities, nuclear, healthcare, interior products, and hospitality. Melanie has deep experience working to strengthen safety culture in high reliability organizations through a focus on leadership. She has consulted throughout the United States, Canada and Australia.
Melanie completed her Master's and Doctorate in School Psychology at the University of Missouri and her Bachelor's at the University of Montana. She has published articles on organizational change and leadership development as well as presented at several national conferences. Melanie served on the Executive Board of the Society of Consulting Psychology (Division 13 of the American Psychological Association) for over a decade and has taught executive education as an adjunct instructor with the Colorado School of Mines.
For more than 20 years, Michele Stowe has built a career around her passion: leadership development. Michele helps individuals, teams, leaders, and organizations create and experience authentic change that empowers them to produce significant and sustainable professional results.
Michele has held executive positions at Fortune 100 companies for almost two decades, in industries ranging from real estate to pharmaceuticals, and served as Chief Operating Officer of Mercy Housing, one of the nation's largest affordable housing organizations. In that role she managed over 150 employees in areas ranging from strategic planning to philanthropy, human resources, information technology, and marketing.
Her experiences helping people grow as leaders, the perspective gained from a multinational career, and the learnings from her diverse positions stoked a professional philosophy that caught fire at Mercy Housing. She created a comprehensive talent management program for the organization that structured everything - from onboarding to succession planning - around the organization's core values.
The fires have burned even higher since Michele has partnered with STS. During her career as an executive coach and consultant, she has led more than 50 clients through a dynamic and thought-provoking process to achieve their leadership development goals. She incorporates research-based approaches that foster creativity and self-discovery. In the end, Michele taps into a client's resourcefulness to help them unearth potential solutions and find a path forward. To keep them on track, she challenges clients by voicing the tough questions that need to be asked.
Michele earned a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and German at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. She is certified by the International Coaching Federation and is also a licensed Hogan Assessment practitioner. Outside of her work, Michele hikes, skis, and coaches a dragon boat team.
Since joining STS in 2021, Nancy Cohen has earned a reputation as a professional who builds strong relationships with leaders who want to grow their careers and help their organizations achieve higher levels of results.
Working as both a consultant and coach in a wide variety of industries and at different levels of organizations, Nancy brings a mixture of warmth, calm, and insight to her engagements.
She has been involved in executive assessments for hire and development, executive coaching, team coaching, high potential programs, and talent reviews. Clients appreciate her eye for detail, project management skills, and results orientation.
Before joining STS, she worked at the Educational Theatre Association, a national nonprofit association supporting theatre education. Also, she was an associate producer for the podcast From Founder to CEO, where she connected with startup founders and created resources to support leadership development for entrepreneurs. She also consulted with organizations in multiple settings on projects relating to leadership development, talent development, talent strategy, and employee engagement.
Nancy received her M.Ed. in Leadership and Organizational Performance at Vanderbilt University. She received her B.A. in International Relations at American University.
Teri is passionate about helping individuals reach their potential and does so through customized coaching and development services. As such, she strives to understand her clients' unique circumstances - their career aspirations, role dynamics, work priorities, and development goals. Teri serves as a trusted partner to her clients, helping individuals raise their professional impact based on the development of a targeted plan and measurable results.
Teri has worked for over 25 years assisting clients within the healthcare, pharmaceutical, financial services, automotive, and publishing industries. She specializes in the areas of leadership development (design and facilitation), executive coaching, competency modeling, and team interventions. Teri is an adjunct professor with the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management where she teaches Strategic Talent Management, and Leading Organizational Change.
Teri earned her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and her B.S. in Applied Psychology from Loyola University Chicago (Magna Cum Laude). She has presented papers nationally to the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology and the American Psychological Society, and has published in the Journal of Business and Psychology. Teri resides in Vernon Hills, Illinois with her husband and two daughters.