GARDINER ASSOCIATES - Key Persons

Dennis O'Neill has been enhancing individual and organizational performance through the application of the behavioral sciences for more than thirty years. He is currently in private practice as an Executive Coach. His success as a C-Suite coach has evolved through years of experience and is based on the breadth and expertise of his earlier preparation as a leadership trainer, business researcher, psychometrician, organizational development practitioner, and as a senior executive himself. Dr. O'Neill has assessed and coached hundreds of senior executives in many industries and corporations. He has led the assessment, selection, coaching, and retention initiatives for senior managers in succession planning, acquisitions, and reorganizations on four continents. Dennis' credentials, qualifications, and experience are specific to coaching business executives; he is not a psychotherapist. His coaching clients appreciate this difference as they benefit from his focus on accurate assessment followed by well-defined action steps designed to quickly and positively impact how they are perceived by others. He understands the importance of working within the sensitivities of his client's company culture. He pinpoints risk factors for ‘career derailers' based on executive-level scenarios and psychometrics. Many clients have remarked that he has quickly been able to present them with meaningful feedback in fresh ways that were frank, quantified, optimistic, future-focused, and behavioral. For Dennis, the executive coaching process is not about changing personalities. Because others form their assumptions about our personalities based on their observations of our behaviors, changing a few strategically selected behaviors will often begin to enhance how others experience us. He is known for helping his clients target those few and significant behaviors that both a) the individual can personally change, and b) which are likely to be the most effective when perceived by others. From 2001 to 2014, Dennis served as the Executive Director of Leadership and Organization Development for Purdue Pharma, a family-owned pharmaceutical company in Stamford, CT with annual sales exceeding $2.5 billion. All human resources development functions reported to him. Dennis has held similar positions at New York Life, IBM, ITT, Warner-Lambert, and Champion International.

Job Titles:

• President, PsyCor, Inc. Executive Assessment Psychologist

Dr. Hoffer helps clients reduce hiring and promotion errors and accelerate the effectiveness and integration of newly hired or promoted leaders in every functional area from entry-level professional positions to the boardroom. He has done this in organizations ranging from entrepreneurial enterprises to Fortune 50 Global Corporations. He has served multiple clients for over 35 years in these economic sectors: Consumer, Energy, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, Professional Services, Telecommunications, and Utilities. Dr. Hoffer's extensive experience in assessing the suitability of internal and external executive candidates includes well over 1500 in-depth individual assessments and participation in numerous high-level assessment centers. Dr. Hoffer integrates the results of highly respected, professionally developed and validated assessment measures with his in-depth, behavior-based interviews to capture the executive's unique capabilities, motivations and leadership behaviors to inform conclusions and recommendations. He is a highly skilled, action-oriented executive coach and advises a wide range of leaders on matters of individual and team effectiveness. Prior to establishing PsyCor, Inc., he was a Staff Psychologist for the Industrial Services Division of The Psychological Corporation, an Officer in the United States Air Force, and a Research Consultant to the Army Research Institute. Dr. Hoffer earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University, an MA from Bucknell University, and a BA from Wheaton College. He is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania, a member of the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. For the past 15 years he has taught Psychological Assessment in Organizational Settings as an adjunct faculty member of the graduate program in psychology at LaSalle University.

Job Titles:

• President
• President / / Management and Organizational Development Leader

Steve S. Gardiner is President of Gardiner Associates, a third generation management development firm. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, he carries on the ninety one year family tradition of assisting individuals and organizations in building their capabilities. The firm specializes in leadership development, conflict resolution, team performance improvement, change management and "rapid coaching". Prior to relaunching Gardiner Associates, Steve spent thirteen years at a $2 billion pharmaceutical company, where, as Senior Director of Management and Organizational Development, he created and conducted leadership programs for every level of the organization. He earned a solid reputation for improving departmental and team performance through his energetic and immediately impactful team building sessions. In addition, he constructed a "rapid coaching" process that equipped clients with the capacity to accelerate their development. Steve is the four-time Chair of the Leadership Forum at Silver Bay, the country's longest running leadership conference. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of a family camp in Bear Mountain, NY.

Job Titles:

• Managing Partner, McKnight Kaney, LLC.

Tom's coaching work is distinguished by an integration of his experience as a senior executive, his background in developing leaders and his expertise in organizational behavior. His core belief is that a leader can only lead others as far as they have developed themselves-what Tom calls "inside out leadership." Tom also emphasizes that effective development must combine improved leadership capabilities, positive behavioral change, and enhanced business acumen. The depth and breadth of Tom's senior executive experience, consulting and coaching background enables him to quickly understand and support executives across a wide range of leadership challenges including: improving performance in current roles, developing leaders for larger or new roles, successor and high potential development, new leader on-boarding and accelerated development, leadership assessment and facilitating career transition. Tom also specializes in executive team development and team coaching. He is certified in the application a suite of psychological and leadership assessment methods and instruments.