Ronald Ashkenas

Ron Ashkenas is an emeritus partner of Schaffer Consulting, in Stamford, Connecticut, and a leading voice on organizational transformation, leadership, simplification, innovation, and merger integration. Ron's clients have included many of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as prominent financial, and governmental organizations such as Cisco Systems, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pfizer, Merck, The World Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Zurich Financial Services, and ConAgra Foods. Ron also consults with start-ups and non-profits. Ron was part of the original team that collaborated with then-CEO Jack Welch to develop GE's WorkOut approach for creating a faster, simpler, and more nimble organization. He also helped to develop GE Capital's approach to acquisition integration. Ron is the author of "Simply Effective: How to Cut Through Complexity in Your Organization and Get Things Done" (Harvard Business School Press, 2010), as well as the co-author of "Rapid Results!" (Jossey-Bass, 2005), "The GE Work-Out" (McGraw-Hill, 2002), "The Boundaryless Organization" (Jossey-Bass, 1995 and 2002), and "The Boundaryless Organization Field Guide" (Jossey-Bass, 1999). His latest book, co-authored with Brook Manville, is the "Harvard Business Review Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level" (2018). In addition to his books, Ron's publications include dozens of articles. Seven were published by the Harvard Business Review, including 'Making the Deal Real: How GE Capital Integrates Acquisitions', 'Why Good Projects Fail Anyway', and "Simplicity Minded Management". Ron also has written numerous digital articles for Harvard Business Review On-Line and Forbes.com. Ron received his BA from Wesleyan University, his EdM from Harvard University, and his PhD in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University, where he has also held several teaching assignments. He has served as an executive in residence at the Haas School at the University of California Berkeley, and has been on the faculty of executive development programs around the world.