Ronald N. Ashkenas

For more than three decades, Ron Ashkenas has helped organizations cut through complexity and get things done. As an emeritus partner of Schaffer Consulting in Stamford, Connecticut, he is widely regarded as a leading voice on organizational transformation, executive leadership, and simplification, the same practical expertise at the heart of Ron's books. Ron's clients have included many Fortune 500 companies alongside prominent financial and governmental organizations, including Cisco Systems, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pfizer, Merck, The World Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Zurich Financial Services, and ConAgra Foods. He also works with start-ups and non-profits navigating their own growth and complexity. Early in his career, Ron was part of the original team that worked alongside then-CEO Jack Welch to build faster, simpler, and more nimble organizations through GE's WorkOut approach, and he helped shape GE Capital's approach to acquisition integration. In addition to Simply Effective: How to Cut Through Complexity in Your Organization and Get Things Done (Harvard Business Review Press), Ron is the co-author of Rapid Results!, The GE Work-Out, The Boundaryless Organization, The Boundaryless Organization Field Guide, and the Harvard Business Review Leader's Handbook. Ron has also written dozens of articles, including seven for Harvard Business Review, among them “Making the Deal Real: How GE Capital Integrates Acquisitions,” “Why Good Projects Fail Anyway,” and “Simplicity Minded Management,” along with numerous pieces for Harvard Business Review Online and Forbes. Ron holds a BA from Wesleyan University, an EdM from Harvard University, and a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University, He has served as an executive in residence at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and has taught in executive development programs worldwide.