Bronwyn Poole

As a change management professional with more than 15 years of consulting experience, Bronwyn Poole helps leaders engage employees to implement major transitions in business strategy and achieve results. Her expertise includes change program design and management, merger integration, culture assessment, organization redesign, change leadership development and strategic internal communications. Collaboration and client team development are hallmarks of her approach. Her industry experience includes chemicals, energy, financial services, high tech, manufacturing, professional services, pharmaceuticals and transportation.

Bronwyn led the global change management and integration communications team for BASF’s $5+ billion acquisition of Engelhard Corporation. She advised senior executives on merger integration challenges, organization changes and employee engagement. She also provided guidance and project management for the integration of the communications function, assisted HR with the communication of changes to employee benefit programs and policies and facilitated open dialogue sessions with leaders and employees to gather feedback and measure progress.

To support the transition of Abbott Laboratories’ $7 billion international business into two separate divisions, Bronwyn developed the change management strategy and detailed work plan for the client’s transition team to communicate globally about the growth strategy and build the desired culture in alignment with core values. She developed a manager’s guide for implementing organizational changes, provided guidance on business process changes, assisted with the relocation of division headquarters and planned employee celebrations around the world to launch the new Abbott Nutrition division.

To sustain its profitable growth in a consolidating commodity industry, CEMEX, a top global cement company, partnered with Bronwyn on a variety of business transformation efforts. Over a three-year period, her work included program management to facilitate enterprise-wide systems implementation, communications and training to launch a human resources call center for Latin America, delivery of change leadership training and global assessment of the culture. This work culminated in the design and pilot of an integrated culture change program to increase business literacy, collaboration, innovation and customer focus.

Bronwyn partnered with top executives to facilitate the successful global merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand via a strategic communications program targeted to the new firm’s professional staff. Post merger, she led a multi-project global program with the firm’s global IT function to facilitate cultural integration, assess and revise HR strategies, define global competencies, align leadership and develop global communications capabilities. This integrated approach led to increased customer satisfaction and retention of critical talent.

To help manage double-digit growth, a division of DSM, a global chemical company, sought expertise in culture change. Bronwyn’s role included identifying customer needs, aligning leadership, redesigning the organization into cross-functional, customer-focused teams and training staff company-wide to demonstrate new strategic behaviors. The result was sustained annual revenue growth of over 25 percent in a competitive industry and successful global expansion.

Previously, Bronwyn worked with Sibson Consulting, Towers Perrin and The Wyatt Company.

Education:
Wesleyan University, B.A., English
Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, M.B.A.