Chris Howard is a Generation Xer, son of baby Boomers and the father of two
Millennials. His career path has taken him from active duty with the US Air
Force to the corporate arena to the university classroom, providing ample
opportunity to interact with every generation at every level of the work world.
Currently a leadership professor at the University of Oklahoma, Howard is
challenged daily to convince
Millennials that Aristotle, King and Twain remain relevant today even if they
aren't featured characters on either X-Box or Play Station.
A frequent speaker to audiences of all ages, Howard has shared his message of
leadership with numerous organizations including McKinsey & Company, the
Oakland Public School District by invitation of the mayor, the Jim Thorpe
Foundation and the Tuskegee Airman Association. He is able to quickly connect
with his audience to deliver a clear message, including tactical suggestions
that can have an immediate impact back at the office. Howard has also played an
advisory role on numerous boards for both for-profit and not-for-profit
organizations, bringing multiple
generations together to work toward a common goal. This is the message he
continues to provide, complete with personal experiences and anecdotes gleaned
from his diverse professional career.
One of the highlights of his career was being selected by the CEO of
Bristol-Myers Squibb to participate in an accelerated general management
program. Through the program he excelled in sales, marketing, strategic
planning and international project management, including work on a $100 Million
HIV/AIDS initiative in southern Africa (www.securthefuture.com). Following this
experience, he founded the Impact Young Lives Foundation
(www.iylfoundation.org), a non-profit that provides scholarship,
mentor and travel opportunities for disadvantaged South African students.
Howard also effectively lead numerous inter-generational teams as an executive
at General Electric's Corporate Initiatives Group.
Howard has written on a variety of topics and been published in Pharmaceutical
Executive, Naval Proceedings, Converge (University of Cape Town's Business
School journal) and contributed to The Best Entrance Exams for Harvard Business
School and the Council on Foreign Relations Roundtable on Bush's Preemption
Policy. He has also been featured in JET magazine, the Dallas Morning News, USA
Today the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, and Talk Radio 702 in
Johannesburg.
Shunning the Gen X slacker image, Chris Howard was a distinguished graduate
from the US Air Force Academy, earned his MBA from Harvard Business School with
Distinction, was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University where he earned a
doctorate in Politics and is a member of the Verizon Academic All-American Hall
of Fame.
