Region: North America

Oseas Ramírez Assad is an entrepreneur and corporate innovation expert. He started his career as a CIO for one of Jalisco’s largest newspapers at age 18. He then worked as a CTO and eventually obtained his degree as a family counselor. This eclectic background set the stage for him to become the founder of one of Mexico’s largest e-learning providers.

Oseas then obtained his MBA, studying in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. This opened up the opportunity to join Cisco Systems, in the heart of Silicon Valley. While at Cisco, he was in charge of the development of the top 2 percent of senior managers worldwide. While in that position, he led the creation of Startup//Cisco, an internal innovation program that draws from startup innovation best practices — such as Lean Startup and Design Thinking — to help internal Cisco teams accelerate their innovation efforts. Finally, he was in charge of the co-innovation strategy for Cisco’s global network of innovation centers.

Oseas works with Fortune 500 corporate senior leaders to accelerate innovation in their organizations. He also sits on the board of his e-learning company, a boutique venture capital fund and an innovation consulting company.

Oseas has been recently announced as Axialent’s new CEO. He will be guiding the company to explore and develop new channels and to keep helping companies from new markets and industries connect to their purpose and have a positive impact on more people.

Albert Durig is a seasoned management consulting professional specializing in executive leadership development, cultural change management and strategic planning. Over the past two decades, he has worked with numerous leadership teams and developed long-term visions and short-term execution programming with senior-level leadership teams.

In the past, Albert held positions as president of United States operations for Axialent as well as chairman of Burson-Marsteller’s technology practice for both Latin America and the United States, director of Mexican operations for Retail Planning Associates, and general manager of L.I.A. Limited’s Caribbean operations.

Albert has published numerous articles in several countries, including the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. His publishing and public speaking endeavors have focused on corporate communications, leadership in times of change and business agility.

Some other companies Albert has worked with include Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Motorola, VISA, Glidden, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), LAN, TAM, UNFPA, Hewlett-Packard, NCR, Sun Microsystems, SAP, Qualcomm, Comercial Mexicana, Banco Mexicano, BanPais, Banco Internacional, Banco del Sureste, Playtex, the Mexican Ministry of Culture, the Mexican Ministry of Tourism, the National Museum of American Art, a Smithsonian Institution, and the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property.

Albert received his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and his Master of Arts degree in sociology with an emphasis in statistics and research methodology from the University of Louisville. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Today, Albert lives with his wife and two children in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Michelle is an international culture consultant, executive coach and dynamic facilitator. She is a strategist on large-scale organizational change initiatives, partnering with senior executives and their teams to accelerate business results through organizational culture and leadership transformation. 

Michelle has 15 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, privately held companies and non-profit organizations across North and South America, Europe, and Asia.  She is a contributing author to the anthology, Compassion@Work: Creating Workplaces that Engage the Human Spirit.  She has worked with organizations such as Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Lexmark, Western Union, Cisco, Cigna, Cardtronics, Nationwide Insurance, Brown-Forman, The Council of State Governments, Blue Grass Community Foundation, The Weekly Juicery and others. 

Michelle is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) credentialed through the International Coaches Federation. She is a graduate of the Coaches Training Institute’s intensive Leadership program.  She holds a Masters of Education in Curriculum Development from Lesley University.  Michelle is certified in Life Styles Inventory, Life Styles Inventory with Item Level Feedback (360), Organizational Culture Inventory, Organizational Effectiveness Inventory as well as extensive training in yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices.

Michelle began her career in multicultural education before transitioning to coaching, consulting and entrepreneurship. She is an award-winning teacher, yoga enthusiast and proud mother of two.

Founding Partner of Axialent, Richi is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years in global organizations and extensive experience in leadership development, organizational effectiveness and the corporate world.

During his tenure with Axialent, Richi worked with senior leaders and their teams, coaching and facilitating processes that helped these teams significantly improve their own and their organizations’ performance. He is also a culture expert and helps clients develop the behaviors, symbols and systems required to accomplish the desired business strategies.

Richi made career strides during his years of work for EDS, a global IT services enterprise. As a senior vice president for human resources in Latin America, he led a culture transformation effort for the top leaders, personally coaching and mentoring the senior executives of the region. The sales growth and total contract value increase were outstanding, and EDS Latin America became an icon of success in EDS global.

After earning a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, Richi participated in IDEA’s Executive Business Program, an experience that enriched his practical skills in conscious business philosophy related to coaching, teaching and facilitation.

Richi is an intense sportsman and has participated in several international marathons, holding three 05’ mark in the 26.2 miles. Among his many outdoor activities, Richi also runs adventure races and eco-challenges in teams, experiencing teamwork to the maximum. One of his accomplishments in outdoor sports has been summiting Aconcagua. Richi works at integrating the physical, cognitive and spiritual realms into a successful and balanced life.

He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with his wife and daughter. He has three older boys living in Europe and Argentina.

Timothy (Tim) has developed his professional career through more than 30 years in senior leadership positions, including 10 years as CEO, in the fields of consumer packaged goods, life sciences and management consulting.

Tim is a consultant at Axialent, as well as the managing partner at Efficax, a high-level executive coaching and consulting firm in Los Angeles, California and a senior partner at KC&D, a management-consulting firm focused on strategy and strategy execution. He specializes in providing solutions and coaching to top-level executives in industry-leading companies.

Tim is certified as an executive coach by the Hudson Institute of Coaching in Santa Barbara by ICI, CCL and ICF (ACC). He is an elected director (International Relations) of ICF Brazil.

In his roles as president at Ducoco Alimentos S.A. and business unit head for Medical Nutrition (Brazil at Novartis), Tim led organizational and divisional restructuring and change management. His management experience also includes serving as president of Bacardi-Martini do Brazil Ltda. and as general manager for Budweiser Brazil Ltda./Anheuser-Busch International, for four years each. In addition, Tim held a number of positions in business development, marketing, product management and sales early in his career.

Tim is a professor of leadership development and strategy at Insper and other leading business schools. He serves on the Board of Directors for Hospital Samaritano and ESPM Consult, among others.

With a Bachelor of Science in economics from Lehigh University, Tim also holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from New York University.

Tim is married and has two lovely daughters. He is fully dedicated to and extremely proud of this loving and caring family. In his free time, Tim enjoys running, reading, traveling and rooting for his favorite soccer and football teams.

Lisa, Ed.D., is Axialent’s advisor in personal and organizational transformation. Together with long-time collaborator Robert Kegan, Ph.D., she is credited with a breakthrough discovery of a hidden dynamic, the “immunity to change,” which impedes transformation. For more than 20 years, Lisa and Robert have studied why people struggle to make the changes that would significantly improve their lives and repeatedly fail at it: from losing 10 pounds to becoming better leaders, through eating healthier food or quitting a bad habit. By means of a step-by-step, deep soul-searching methodology, Lisa and Robert guide people to close the gap between their good intentions and their behaviors.

Executives, senior teams and individuals are now using this work in business, governmental and educational organizations in the United States, Europe and Asia. It has also recently expanded its reach through the Immunity to Change MOOC, Harvard Graduate School of Education’s first MOOC to be taken by any individual through the EdX online platform. Lisa and Robert recently received the Gislason Award for exceptional contributions to organizational leadership, joining past recipients Warren Bennis, Peter Senge and Edgar Schein. In 2013, they received the Vision of Excellence Award from Harvard’s Institute of Coaching.

Lisa is also co-director of Minds at Work, a consulting firm serving businesses and institutions around the world, and on the faculty at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She is also regularly asked to present her work throughout the world, most recently in Australia, China, Kazakhstan and New Zealand. Her seminal books, “How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work” (2001) and “Immunity to Change” (2009) have been published in many languages. Lisa has been on the faculty of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Conference and had her work featured in the Harvard Business Review; The New York Times Sunday business section; O, The Oprah Magazine and Fast Company.

For the past several years, Lisa has served as a trusted advisor and executive coach to leaders in the private and public sectors worldwide. A passionate pianist and hiker, Lisa lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons.

Dr. Rajendra S. Sisodia is Axialent’s advisor in Conscious Capitalism. Author of “Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose,” co-founder and co-Chairman of the Conscious Capitalism Institute, Raj has devoted his work to the dissemination of the conscious capitalism principles and philosophy through his academic, writing, speaking and consulting endeavors. He is now focused on expanding the movement globally with chapters in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Singapore and India.

In 2003, he was named to the “Guru Gallery” by the Chartered Institute of Marketing and was described as one of “50 Leading Marketing Thinkers”. Four years later he received the “Excellence in Scholarship” award and in 2008 the “Innovation in Teaching” award from Bentley University. He was also named one of ten “Outstanding Trailblazers of 2010” by Good Business International, and one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America for 2010 and 2011. As a leading figure in the Conscious Capitalism movement, Raj is an expert in corporate strategy and leadership, globalization, stakeholder management, marketing strategy, marketing ethics, relationship marketing and marketing productivity.

He has consulted with and taught executive programs for numerous companies, including AT&T, Nokia, LG, DPDHL, POSCO, Siemens, Sprint, MCI, Volvo, IBM, Ernst & Young, Walmart, McDonald’s and Southern California Edison. He has led programs in North and South America, Europe, and Asia and is also a frequent and well-admired keynote speaker. Raj held over 500 presentations on Conscious Capitalism at leading universities, corporations and other organizations around the world. He was Trustee Professor of Marketing and founding director of the Center for Marketing Technology at Bentley University and is now F.W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College.

Raj has an MBA in marketing from the Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Bombay. He also holds a Ph.D. in marketing and business policy from Columbia University. He has published seven books and over 100 articles in prestigious business journals. His book “Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose” was named as named one of the best business books of 2007 and has been translated into seven languages. In 2012 he published the book “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business” (with John Mackey, founder & CEO of Whole Foods Market), a New York Times bestseller.

He lives in Lexington, MA. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, sports and music.

Shauna received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, graduating summa cum laude. She received her Master of Arts degree in clinical psychology (1998), and her Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical psychology (2001) from the University of Arizona. She conducted her postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (2002 ­– 2003). In addition to her formal education, she has received extensive professional training in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (2002) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (1997, 1999, 2000), and studied mindfulness meditation in monasteries in Nepal and Thailand.

Shauna is a tenured professor at Santa Clara University’s graduate department of counseling psychology (2003 – present) and is the recipient of the American Council of Learned Societies teaching award, acknowledging her outstanding contributions to graduate education. Shauna has also held faculty positions at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (2008 – present) and the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical Center (2000 – 2004).

Shauna’s research and clinical work focuses on the application of mindfulness to developing greater health and well-being. Her work has addressed the effects of mindfulness on the individual as well as its implications at a global level. Shauna’s extensive clinical research has investigated the effects of mindfulness training across a wide array of populations, examining the impact of mindfulness in medicine, psychology, education, business and law.

Dr. Shapiro lectures and leads mindfulness training programs internationally and has been invited to present for the King of Thailand, the Danish Government Centre for Development of Human Resources, Andrew Weil’s Integrative Medicine program, and the World Council for Psychotherapy, Beijing, China. She has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and is co-author of the critically acclaimed text, The Art and Science of Mindfulness and the forthcoming text, Mindful Discipline: A loving approach to raising an emotionally intelligent child. Dr. Shapiro’s work has been featured in WIRED, USA TODAY, Oxygen, Yoga Journal and American Psychologist.