Upcoming Events

October 2 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Zoom Webinar 

As we emerge from the pandemic, organizations have been tasked with revamping their orientation and onboarding programs for the hybrid world. The challenge is how to prioritize employee engagement while accommodating new ways of working and a greater need for operational efficiency.  

In this webinar, HR leaders at Cardinal Health will provide an overview of the organization’s approach to orientation and onboarding for various populations. Adam Zaller, VP, HR Services and Learning, and Jonathan Adams, Manager, HR Business Partner, will share about Cardinal Health’s “Orientation 2.0,” what’s changed since the pandemic, and where they’re heading next. Finally, they’ll discuss their site trainers and the impact of their orientation program on speed to competency in their distribution centers. 

Attendees will gain a better understanding of:

• The importance of a thoughtful approach to post-pandemic onboarding and orientation
• The impact of a strong listening strategy
• How technology can be leveraged to deliver an impactful orientation experience
• The benefits of a distributed site trainer network and the implications on productivity 

Adam Zaller has over twenty years of experience building and leading high-performing HR teams. Throughout Adam’s career, he has been known to be a leader who strategically builds HR organizations that are obsessed about the outcomes of their client groups and urgently build solutions to meet their needs. 

At Cardinal Health, Adam has led the global restructuring and consolidation of the HR Services organization. He has prioritized the use of data and analytics, as well as digital technology through a UX lens to provide differentiated solutions for the organizations that he has served. 

Further, Adam is a talent leader who has built systems and processes to invigorate the talent development culture. At Cardinal Health, Adam has established Digital U, which is the company’s award-winning reskilling solution.

Finally, Adam is passionate about his community, especially the underserved and the marginalized. Over the last seven years, Adam has served on two local boards: Catholic Social Services and the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio. 

Jonathan Adams is currently a Manager, HR Business Partner at Cardinal Health where he partners with leaders and supports teams in the Strategy & Business Development and Supply Chain Operations areas of the Pharmaceutical Segment. 

Jonathan is passionate about the employee experience and has spent the last two and a half years as a member of the Talent Management team. During his time in Talent Management, he held primary responsibilities leading employee engagement & enterprise listening strategy, organizational culture and helped shape the organization’s enterprise Future of Work strategy. He also supported individual & team effectiveness work and serves as a 360, StrengthsFinder and Hogan-certified coach. 

Jonathan holds a bachelor's degree in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master’s in Education from Kent State University, and a Master’s in Human Resources Management from The Ohio State University. 

Register Here

October 8 | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. | In-Person Workshop 

Just dipping your toe into lean? Looking to refresh your knowledge on the basics as you prepare to teach others in your organization?

Join our experienced leader of process improvement initiatives for this interactive workshop that leverages a case study and simulation to highlight foundational principles, practices, tools, and techniques of lean that work in any industry. The simulation will focus on how to create flow in any process through manageable change cycles. Participants will be equipped better to apply and teach the basics of lean, including creating value, eliminating waste, workplace organization, redesigning processes for flow, and visual management. 

David Veech is a senior lecturer in the Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in operational excellence. Highly energetic and engaging, David has made a significant positive impact on the lives of thousands of people through his teaching and his work. He served proudly as an officer in the US Army for 20 years and now focuses on teaching, coaching, and consulting to make people more fearless, more engaged, and more effective at work.   

David has written two best-selling books, taught at four universities, and transformed leaders and organizations in dozens of industries and government agencies.

This is a limited-capacity, in-person only workshop on The Ohio State University campus. The interest form for this experience is now closed. If you are selected to participate, you’ll receive an email by September 17 with additional information. Please contact Wendy Douglass at douglass.162@osu.edu to be added to the waitlist. 

November 6 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Zoom Webinar 

Groundbreaking research from an Ohio State University neuroscientist in conjunction with the U.S Army Special Operations has unlocked the science behind how this community of unconventional warriors thrive in chaos. 

During familiar situations in stable and transparent environments, success comes from plugging data into tested formulas. But during novel situations in volatile and uncertain environments, success requires low-information mental capacities: intuition, imagination, emotion, and commonsense. 

• Intuition perceives emergent threats and opportunities. 
• Imagination creates original plans. 
• Emotion knows the path of personal growth. 
• Commonsense decides wisely. 

Each capacity supports the others. Imagination makes commonsense nimble. Commonsense makes intuition effective. Emotion makes imagination purposeful. Intuition makes emotion perceptive. 

This training, pulled from the collective wisdom of eighty years of special operations, activates the brain’s latent reserves of these four capacities. In scientific trials run by the US Army, the training yielded almost a full standard deviation of improvement, boosting soldiers from normal to high, high to superior, superior to genius. 

In this session, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Gaines will talk about how this new approach came about and how leaders can apply these techniques in their own organizations to compete and win no matter what life throws their way.

Tom Gaines is an active-duty army officer who has spent a decade in special operations solving some of the nation’s hardest problems. Through this experience, he has learned what it takes to adapt and win in the most challenging environments on the planet. Now, Tom is on a mission to help others rediscover their own creativity, resilience, and leadership abilities. His writing on creativity, decision-making, and technology can be found in The Chicago Booth Review, Harvard Business Review, and West Point’s Modern War Institute.

Register Here

November 18 | 12 – 1:30 p.m. | In-Person Mini Workshop 

Join the Center for Operational Excellence and Fisher’s Office of Career Management for Brick by Brick: Building OpEx Connections, an exclusive event designed to strengthen relationships between Fisher students and industry professionals in COE’s membership community.

This dynamic gathering will offer a unique opportunity to engage in a hands-on mini workshop focused on operational excellence principles. The event will feature facilitated networking and Lego building activities to ignite your creativity and foster friendly competition. 

• Collaborate with peers and industry leaders to solve challenges, share insights, and innovate together—one brick at a time.
• Enjoy a pizza lunch while you connect with others in a relaxed and engaging atmosphere.
• Build your own Lego mini-me!

Whether you’re a student looking to make industry connections or a professional eager to find your next great hire, Brick by Brick is the perfect event to build, connect, and grow. 

This event is open to undergraduate and graduate Fisher students and all COE member company employees, but space is limited. 

Agenda:

• 12-12:30 | Pizza Lunch
• 12:30-1:30 | Mini Workshop and Facilitating Networking Activities 

This is a limited-capacity, in-person only event on the Fisher College of Business campus. Please submit your interest using the appropriate interest form below. Student spots will be filled in the order in which interest form submissions are received. COE member spots will be filled using the interest form in coordination with COE board representatives. If you have been selected to participate, you’ll receive an email by October 28 with additional information. 

COE Members: Submit Interest Here

Students: Submit Interest Here

Save the Date

December 6, 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Artificial Intelligence Event (Hybrid - live in the Blackwell Ballroom or via Zoom)

January 8, 9 - 11:30 a.m. | Women's Leadership Forum (Hybrid - live in the Fawcett Center or via Zoom)

April 8 -10 | COE Summit 2025