Builders Exchange Rising Leaders Institute

• Increase overall business acumen 
• Learn specific competencies in the areas of strategy, communications, finance/accounting and performance management
• Increase personal effectiveness and organizational leadership skills through application of course content
• Better understand the business operations within the construction industry
• Apply course learning through project work
• Gain construction insights from executive industry experts
• Align individual experience with employer organization through support of/mentoring by a champion

The Rising Leaders Institute consists of 14 sessions, the last two devoted to project presentations and graduation from the Institute. 

Sessions include: 

• Personal Branding: "The Brand You"
• Business Communication - Personal Presentation
• Management and Human Resources: Talent Management Essentials I
• Management and Human Resources: Talent Management Essentials II
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
• Leadership: Using Power and Influence to Get Things Done/BUILD Assessment Debrief
• Making Your Message Memorable: Presentations
• Legal and Ethical Issues in the Construction Industry
• Finance and Operations
• Business Communications - Business Writing
• Organizational Strategy From The Middle
• Project Presentations
• Graduation at the Builders Exchange Annual Meeting

Participants of The Rising Leaders Institute will take part in the BUILD Leadership Assessment during the program to help understand their strengths and weaknesses while developing effective leadership behaviors.

Created in 2017 by researchers at Max M. Fisher College of Business, the BUILD Leadership Model utilizes decades of research and behaviors that have been proven to increase leadership effectiveness.  

The BUILD Leadership Model measures 18 core leadership competencies to lead oneself, to lead groups and teams, and to lead organizations and communities. The BUILD Leadership Assessment is a behaviorally-based instrument designed to help leaders understand opportunities to improve their leadership skills through individual and observer ratings. Upon completion, each student will receive an individualized report that includes a breakdown of their results for each of the BUILD competencies along with recommendations to improve their leadership performance and effectiveness.

Scott LaCross is a Senior Lecturer and the Vice Chair of the Marketing & Logistics Department. Scott's extensive experience spans across academia, strategic consulting and brand management. He is the Director of the Marketing Consulting Projects program, an Academic Director with the Fisher Executive Education program and the Faculty Advisor for the OSU chapter of the American Marketing Association, Cru at OSU, and Beta Upsilon Chi. 

Scott has taught students in a wide range of programs at Fisher including Marketing Consulting Projects, Marketing Strategy, Brand Management, Advertising & Promotional Strategy, WPMBA Marketing Management and the FTMBA Professional Development.

Scott joined the Fisher Marketing & Logistics faculty team in Spring 2013 as an Adjunct Lecturer while also managing his own consulting firm serving companies in the areas of strategic planning, marketing execution, and leadership development. Scott transitioned into a full-time faculty position in Autumn 2016.

Prior to teaching and consulting, Scott held various brand management positions with Sara Lee Corporation and Abbott Nutrition. His experience includes strategic business planning, P&L management, profitability improvement, cross-functional team management, market research design, brand identity and positioning, advertising and promotions development, and new product launches.

Scott earned his MBA from Northern Illinois University and his B.S. in Marketing and Organizational Leadership from Miami University.

Larry Inks, PhD is Clinical Professor of Management and Human Resources in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.  He teaches both undergraduate and graduate level classes in the areas of talent management, organization change and project management, organizational behavior and human resource management, staffing, and statistics and research methods.  He is actively involved in executive education programs and initiatives offered through the Fisher College of Business as well as external consulting and speaking.

Prior to joining the faculty at the Fisher College, Dr. Inks had a very successful career in talent management leadership roles at PepsiCo, AlliedSignal/ Honeywell, and Cardinal Health.  Most recently, Dr. Inks was Vice President of Talent Management for Cardinal Health in Dublin, Ohio from 2001-2005.  His areas of responsibility (among others) included culture management, employee engagement, human resource planning/talent review, leadership development, performance management systems and organization change.  Prior to Cardinal Health, Dr. Inks worked with AlliedSignal as head of Organization and Leadership Development for their Polymers business.  He also worked for a number of years with PepsiCo in both talent management and human resource generalist roles.  In addition, he served on the faculty of the Management Department of the Barton School of Business at Wichita State University, teaching in areas of organization development, organization behavior, human resource management and business decision making and analysis.

Dr. Inks has a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The Ohio State University and a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Purdue University.  He has received a number of teaching and service awards while at The Ohio State University, including the Fisher Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, the Daniel Westerbeck Pace Setters Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence, the Daniel Westerbeck Pace Setters Award for Graduate Teaching Excellence, the Bostic-Georges Pace Setter Award for Faculty Service, and Fisher’s awards for Graduate Teaching Excellence in Management and Human Resources.  He is a three-time recipient of recognition by members of the Sphinx/Mortar Board Senior Class honor society for the faculty/staff member having the greatest impact on the student’s educational experience while at OSU, and in 2015 received Ohio State University’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching (the University’s highest recognition for teaching excellence).

Areas of Expertise

• Talent acquisition
• Culture management and change
• Employee engagement
• Leadership
• Talent development
• Team effectiveness
• Performance management
• Human resource planning
• Organization change and development

Kimberly serves as CEO of Bumbershoot LLC and on the MPS Retail Design Advisory Board. An award-winning executive with an impeccable record of building brands, finding the uncut diamonds, and creating product-based stories. Lee-Minor is a customer-focused brand advocate and marketer with expertise in building seamless, cross-functional life cycle product processes, digital to brick and mortar customer experiences, as well as recruitment, engagement, and retention enhancements.

She leveraged her years of leadership experience to create her company, Bumbershoot, a boutique consulting firm that provides cultural and market insights to help business leaders strategically reposition their cultures for collaboration and inclusivity to provide a welcoming and empowering community for career acceleration of women and people of color; creates content and builds networks for support, enrichment and promotion of niche communities.

Her international professional experience spans from Footlocker Global, Inc, to Brand President of London Fog and Joe Boxer to Lbrands, where she led the $2B Home business.   She is currently CEO of Bumbershoot, LLC, a boutique firm that provides cultural and market insights for inclusive, equitable, and diverse representation across brand, content and customer experience. 

Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and an Executive Certificate in Leadership and Management from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. She has also completed the Inclusive Leadership program at Stanford University. 

Robert B. Lount, Jr. is a Professor of Management and Human Resources in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Michigan State University and his PhD in Management and Organizations from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Professor Lount’s research examines how to promote successful outcomes when people work together by focusing on how to improve motivation, coordination, trust, and negotiation outcomes. His research has been published in leading academic journals and has appeared in popular press outlets such as Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The New York Times. In 2016 he was named as one of Poets & Quants top 40 business school professors under 40.

Professor Lount teaches courses on negotiations and organizational behavior in the Fisher College of Business.  In 2017 he received the Westerbeck Pace Setter award for excellence in graduate teaching. He has also taught courses at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, and at INSEAD in France.

Stephanie Wapner, PhD is a Senior Lecturer, Associate Academic Director of MBA Programs, and Director of Case Competitions at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. She earned her bachelor's degree from Tufts University in Massachusetts and her MBA and PhD from The Ohio State University. 

Professor Wapner's areas of expertise include ethics and leadership, human resource management, motivation, organizational behavior, and power and influence. 

David Thompson is a Senior Lecturer for The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, teaching classes for the undergraduate, MBA and Executive Education programs.  Additionally, he coaches and consults business leaders on change management, leadership, and team effectiveness.

Over the last 25 plus years, David has served in talent development roles in corporations such as Microsoft, NetJets and Resource Interactive. Leading change initiatives such as flexible work arrangements at Microsoft, enhanced performance management programs at NetJets and creating a learning university for Resource Interactive.

David was actively involved in contributing to his profession by serving as the chair of the WorldatWork Work Life board, creating, and delivering certification programs throughout the US and globally, including Hong Kong, South Africa, and the Sultanate of Oman.

Early in his career, David created and led employee wellness programs which were directly tied to reducing health risks with organizations health care plans. These organizations include Montana State University and Purdue University.

David earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Purdue University – with a research emphasis on organizational culture and change, and an MS in Wellness management from Ball State University. His publications include Organizational Culture Change, Introduction to Worklife Effectiveness, The Flexible Workplace (WorldatWork, 2002, 2003), and Seven Levers of Change Effectiveness for Work-Life Effectiveness (WorldatWork Journal. 16(1), 54-61.

On the personal front, David is an avid fly fisher, fishing water across the US, catching and releasing bass, trout (brook, rainbow, brown, steelhead) salmon, snook and tarpon (no bone fish.... yet).