Email: brian.hults@mason.wm.edu
Program: Online MBA
Credentials:
Ph.D., Industrial / Organizational Psychology, Michigan State University
Master of Management, Northwestern University
MA, Instrustrial / Organizational Psychology, Michigan State University
BA, General Psychology, University of California at San Diego
Area: Leadership
Expertise: Operating Model Design, Business Capability Management, Managing Change, International Business Human Resources
Brian Hults had a 30+ year career leading human resources in the United States, Asia, and Europe for companies like Coca-Cola, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Case/International Harvester, and Newell Brands. His last role was as the Chief People Officer at Web.com, a $1B, 3000 employee global technology firm in Jacksonville, Florida.
He specialized in helping businesses adapt their operating and capability models to changing customer, market, and social demands. In his role, he typically designed the global change process, managed the process, and coached the company’s leaders on how to guide their employees through the changes.
As an example, in the early 1990s 100 small farms a day were closing and being replaced by large, corporate farms. Brian helped Case / IH change their go to market model, redefine their capabilities, and redesign the business model to support the point of sale. As a result, net sales rose $440M on a $3B base while fixed costs were reduced by 43%.
In a similar fashion, Brian helped the $2B Office Product Group of Newell Brands achieve 11 consecutive quarters of mid-single digit top line growth and double-digit bottom-line growth after a decade of declining sales.
He has also applied this approach to internal operating processes. He turned around the Novartis shared services organization achieving a 25% increase in both customer satisfaction and employee morale. At Web.com, he helped the business maintain flat healthcare costs in an 8% inflationary environment while simultaneously improving employee benefits and health outcomes.
For the last 4 years, Brian has been teaching Leadership OD in the University of Maryland Online MBA program. He recently received their highest teaching award across both the undergraduate and graduate schools.
Brian is honored to become a member of the William and Mary Mason School of Business Community and will do everything he can to uphold the high standards of the University.