Rick Popp

Professional Focus

• Three decades of experience as a leadership consultant; retired human resources executive from a Fortune 15 company
• Extensive expertise in leadership development and HR, including organization design, executive recruitment and succession planning, global HR business operations, human capital strategy, customer call center operations, performance coaching, team dynamics, corporate culture
• Speaker and facilitator of strategic planning sessions to create or reinvent business strategies, restructure organizations, cultivate winning teams and cultures, optimize performance, and develop HR policies & programs
• Author of The Game of a Lifetime: 9 Lessons for Young Athletes (and Everybody Else) to Achieve Real Success in Sports, Career, Family, and Life

Business Expertise

• Independent Leadership Consultant
• Nearly 30 years in leadership roles with Ford Motor Company, most recently Executive Director of Human Resources, North America, Autonomous Vehicles, Electrification, & Global Markets; prior roles included Director of HR, Global Marketing, Sales & Service and Autonomous Vehicle & Electrification; Director of Employee Benefits; various other HR leadership assignments including HR Director, Ford of Mexico
• Multiple board and community leadership roles

Sector Expertise

• Human Resources
• Leadership Consulting
• Automotive
• Manufacturing
• Higher Education
• Board Management
• Healthcare

Education & Certifications

• Master's degree in public administration, with emphasis in personnel and labor relations, from Northern Michigan University
• Bachelor's degree in computer science from Northern Michigan University
• Wharton Fellows Program in eBusiness, Wharton Executive Education, University of Pennsylvania
• Organization Design Institute, Ford Motor Company

Affiliations & Awards

• Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, Northern Michigan University
• Founding Board Member, Xavier DeGroat Autism Foundation
• Former Board of Trustees Member, Northern Michigan University (appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder; twice elected Chair and once Vice Chair)
• Former Board Member, Dentemax, subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Board Member, Camp Sancta Maria, summer youth camp
• Former Board Member, Health Alliance Plan (HAP), non-profit health plan
• Founding and former Board Member, National Institute for Health Care Reform (est. by United Auto Workers and Ford)
• Former Ford Motor Company Representative, Economic Alliance of Michigan
• Former Executive Committee Member, Conference Board Research Council on Employee Benefits