J. Robert Carleton, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer
Bob Carleton is a Founding Partner and the CEO of Vector Group, Inc. He has worked in both the public and private sectors and has extensive experience as both a manager and consultant. Mr. Bob Carleton’s career represents almost 40 years of experience and he is an internationally recognized authority in organizational performance and effectiveness.
The International Society for Performance Improvement recently honored Bob in presenting him with the prestigious Geary Rummler Award for the Advancement of Performance Improvement during THE Performance Improvement Conference commemorating the Society’s 50th anniversary in Toronto, April 20-23, 2012.
Bob is a global thought leader and pioneer in the emerging field of cultural due diligence and its application in successful M & A integrations. He also has a lengthy record of achievements in turning around underperforming organizations and bringing them to the top of their respective industries with companies such as GM, Honeywell-Bull, Prudential Assurance, British Airways and Square D Company. He is an expert in organizational analysis and design, leadership and executive team development. As an accomplished author and speaker, he is highly sought after and invited to international conferences and symposiums.
Bob gained significant international experience across numerous industries leading organizational transformations and bringing competitive advantage. He directs large-scale change initiatives and implements global strategies. Described as having one of the keenest analytical minds and a true systems thinker, he identifies complex organizational problems and creates innovative solutions while aligning strategy, infrastructure and culture achieving dramatic results. He is particularly skilled as a facilitator in building executive teams and achieving enterprise success by leveraging individual and collective capabilities. His integrity is impeccable and recognized by other leaders in the field of organizational and human performance.
He consistently delivered measurably improved organizational performance while implementing significant organizational change. He created the concept and published the first paper on Cultural Due Diligence (CDD) to increase success in mergers, acquisitions and alliances in 1997. With Claude Lineberry, he authored Achieving Post-Merger Success: A Stakeholders Guide to Cultural Due Diligence, Assessment and Integration, Jossey-Bass/ John Wiley, 2004. He and Lineberry also co-authored Organizational Culture Change and Analysis of Corporate Culture for the Handbook of Human Performance Technology, Volumes 1 and 2 (Jossey Bass, 1992 & 1999). HRD Press published his newest book, Implementing Organizational Performance Improvement in Organizations, in 2010.
Bob turned around British Airways WorldCargo (freight division) reversing a 10 year record of high cost and meager profits. BA WorldCargo 5,000 person operation was languishing in spiraling costs and failing in its global strategy to deliver cargo as promised. He led the organizational analysis determining driving causes. He conceptualized and implemented a multi-faceted series of interventions geared to improve processes, improve profits and drive down costs. He drove for results from the shop floor to the executive suite gaining the full commitment of organizational members improving cargo delivery 200%.
He reduced the cost of sales 165%+ for Prudential Assurance Retail Services while increasing sales channels. The cost of sales was soaring astronomically at 2.65: 1. The recently hired managing director of this 8,000 member sales division invited Bob and Vector Group to investigate and rectify the situation. Bob directed concurrent projects building the infrastructure to support attainment of strategic goals. Bob led an international faculty in delivering Leadership Mandate, a residential leadership development program for the top 500 sales managers designed to transform the sales organization. He was instrumental in building internal resources to carry on sustained change through a knowledge transfer and development of a “SWAT Team” or an organizational effectiveness team.
He achieved a $13M increase in profitability for Community Mutual Insurance Company (CMIC) through improved operations. As one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies in the US with 3,300employees and 350 managers, CMIC was experiencing dramatic competition and loss of business. Bob transformed the organization, improved operations, developed management capabilities while reducing complacency and creating a sense of urgency. The Vector project team under Bob’s guidance and leadership achieved improvement in 32 management practices for 350 managers. An internal audit showed a 600+% return on investment with an additional $8M benefit related to behavior change
Carleton is a past president and founding director of the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction. He served on the ASTD Professional Standards Task Force, and was a member of the Board of Electors for the HRD Hall of Fame.
Endorsements
“Bob Carleton is among the very few genuine global gurus in the field of organisational effectiveness and systemic organisational change. I’ve known Bob for more than 10 years as my mentor, and his knowledge and insight are world class. He is the author of “Achieving Post-Merger Success”, and I would recommend Bob to ANYONE without hesitation.” Bruce Milroy, Owner, ethos consulting (Scotland, UK)
“I’ve known Bob for more than 30 years. First, he is a person of great integrity. He is also one of the best minds in the field of human-systems analysis and change-well informed and current in his practices. He is a fine writer, delightful presenter, and a good team player.” William Daniels, Owner, American Consulting & Training, Inc.
“I have worked with Bob Carleton (Vector Group) a number of times over the last fifteen years. He has consistently orchestrated enterprise level change in domestic and international settings with measurable impact on business profitability.” Cliff Feigelson. Senior M & A Manager, Microsoft
“Bob has presented to my MBA classes several times. His material is excellent and his approach and conclusions enlightening. Cultural Due Diligence is an area that business leaders should understand. Done well, it can prevent bad mergers and make good ones work better and deliver results faster.” Hunt Lambert
“I’ve worked with Bob Carleton since 1989. His expertise and insight provided sterling direction in some excellent work we’ve done together across the globe. He is the best in the business of organizational effectiveness, performance and systems thinking. His profound intellect and integrity help him build capacity to make a difference in organizations. I owe much of my professional success to him and I am proud to be his business partner.” Gary Craig, Managing Partner, Vector Group, Inc.