"Sponsors [as opposed to leaders] represent one or more senior executives who 'legitimize' the change. These individuals have the power, vision, sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo, and appreciation of the resources and commitment needed in order to lead the change,"
- Juanita Boyd Hardy, The Road to Successful Business Transformation: Sponsorship is Key
Juanita Boyd Hardy
Juanita Boyd Hardy is Founder and Managing Principal of Tiger Management Consulting Group, LLC. She has over 35 years of experience leading complex business transformation initiatives, including 31 years with IBM where she retired in 2005. Ms. Hardy’s core competency is helping organizations achieve breakthrough performance through strategic planning, business process improvement, change management and leadership development. Ms. Hardy has worked extensively with US clients in the federal, state, and local government, and some private sector businesses in information technology, insurance, health and finance. She has also worked internationally in Asia, Australia, and South America. She led the development of The Doing Business in China Tool Kit for Business Leaders, designed to help US companies successfully enter and thrive in the China market and collaborated with US and China business associates on its packaging and delivery.
Education and Certifications
Ms. Hardy holds a bachelors degree in Mathematics and did graduate work in Operations Research at George Washington University. She has participated in numerous IBM education programs, including its prestigious The President’s Class taught by Harvard Business School. She is an alumnus of the University of Maryland Baltimore County AcTivate Program for women entrepreneurs in technology (2006). Ms. Hardy holds certifications through IBM’s Professional Consultant Certification Program and the Inside-Out Coaching Organization. Ms. Hardy was a professor at IBM’s Executive Consulting Institute in Palisades, NY where she taught consulting methodologies to principals and consultants worldwide.
Professional Affiliations
Ms. Hardy is Immediate Past Chair of the Advisory Council for the Women’s Council on Energy in the Environment (WCEE) and served as its first Advisory Council chair during 2008. Ms. Hardy is a former member of the Board of Directors for AmericaSpeaks and chaired its Board Development Committee (2007-2009). She was an IBM sponsor representative to Women Executives in State Government (WESG), and served as chair of its Sponsor Advisory Council.
Publications and Appearances
Ms. Hardy is a 2010 honoree for the Washington Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader Award. Ms. Hardy has authored and presented many papers on strategic change, including Five Reasons to Target the China Market for your Business, printed in the January 2010 issue of Enterprising Women and The Road to Successful Business Transformation: Sponsorship is Key, reprinted in the October 2007 issue of the Peking University Business Review (PKUBR). Ms. Hardy participated in a PKUBR business roundtable on Leadership and Change in Beijing in March 2008. A summary of the roundtable was published in the April 2008 PKUBR. Ms. Hardy was a speaker at the fifth Annual Conference of America-China Women Business Leaders held in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, China, November 2009 and the World Trade Center Institute’s 2009 Conference, Maryland Women Spanning the Globe. Ms. Hardy developed the first skills and career guide for the IBM management consulting profession, initially published in 1995.