Pat Willard, PhD

Pat Willard, PhD is a seasoned executive with over 25 years experience in leadership roles in strategic planning, human capital leadership, executive coaching, learning and development, organizational development and change management. She has worked with CEOs and leadership teams of non-profits and Fortune 500 companies to increase organizational and personal effectiveness, bringing academic expertise, with a PhD in Counseling Psychology from University of Missouri, as well as real time business experience.

Pat began her career in the non-profit world where she held a variety of positions focused on patient education, community outreach, and professional development for organizations providing women’s health care. In 1982, after completing her PhD, she transitioned into the private sector where she held global leadership roles with Arthur Andersen, Accenture, Campbell Soup and, most recently, as a Partner at Mercer Consulting. A number of these roles were new to the organization and required Pat to develop a team and engage stakeholders in successfully setting a new direction and then executing on that vision. As the North American Executive responsible for Human Resources at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) Pat was charged with developing the people strategy, development of new people programs, policies, practices and processes, as well as measuring employee engagement. She has also led many complex people and organizational projects with her clients at Mercer Consulting where she built and led one of the company’s top three global accounts.

Outside work, Pat has remained involved with the not-for-profit community assisting pro-bono in the strategic planning efforts of organizations such as the Chicago Planetarium. She also served on the Board of the Chicago YWCA for two terms, chairing the Membership Committee. Currently Pat is an active volunteer with Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital Hospice.