Consulting Associates:

John C. Sivie

John has worked extensively in a wide range of industries, redesigning, aligning, and transforming organizations to effectively implement their businesses’ strategic intent.  In manufacturing, as well as in knowledge/service-based businesses, John has designed and implement customer focused organizations that increase speed, quality, and agility, for competitive advantage.  His organizational designs have been with large, mid-size, small and start-up businesses.  John’s clients include winners of the prestigious Malcom Baldridge Award and NASA’s George M. Low Award for operational excellence. He has redesigned high profile organizations such as NASA’s Space Shuttle Main Engine and the International Space Station.   John’s focus is on the design of the overarching organization architecture that integrates whole operating systems, enterprise wide IT applications, productivity improvement initiatives such as Six Sigma and Lean Enterprise Thinking, and organizational culture into a strategically focused change initiative.  Particular emphasis is placed on the integration of the technical and social dimensions of the enterprise. 

Through years of practical experience across a broad client base, and because of his innovations in organization methodologies, John is a sought after speaker and educator in executive development and graduate business school programs.  He has designed and delivered executive leadership education to top 50 Fortune companies, providing interactive, leading edge thinking relevant to their specific business issues.  Often these designs are used to launch strategic corporate change initiatives. 

Currently, John is working on next generation of organizations for intensely competitive global enterprises.  John is integrating business strategy, organizational architecture, and information technology applications that will “leap frog” existing organizations for competitive advantage.   

John has a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration/Finance from West Liberty College, and a Masters of Science Degree in Organizational Development with Honors from the American University in Washington DC.  He has successfully started two businesses and has held senior management positions at Boeing, Rockwell, and Westinghouse before founding Vantage Resources, Inc.  John’s hometown is Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and he presently resides in Agoura Hills, California.

Paula Chronister

Paula Chronister is an Organization Development Consultant with over 20 years of experience.  A former Director in the San Francisco Office of PricewaterhouseCoopers, she is currently President of her own consulting firm and consults with organizations on enhancing organizational and leadership performance and assisting them in planning large-scale change implementation projects.  She has consulted with Hewlett Packard, Agilent Technologies, Line 6, Ford, Volvo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bank of America, US Air, Union Pacific, Syntex Pharmaceuticals, and Fourth Floor to name a few.

Chronister has extensive experience in facilitating leadership teams and their organizations in crafting change implementation strategies that support business objectives.  Her broad background and skills enable her to bring a pragmatic approach to helping organizations develop initiatives that produce results.   She has also authored a number of approaches to managing change, designing organizations, developing high performing work cultures, and developing teams.

Paula's clients say: “She is insightful and has a broad background and experience that allows her to generate creative practical solutions.  She can quickly diagnose organizational issues incisively and provide a framework for change that leads into problem solving and action planning.”  She has superb facilitation skills and is able to bring alignment to critical issues quickly and effectively even when interests and opinions differ widely.

Chronister has broad experience in the development of leadership competencies and designing and delivering individual and group leadership development processes.   She is a seasoned executive coach and is presently coaching a number of executives.  She has taught leadership and management in both industry and university settings in undergraduate and MBA programs and possesses a deep knowledge of the best practices being used today in leadership development.

Chronister has had responsibility for leading and managing a number of long-term change initiatives in different organizations.  She has twice lived overseas and worked in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Australia. 

Paula has an MS in Organizational Systems and Management from the University of Southern California and has completed Post Graduate work in Columbia University’s Advanced Organizational Development Program and the Organizational Effectiveness Center & School, U.S. Government.  She also holds a BS, Social Science, University of Nebraska.  Her specialized training includes: Total Quality Management with Dr. Edward Deming, Philip Crosby and the Ford Motor Company, High Performance Organizations with Proctor & Gamble, Reengineering with Michael Hammer.  Paula currently resides in Tucson, Arizona.

Robert M. Brown

With over 30 years of consulting and industry experience, Mr. Brown has delivered a broad range of services, including change management and organization development, human resources management, process reengineering, performance management, merger and acquisition, and organizational structure.  Working in the technology, manufacturing, entertainment and financial services industries, Bob has been instrumental in assisting numerous clients from strategy development, through implementation of selected changes and the realization of expected benefits.  In these capacities, Bob has performed key roles in the consolidation and restructuring of several organizations, the development of combined system/process/organization improvement projects, the integration of newly acquired units and executives, the divestitures of selected business units to achieve strategic and operational targets, and the improvement of organizational culture and behaviors in support of achieving strategic advantage.

Years of experience as both a successful executive and consultant have given Bob insights into the practical world of making organizations perform better, and produce improved results through carefully selected and executed change initiatives.  As a result, Bob also has developed an excellent reputation for developing pragmatic solutions and methods for implementing these changes.  In this capacity, Bob was a Director in the Organization and Change Strategy consulting practice within PricewaterhouseCoopers, and served on the global steering committee to develop their Organization and Change Strategy curriculum and methodology.  He has also been Dean of the graduate student program at the National Training Laboratory, and an adjunct professor at Antioch University’s Masters program. 

 Bob received his MBA and MSMS degrees from the University of Southern California, and his BA is from the University of California at Los Angeles.  He has held management positions with Sony, Ashton-Tate, Capital-Industries, and CMG, and has consulted with a broad range of firms including IBM, SGI, Applied Materials, The Walt Disney Company, HealthNet, Union Bank, Hewlett Packard, Data Products, and Universal Studios.