Daryl R. Conner is Chairman of Conner Partners™, an Atlanta-based consulting firm that specializes in strategy execution. He is an internationally recognized leader in organizational change and serves as an adviser and mentor to senior executives around the globe. He founded ODR®, a training and consulting firm specializing in large-scale organizational change, in 1974. In 2004, he relaunched the company as Conner Partners, incorporating ODR's tools and methodologies into a larger strategy execution framework called Execution Engineering™.

In more than 30 years of practice, Daryl has worked with many of the most successfulorganizations in the world, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and nonprofit institutions, to help them achieve the full intent of their most urgent and critically important initiatives. A dynamic public speaker, he has addressed thousands of executives in corporate settings, national conferences, and public programs.

Since 1974, Mr. Conner has addressed hundreds of companies and thousands of executives in internal corporate forums, at national conferences, and public programs on the subjects of building nimble organizations, managing critical change initiatives, and developing a resilient workforce. As a result of his speaking, consulting, and writing, he has positively influenced people throughout the world, including those in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, South Africa, Asia, and Australia. Many of the most successful organizations in the world, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofit institutions, and multinational firms, have chosen Mr. Conner as their source for change-management expertise.

Mr. Conner’s work with organizations over the past 27 years was built on a strong foundation of research and training in organizational consulting and a master’s degree in behavioral psychology. Under his guidance his consulting and research firm has formulated and refined a comprehensive methodology for optimizing an organization’s change initiatives—the Human Due Diligence™ process. Mr. Conner has authored more than 100 publications, including journal and magazine articles, monographs, and book chapters on the subject of change management.      

His first book, Managing at the Speed of Change, was published by Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc. in January 1993. His second book,  Leading at the Edge of Chaos: How to Create the Nimble Organization, was published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in September 1998. Written for leaders and those who work closely with them, this book offers guidance on how to orchestrate the human elements necessary to successfully implement an endless stream of transitions. In addition, Mr. Conner has produced videos in conjunction with Mentor Media, highlighting his groundbreaking work on human resilience.

Mr. Conner’s international recognition as an authority on the human elements of change generates a constant demand for his executive briefings, speeches, seminars, and presentations to various management-development forums.

One common thread connects all of his work—helping businesses operate more effectively in a turbulent world by applying fundamental principles about changes.

Organizations facing the dynamics caused by a competitive marketplace must engage in many, often overlapping, transitions. With increasing frequency, leaders are finding themselves facing a status quo they can no longer afford. Although change may be disruptive and expensive, organizations feeling the heat of competition understand they have no choice.

To remain competitive today, organizations must respond to a growing number of changes in how they conduct business, use technology, treat employees, deal with customers, and more.

Poor execution of these changes can produce costly implications for both the organization and the managers responsible for the implementation. Failed initiatives can cost millions in wasted human and fiscal resources, and far more in lost opportunity.

For nearly 30 years, Daryl’s company has helped hundreds of organizations effectively implement their change initiatives. Through our research, we have been able to extract, integrate, and then apply the best practices from the past and the present. This has allowed us to constantly expand and develop our methodology to effectively serve our customers.