RBL Impact - The RBL Group Podcast

Joe currently serves as a Partner and CFO at The RBL Group, where he is leading the company's migration into digital offerings in HR, Leadership, Talent, and Organization aimed at improving overall human capability. Under his guidance, RBL is innovating leading-edge, guided learning journeys that blend asynchronous (self-guided) with synchronous (consultative) learning to create greater impact for clients. With a strong academic foundation, Joe earned his MBA from the BYU Marriott School of Business with High Distinction, with an emphasis in Strategy and Finance, and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting with a minor in Spanish. He has shared his expertise as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the University of Utah's Eccles Graduate School of Business, teaching undergraduate and graduate-level courses in new venture strategy and financing. Throughout his distinguished career, Joe has consulted with companies across diverse industries including Lodging & Entertainment, Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Energy, Communications, Financial Services, and Food Products. His client portfolio includes prominent organizations such as Occidental Petroleum, Shaw Communication, Medifast, InterContinental Hotels Group, Duke Energy, Exxon Mobil, Pacific Gas and Electric, R.R. Donnelley, Kellogg's, Quintiles, Invensys, Yellow Transportation, and pro bono work for a rural cooperative - Emery Telcom. Joe's project experience encompasses corporate turnarounds, global restructuring and cost improvements, multi-business integration, business unit design, and support function redesigns. His approach emphasizes team ownership, sustainable change, and organizational transformation with a focus on achieving measurable business results. Prior to his current role, Joe served as Principal and CFO at Novations Group, Inc. from 1989 to 2002, where he was a partner in a growing strategy and organization design consultancy, serving as both CFO and Chief Administrative Officer. He has also held executive and financial management positions in high-growth consulting businesses and has managed due diligence and launch of an initial public offering. Joe's exceptional work has been recognized with the Exemplary Change Management Practice Citation Award in 2004 from the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) for the global restructuring of InterContinental Hotels Group, as well as the Value-add Consulting Team Award from the InterContinental Hotels Group. He developed and taught a training curriculum on Consulting Skills for Internal Professionals, delivering the course to IT, HR, Process, Finance, and other internal support professionals. As a board member for several public and new venture companies, Joe continues to leverage his deep expertise in business strategy, organizational transformation, and financial management to help organizations navigate complex challenges and achieve sustainable growth. His seasoned approach to organization design emphasizes practical solutions that deliver tangible results while building lasting capabilities within client organizations.

Norm's groundbreaking work has earned him significant recognition, including being named "Change Driver of the Decade" by HR Digest in 2024, receiving the "Lifetime HR Achievement Award" from Utah Business magazine in 2019, and being recognized by Harvard Business Review for doing "innovative and groundbreaking work on effective leadership." He was also honored as a Distinguished Alumni by BYU's Department of Organization Behavior. As co-founder of The RBL Group with Dave Ulrich in 2000, Norm has built a globally respected education and consulting firm that equips client organizations to solve organizational performance issues. Their approach includes clarifying strategy, identifying and building distinctive business capabilities, increasing the quality of leadership, and developing strategic HR capabilities. In 2007, they formed The RBL Institute to join HR leaders across the world in a community of collaboration and best-practice sharing. With a comprehensive academic background, Norm holds a Master's degree in Organization Behavior and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and English from Brigham Young University. He further expanded his academic influence as a faculty member in executive education at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Management between 2001 and 2003. Prior to co-founding The RBL Group, Norm was a founding partner of Novations Group Inc. from 1985 to 1999, a research and consulting company focused on strategy and organization design, professional career development, and survey research. Earlier in his career, he gained valuable experience as an OE Advisor at Imperial Oil/Esso Resources and in Organization Effectiveness at Procter & Gamble, where he designed technician systems and worked extensively in socio-technical systems design. Norm has co-authored eight influential books that have shaped the field of leadership and organizational development: Real Time Strategy, Results Based Leadership, Why the Bottom Line Isn’t/How Leaders Build Value, Change Champions Field Guide, Leadership Brand, Leadership Code, Agile Talent, and Leadership Sustainability. Additionally, he has published more than a hundred articles in leading journals and newspapers including Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. His Harvard Business Online blog on Personal Leader Brand was highlighted as one of the ten most read for the year. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Norm has demonstrated a commitment to service through his board membership with HELP, an organization focused on economic empowerment to help people rise out of poverty through sustainable development programs. He also served on the HRCI (HR Certification Institute) board from 2019 to 2022. Norm's approach to consulting focuses on partnering with clients to align leaders and their organizations to foster high-performance cultures that resonate with both customers and employees. His definition of success is increased confidence in the future by investors, customers, and employees, leading to higher market value. When not transforming organizations, Norm enjoys spending time with his wife Tricia, their children, grandchildren, and their unique collection of pets including a school of koi fish, Frank the Great Dane, and Stein the Bengal cat.

Julio Zelaya is Chief Marketing Officer at The RBL Group, where he leads the implementation of artificial intelligence and digital technologies across the firm's products. An internationally recognized expert in AI applications for business and education, Julio is a bilingual communicator (Spanish-English) with extensive experience as a keynote speaker at global conferences. Author of five Amazon #1 bestsellers, including "ChatGPT: How to Boost Your Business with AI," Julio combines entrepreneurial vision with strong academic credentials. He is currently pursuing his EdD at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also serves as Academic Director for the "Introduction to Teaching with AI in the Classroom" program at the Graduate School of Education. As a serial EdTech entrepreneur, co-founder of Escolaris and Bright Domino, and creator of the "¡CON TODO!" newsletter and PowerBites podcast, Julio brings to The RBL Group podcast his unique ability to translate complex concepts in organizational transformation and AI into inspiring, actionable content for global audiences.