Michael Feiner

Michael Feiner's career as a corporate executive, management consultant, professor and author has changed the way companies understand the link between people, leadership, and business results. With the overarching philosophy that a company must grow its organization capacity before it can grow its business, Mike believes that leaders must muscle-build their businesses by growing leaders and managers that can run the company they want to create, not the one they have.

Since founding Michael C. Feiner Consulting, Inc. in 1996, Mike has worked with both small and large companies in a broad range of industries, comprising financial services, consumer products, and industrial services. His clients include such companies as American Express, Avon, and Honeywell where he consults on business-driven human capital strategy, organization development, and leadership effectiveness. Mike also serves as a strategic advisor to Boards and C-suite executives.

Prior to founding his own consulting firm, Mike was Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer for Pepsi-Cola's beverage operations worldwide. He is recognized as one of the key architects of Pepsi's distinctive culture where he built and led an organization of 400 human resource professionals that gained a reputation as one of the most innovative and highly regarded in the world. In his 20 years at Pepsi, Mike was sometimes referred to as its "in-house leadership guru" and is credited with upgrading the company's performance standards and organizational excellence. Mike's next role was based in London as Chief People Officer for PepsiCo Europe where he was responsible for building the management and organizational capability of all of PepsiCo's businesses across continental Europe.

After leaving Pepsi, Mike began teaching at Columbia Business School. As Professor of Management and Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Ethics Fellow, Mike's High Performance Leadership class is consistently ranked by students as one of the school's best courses. He is also winner of the Singhvi Prize, voted by students as "Best Teacher" for his dedication to teaching and ability to communicate knowledge and encourage students.

Mike holds a B.S. degree from Boston University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. His book, "The Feiner Points of Leadership: The 50 Basic Laws That Will Make People Want to Perform Better For You", was published by Warner Books in June, 2004. The Toronto Globe and Mail selected it as the "Best Business Book of 2004". Mike's passion for developing great leaders makes him widely sought after by audiences who find him to be an exciting and engaging speaker.