Jim Austin, a former senior executive at Baxter Healthcare, combines business strategy and organizational development theory with extensive industry experience. His expertise is in working with senior management on strategic planning, organizational change, strategy execution and new business growth. In July 2016, Springer published his book,Leading Strategic Change in an Era of Healthcare Transformation, co-authored with two other Brown faculty, for healthcare leaders trying to drive transformational change in their institution (click for more information).
As a faculty member for Duke CE, Jim delivered senior level seminars on Strategy, Strategic Execution Innovation and Decision-making for a range of clients including Sprint, BBA Aviation, Roche China and JP Morgan Chase. Jim is also a lecturer at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education, Wharton Business School, where he tailored and delivered senior-level seminars on Strategy, Strategic Execution, Scenario Planning and Critical Thinking at a number of leading companies including Boston Scientific, Coca-Cola. Lincoln Financial, GE, Boston Scientific and Hitachi. In 2013, Brown University appointed Jim a Senior Lecturer of Healthcare Leadership where he heads a graduate Marketing & Management seminar. Jim is a Business Management Professor at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management where he received the “Most Distinguished Corporate Education Faculty Member” (2009-10) and the “Learning Excellence” (2012) awards. He is also an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Health Systems Management, College of Health Sciences, Rush University, where he teaches a graduate seminar on Healthcare Ethics.
From 2005-2016, Mr. Austin worked at Decision Strategies International, leaving as a Senior Principal. There he led numerous projects including scenarios of the future for a Medical Devices firm; R&D priorities for a major consumer products company; a strategic plan for the American College of Radiology; scenarios of the future for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions; and a new vision, strategic priorities for the national and IL Boards, Volunteers of America (VOA). Jim now heads his own firm, JH Austin Associates, Inc.
Prior to joining Decision Strategies, Jim worked for 12 years at Baxter Healthcare, the last four as Vice President of Strategy Development for the Renal Division. Jim identified new business opportunities, facilitated annual strategy planning processes and worked with senior management on organizational development for this rapidly growing, nearly $2B Division. Before Baxter, Jim was Assistant to the President for ANCHOR HMO, a subsidiary of Rush Medical Center, Chicago. Prior to his move to Chicago, Jim worked as a Consultant for Arthur D. Little, Inc., where he led a number of large-scale planning, business development and strategic positioning studies. Between college and graduate school, Jim spent four years as an Economist/Planning Officer in the Ministry of Finance, Botswana.
Jim holds a B.A. in Economics and Politics from Yale University. He was a Special Student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Urban Studies Department, and received a joint Masters in Public Affairs (MPA) and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. Jim was past Chairman of the Strategic Leadership Forum, a Board Member of the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, a past Member of the Board of Directors for the University Club of Chicago, Treasurer of LaSalle Language Academy and Member of the Admissions Committee for the Latin School of Chicago.