About the founder
Carl B. Watson, PhD
Founding Principal
Carl B. Watson, PhD, is the founding principal of Madrona Strategy Works, where he advises leaders on enterprise strategy, organizational design, culture, and leadership-team effectiveness. He is also an Affiliated Research Scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations at USC Marshall and a former executive at Nike, Microsoft, and JPMorgan Chase.
30 minutes with Carl. No pitch deck.
Executive Experience
NIKE
VP, Transformation, Organizational Strategy & Culture
Carl and his team drove enterprise transformation across the Nike, Jordan, and Converse Brands, including the strategic translation, design, and activation of the global operating model for the consumer sport evolution. Under his leadership, they successfully launched a new enterprise-wide focus on high-performance teaming and multi-year work to re-energize Nike's company culture.
MICROSOFT
Global Head of Organizational Development
Carl led Microsoft's Organizational Development & Culture Activation team. He was the organizational architect of the strategic shifts for the Entertainment + Devices business and, later, the Windows + Devices Group, shifting these businesses from an operating system on PC hardware to a service powering experiences across devices. He and his team were accountable for major enterprise-wide culture initiatives and evolving the enterprise operating model, during a critical juncture in the company's industry-defining culture transformation.
His insight into broad business challenges was amazing, as he had the ability to tie strategic business objectives to long-term impact and organizational needs. I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with him, to make transformative changes across our organization.
Research
His research examines strategic renewal and how organizations build the capabilities to adapt in turbulent environments.
Affiliated Research Scientist
Center for Effective Organizations, USC Marshall School of Business
Education
PhD in Management, Case Western Reserve University
MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
MA in Organizational Psychology, University of Michigan
BA in Psychology, Claremont McKenna College
Talk with Carl about what's changing.
You don't need the whole path before you begin. You need the next step worth taking.
30 minutes with Carl. We reply within two business days. Or write directly to carl@madronastrategyworks.com