Performex leverages real-world leadership experience for maximum impact within our coaching and development programs. Each of our team members bring extensive business experience, a proven track record for results and for developing their team members.
Mr. Bruce has a strong leadership background, having served in Senior Leadership positions in the utility, automotive, consumer products, medical device and human and animal pharmaceuticals industries.
Throughout his career, Eric’s strong talent has been as a “turn-around specialist”, which has given him a unique perspective on the typical challenges facing organizations needing a transformation or rapid improvement in bottom line results. He has solid firsthand knowledge of which Talent Management/Development programs work, which don’t, and how to successfully apply best practices in various industries despite their widely varying product lines. He has been recognized as a highly effective coach to the teams reporting to him, with measurable results to productivity and the bottom line.
Most recently, Eric was the President of Alpharma Animal Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of King Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Bruce was also King’s Chief Technical Operations Officer from June 2005 until February 2009. King was purchased by Pfizer early in 2011.
Prior to King, Mr. Bruce was Vice President of Operations for Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. In this role he managed the company’s nine global manufacturing plants and the supply chain functions.
A Performex client for many years, Eric has always believed in the powerful behavioral change that the company brings. He credits much of his success to his participation in Performex programs and is excited to share his learnings with others. In recent years, he purchased controlling interest in the company earlier this year and now serves as Chief Executive Officer.
John is Co-owner and COO of Performex whose mission is to accelerate our client's business results by measurably improving the performance of their people and organizations.
As a Mechanical Engineer, John experienced firsthand the journey from technical professional to real leader. Throughout his career at Hitachi and Kimberly-Clark, John developed an appreciation of coaching for his own development and helping others. From the early years developing production employees, to recruiting and coaching engineers in corporate headquarters, to transforming the culture of his manufacturing facilities as plant manager, John was involved in leadership and organizational development at every level.
In 2014, John joined Performex as Chief Operating Officer, following his passion for helping others become great leaders. As COO, John runs the day-day operations for Performex with a key focus on developing solutions to accelerate results for our clients. He also enjoys applying his own real-world experience while coaching participants and facilitating Performex® programs.
As Chief Human Resource Officer and Senior Vice President of Kimberly-Clark Corporation from 2002 to 2016, Liz led the transformational People Strategy for K-C's Enterprise Global Business Plan. Liz now serves on several non-profit and for profit board of directors.
Liz provides guidance, consulting facilitation and coaching for Performex programs and services.
Karen's background is in electrical engineering, project management, and event planning. Karen manages all of the Performex development programs from participant orientation to execution of the workshops and the many steps in between. Her organizational skills and positive energy encourages and supports all participant to become the best leaders that they can be.
Melanie administers coordination and planning of program details and manages our 360 software. She joins our team with a degree in Economics and Information Systems and is skilled with training and testing software. She has experience at Hewlett Packard as a Systems Analyst and Indus as a Quality Assurance Tester. She is skilled in various software platforms and has trained many clients. She is our 360 Survey coordinator and works directly with Performex clients for an “excellent” experience. She is married to her husband, Scott, of 25 years and they are parents to two adult boys. They reside in Canton, GA after living many different places for Scott’s career and are happy to be back in the Atlanta area. Her hobbies include culinary experiences, reading and traveling.
Kristi has been involved in adult learning her entire career from the early days as an international English teacher to the executive L&D positions she held in the banking industry. Kristi has a strong background in instructional design and has created and executed countless development programs.
Kristi is a long-term member of the Performex team and has held many roles. As VP of Account Management, Kristi works with clients to develop unique and impactful solutions to meet their business objectives.
Nancy Alm joined the Performex team in 2013 as Executive Coach and Program Facilitator, coaching over 100 leaders from diverse industries. Prior to joining Performex, Nancy gained extensive experience leading IT organizations and functions; she understands firsthand the need for strong technical managers and the impact these critical leaders have upon a team. With a love for developing leaders and a unique blend of Human Resources and Business Development leadership experience, Nancy is a true asset to Performex and our client organizations.
With over 25 years of corporate experience, including 10 years reporting to the CEO, Scott Baker brings a “having been there” perspective to strategic leadership. Scott’s background spans high-tech, service/logistics, and manufacturing from rapidly scaling global start-ups, PE-backed companies, to large publicly traded companies. He brings the best HR and leadership ideas and practices from all industries as a lifelong seeker and learner of effective leadership practices. Scott is the co-author of “Be(come) and Awesome Manager”, a 400-page book published in 2020. Scott is certified as a Senior Professional in HR (SPHR), a Global Professional in HR (GPHR), and an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) by the International Coach Federation (ICF). He has a Masters Degree in Human Resources and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, both from Michigan State University. He is based in Atlanta, Georgia
John is a proven leader with a diverse background in education, supply-chain management, human resources, and international management. Starting his career as a teacher, John made the transition to Business & Industry and spent 27 years with Kimberly-Clark Corporation and worked in four different business units and geographical locations. The majority of John’s career was spent in the Health Care sector where he was responsible for manufacturing and support functions in four countries. During this period John led several manufacturing integrations of acquired companies which supported the rapid growth of the
Health Care sector and allowed for the opportunity to utilize existing footprints for the manufacture of higher value goods. In 2009, John transitioned to management consulting, and in 2016, joined the Performex team. John enjoys supporting organizations in successful, strategic growth and looks forward to leveraging his expertise to equip critical technical managers for success.
As Talent Management Consultant, Coach, & Facilitator, Ray supports Performex clients’ leadership and organizational initiatives. Bringing 25 years of experiencing developing leaders and organizations, Ray provides individual executive coaching, leads leadership workshops, and also provides strategic talent management consulting to organizations & functions.
With over 30 years of combined military and corporate experience, Grover has a proven history as a corporate operations executive with a passion for helping leaders and organizations accelerate their growth and exceed business objectives. Throughout his career he has propelled diverse, multi-site teams together to align and engage with a common vision and mission to produce excellent results. Grover ardently believes people are the greatest asset to all organizations and developing their capability is critical to ensure sustainable success. Grover earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Business from the University of Mississippi His also a US Army veteran where he served honorably as a logistics officer. After his military career, Grover successfully lead numerous operations teams with several Fortune 500 companies over a span of 25+ years. In 2020 Grover began consulting and coaching on the Performex Team. He has served on several non-profit board of directors and is currently a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Clay is a former senior executive for Kimberly-Clark Corporation with extensive international experience. A key member of the strategic leadership team for the consumer products sector, Clay led the North Atlantic Supply Chain, comprising 22 manufacturing sites in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. As Corporate Officer, Clay forged strategic partnerships with key equipment and material suppliers. He drove manufacturing excellence initiatives and identified and implemented critical supply chain footprint consolidations. Clay’s leadership and direction drove important cost reductions and business unit performance improvements. Since joining the Performex® team in 2011, Clay has brought immense value to client organizations. As Facilitator and Coach, Clay enjoys providing leveraging his business expertise to enhance individuals’ careers and business results through executive coaching, leadership development, and strategic direction
Tracy specializes in executive coaching and large-scale transformation, change management & communications. With 25 years of industry experience, Ms. Koll has provided executive leadership to Fortune 100 companies, start-ups, and turn-arounds.
Prior to joining Performex, Tracy held positions with Alvarez & Marsal, and she led HR for companies including: North American Philips Corporation, Frito Lay, The Coca-Cola Company, and Serta Simmons Bedding (Beautyrest Mattresses).
Ms. Koll is a Society for Human Resources (SHRM) certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She has international experience and is fluent in French.
Cherele LaVack is an innovative and strategic Human Resources professional with over 16 years of experience. She is a transformative HR leader and has served as a vital member of senior leadership teams with a history of elevating HR functions into a full business partner, driving growth and enhancing overall operating performance. Cherele has a record of designing and implementing innovative strategies that generate process, productivity, and profitability improvement. She is very skilled at developing strategies that attract and retain a high-performing and engaged workforce. She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and an MBA with a concentration in HR Management. Cherele is also a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and is a Leadership Development and Succession Strategist (LDSS).
With over twenty-five years of business experience, Laurie Ann’s career has included roles in outside sales, human resource management, executive training, consulting and organizational development. Her areas of expertise include leadership and executive development, coaching, team development, behavioral interviewing and executive presentation skills. Laurie Ann served as the Director of Training and Development and the Director of Executive Resources for an Atlanta-based staffing company as well as Director
of Professional Development for Kurt Salmon, a global retail strategy consulting firm. As a seasoned facilitator, Laurie Ann has worked with a range of professionals including individual contributors, managers, directors, vice presidents, and CEOs. Laurie Ann has engaged with multiple industries including technology, healthcare, consumer goods, manufacturing, staffing, and management consulting services. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Retailing from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.