DARYL CONNER
Daryl Conner is chairman of Conner Partners, an Atlanta-based consulting firm that specializes in transformation implementation. He is an internationally recognized leader in organizational change and serves as an advisor and mentor to senior executives around the globe. He founded ODR®, a training and consulting firm specializing in change management, in 1974. In 2004, he re-launched the company as Conner Partners, incorporating ODR’s tools and methodologies into a larger framework called Strategy Execution.
In 40 years of practice, Daryl has worked with many of the most successful organizations in the world, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and nonprofit institutions, to help them achieve the full intent of their most urgent and critically important initiatives. A dynamic public speaker, he has addressed thousands of executives in corporate settings, national conferences, and public programs.
His work is built on a strong foundation of research, extensive consulting experience, a master’s degree in psychology, and a deep spiritual focus. He has authored two books—Managing at the Speed of Change (Random House, 1993) and Leading at the Edge of Chaos (John Wiley & Sons, 1998)—and more than 250 publications, including journal and magazine articles, monographs, book chapters, and videos. Daryl’s blog, change thinking, is written for change management professionals who want to raise the level of their game and that of the field of change execution.
Daryl also holds a faculty position on the Masters of Organizational Leadership program (MAOL) at the Center for Leadership Studies. In 2007, Daryl and the firm were honored with the International Spirit at Work award, which is given annually to companies that exemplify a deep commitment to nurturing the human spirit.
MARIA DARBY
Conner Partners CEO Maria Darby is an executive business leader and strategy execution consultant focused on raising the game of how change sponsors and executives lead and drive successful change and transformation initiatives. Maria brings the experience from her 30+ years in the consulting industry to Conner Partners. Maria was an Executive Vice President/Partner at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she led the Firm’s change management capability and client change and transformation engagements across a diverse set of industries in the public and private sectors. She also served as a leader in the Firm’s Strategic Innovation Group where she drove the Firm’s Innovation Blueprint across the enterprise and supported multiple internal change and initiatives at the Firm’s leadership team level. Maria has served as senior strategist, advisor, and program leader across diverse change efforts involving organizational mergers and integration; innovation focus; digital transformation; and culture change. Maria’s work with change sponsors and executive leader-level change agents harnesses a deep understanding of both change management and leadership coaching to drive a powerful approach to unlocking change leadership excellence.
Maria served as the CEO of the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP), where she developed and drove ACMP’s multi-year Strategy and led ACMP’s external stakeholder relationships and strategic collaborations to evolve this professional association focused on advancing the practice of change management worldwide. Maria co-led a collaboration between Booz Allen and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business to develop and institutionalize graduate-level change management education - Change Management Advanced Practitioner (CMAP) certificate program. Maria served on The Conference Board’s Change and Transformation Council where she contributed to change management thought leadership, and industry-wide collaboration on change management best practices and evolution – particularly around digital transformation.
