Meet Our Leadership Team

Few people have influenced the day-to-day management of people and companies more than Dr. Kenneth Blanchard. A prominent, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant, he is universally characterized by his friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate individuals in business today. Ken is one of the most influential leadership experts in the world and is respected for his years of groundbreaking work in the fields of leadership and management.

Dr. Margorie Blanchard has earned a reputation worldwide as a compelling motivational speaker, an accomplished management consultant and trainer, a best-selling author, and an entrepreneur. She was the corecipient with her husband, Dr. Kenneth Blanchard, of the Entrepreneur of the Year award from Cornell University. Coauthor of The One Minute Manager Balances Work and Life, Working Well: Managing for Health and High Performance, and Leading at a Higher Level, Margie is well versed in a variety of topics and often speaks on leadership, balance, managing change, aging parents, and life planning. As cofounder of Blanchard, she worked diligently with Ken to develop the company into one of the premier leadership development companies in the world. Margie served as president of the company from 1987 to 1997, leading its rapid growth and success.

Tom McKee is Chairman of the Board and a co-owner of Blanchard. Since starting with the company in 1987, he has held the positions of General Manager, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to joining Blanchard, Tom worked in the restaurant and food industry. He was in management with the Rusty Pelican Corporation and was an account executive with Lady Baltimore Foods in Kansas City. Tom helped start the Master of Science in Executive Leadership (MSEL) program with the University of San Diego. Tom’s other board member participation has been with the Better Business Bureau, the Private Industry Council and Workforce Partnership, and the Instructional Systems Association (ISA).

Tom earned his Bachelor's degree in Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Scott Blanchard, CEO and co-owner of Blanchard, has more than 30 years of experience at Blanchard, which includes a number of senior positions in management, product development, sales, and delivery. He is driven by his background in research and hands-on experience working with organizations around the world that prove his principle that the success or failure of any business depends squarely on the quality of its leaders. Every employee’s and customer’s experience—whether good or bad—is determined by the leader. With this in mind, Scott is dedicated to helping managers and leaders find the best way to avoid the pain, fear, frustration, and political mayhem that occurs in the absence of good leadership.

As a true visionary and early adopter of emerging technologies, Scott cofounded one of the first coaching companies in 1999—today’s Blanchard Coaching Services. Later, with the goal of democratizing corporate coaching, he cocreated the first coaching management system to enhance the delivery of coaching at scale. To date, BCS has provided the highest caliber of coaching to hundreds of companies and more than 10,000 clients worldwide.

Scott is a coauthor of Leverage Your Best, Ditch the Rest and Leading at a Higher Level as well as Blanchard’s Coaching Essentials^® and Blanchard Management Essentials^™ training programs.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Administration and Hospitality from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in Organizational Development from American University.

Debbie Ung is President and Chief Revenue Officer for Blanchard. She is responsible for leading the executive team to create and implement strategies that follow the vision, mission, and values of the company, and ensuring revenue growth through collaborative client relationships. Previously, she was Executive Vice President of Sales and Professional Services at Blanchard. Prior to joining Blanchard, Debbie spent more than 20 years with GP Strategies, a premier global performance company. Her roles there included executive vice president of business transformation services, and senior vice president of performance readiness solutions. She held multiple roles at RWD Technologies, including senior vice president, northeast region; vice president, global partnerships and alliances; and group president, enterprise systems. She was also president at Accelera, a start-up services organization focused on the training and performance of pharmaceutical and medical device sales teams.

Debbie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Physics/Radiation Protection from Purdue University and took graduate courses in Business Administration at Johns Hopkins University. She served as board director of RWD Technologies and SAP Learning Solutions.

Kristin Brookins Costello is Chief Organizational Excellence Officer of Blanchard. She joined the company in May 2020 and is responsible for the strategic planning, development, and implementation of Blanchard’s people strategies and its overall human capital experience. As the leader of Blanchard’s People + Culture Team, she works to drive people initiatives related to organizational performance that shape a strong culture of results, continuous improvement, and growth.

Prior to joining Blanchard, Kristin spent more than 20 years at Karl Strauss Brewing Company, San Diego’s oldest craft beer brewery. Kristin served as vice president of human resources, and then as chief administrative officer, implementing a number of Blanchard’s leadership programs that focused on developing new and emerging managers’ leadership skills during times of rapid change and growth. She also held HR positions at Maxell Corporation of America and Aetrium.

Kristin earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of San Diego and holds several senior professional certifications from SHRM and HRCI.

Debbie Blanchard is the Executive Vice President of Marketing and a co-owner of Blanchard, where she leads the global marketing effort for the organization and its worldwide affiliates. Debbie joined Blanchard in 1990 and has served in marketing, sales, and relationship management roles throughout her career. Her experience outside of Blanchard has included being the executive director of conference planning for Success magazine. She also taught executive-level English for Berlitz International while living in Concepcion, Chile.

Debbie received a Master of Science degree in Executive Leadership from the University of San Diego and a Master of Science degree in Organization Development from American University in Washington, DC. She earned her undergraduate degree in Communications from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Jay Campbell is the Chief Product Officer for Blanchard, responsible for the development and management of the company’s portfolio of product offerings. He coordinates Blanchard’s research efforts on leadership topics, training effectiveness, and new content areas. Prior to joining Blanchard, Jay served as head of product innovation for Experian Consumer Direct, the top provider of consumer credit reports. Before Experian, he was vice president of product management at Kelley Blue Book. Jay also served as vice president of product development for Monitor Group, driving the design and development of the company’s technology-enabled products and services.

Jay has degrees in Engineering and Economics from Vanderbilt University, an MBA from Boston College, and a Doctorate in Leadership and Organizational Change from the University of Southern California.

Butler Newman is the Vice President, Client Solutions for Blanchard. He is responsible for leading collaborative, client-focused teams that meet and often exceed client expectations through powerful and engaging learning experiences and initiatives. Prior to joining Blanchard, Butler served as vice president of organizational excellence at RWD Technologies and vice president of performance consulting at GP Strategies, where he was the lead consultant charged with partnering with internal leaders to transform global learning organizations.

Butler is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and served as a qualified nuclear propulsion officer during his years of active duty.

Eric Bruner is the Chief Technology Officer for Blanchard. He enables optimal design, execution, and compliance, approaching technology as a core element of engagement with our clients and internal systems to enhance productivity and efficiency of employees serving our clients. Eric's professional experience includes more than 25 years of enterprise-wide technology implementation, project management, software product management, customer service and support, research and design, technology vendor management, and information technology operations.

Among his previous professional roles are multiple positions at the US Navy, GE, RWD Technologies, Ancile Solutions, and GP Strategies, which include director of software products, director of business operations, chief technologist, and chief of innovation.

Eric received his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from The United States Naval Academy and his Master’s of Science degree in Engineering Management from the Catholic University of America.

As the Vice President of Finance for Blanchard, Brian is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the company, including managing the accounting, financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting functions.

Brian provides strategic financial guidance to the executive team, working closely with other leaders to develop and implement business plans, and ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations. With over 15 years of finance and accounting experience at various firms in the private and the public sectors, Brian brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the company.

Brian is an active CPA in the state of California and received his MBA and Bachelor's degree in Finance.