Ryan has a passion to bring out the best in people.
Ryan is a seasoned senior executive, strategic thinker, and entrepreneur, currently serving as the President and co-founder of Plasticity Boom, LLC. With a wealth of experience, he previously provided visionary leadership at Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) since 2007, focusing on innovation, strategic expansion, and non-residential global learning.
During his role as Vice President for ONU Global, Ryan spearheaded the university's innovation division, dedicated to creating groundbreaking models that offered disruptive solutions to various markets. Under his leadership, the division generated an impressive $250 million in total new revenue, emphasizing agility, creativity, and entrepreneurship to navigate industry changes successfully.
Ryan's innovative projects included leading Olivet through the transition to online education, establishing unique corporate benefit partnerships, crafting corporate leadership development paths, implementing modern marketing approaches, designing internal technology automation systems for efficiency, and forming partnerships with over 200 organizations, including notable deals with Salesforce, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Bears, and the Indianapolis Colts.
His commitment has been to create scalable education solutions, enabling resource-limited organizations to stay competitive. Notably, his latest team innovation was a top-three finalist for the Salesforce Dave Perry Excellence in Innovation Award in 2021. Ryan has been recognized in various publications, media outlets, conferences, and podcasts for his design solutions addressing market disruption.
In 2009, his doctoral dissertation, "The Impact of Geographic Expansion on Organizational Identity," was featured in London’s Journal of General Management. Drawing from his extensive professional experience at Arthur Andersen, LLP, and Deloitte & Touche, LLP, Ryan continues to be an entrepreneurial and visionary leader, revolutionizing industries with new approaches.
Ryan's passion lies in challenging established norms and finding innovative, strategic solutions that are both affordable and effective. He, along with his wife Jennifer, resides in Illinois with their three children, Jack, Kate, and Quinn.