A globally recognized Competency and Talent Management expert, Mike has helped hundreds of organizations achieve their potential and fulfill their mission by developing systems, processes and people.
Dr. Zwell has worked on both sides of the table, having founded and built several companies himself in addition to implementing solutions in other organizations. After teaching at Rutgers University, consulting, and writing a book, Mike began a career in executive search in 1980. He founded his own firm, Zwell International, in 1982, initially focusing on executive search in financial services. In the next few years, Mike developed groundbreaking tools for assessing leadership competencies and evaluating corporate culture and fit in executive searches. The use of these technologies catapulted him to the top of the profession, and by the mid-1990’s he was filling CEO and board positions as well as consulting for organizations on their human capital processes and systems. He continued developing and installing competency-based selection, performance management, and competency development systems in organizations and in 1998 founded Exxceed Inc. to automate those processes on the web. Exxceed was sold in 2006. Mike has culled academic research to develop the functional knowledge and skills that make him uniquely suited to help executives, management teams, and sales teams, and organizations optimize their performance and results. Clients include JP Morgan Chase; Lenovo; Lehman Brothers; the Chicago Public School System; SkillSoft; Robert Half International; JB Hunt; American Capital Strategies; Sanofi Aventis; RLI; MedSolutions; Fiserv; and many more.
Mike has written and spoken extensively on topics related to getting the best and the most from your human capital. In 2000 he published the highly acclaimed Creating a Culture of Competence (John Wiley & Sons) on how to create high-performing organizations. Boards & Directors published his article, “How to Hire the Right CEO”, in 1998, and recently reprinted portions of it in their 30th anniversary issue. His third book, Six Figure Salary Negotiation, was published by Platinum Press in 2008. Mike has a Ph.D. and master’s in Anthropology from Yale University, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago.
“I’m very alone in running my company. I have a team of 20 people, but when it comes right down to it, I feel pretty alone. What I’m finding now, for the first time, is that I have other people stepping up and joining me. It’s fantastic!”