Bob Piazza

As a new academic year begins, the Robins School of Business welcomes a familiar face into a new role. Bob Piazza, adjunct instructor and former Executive-in-Residence, has been named the new director of Executive Education.

The New York-native graduated from Pace University with a bachelor’s degree in literature and communications, and later earned a master’s degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Beginning his career in 1979, Piazza went on to amass 32 years of human resources experience. “My last two positions were capstone experiences for me. From 2005 to 2007, I was vice president of talent management at Danaher Corporation, a global manufacturing and marketing firm, where I’d worked for nearly 20 years. I was responsible for talent acquisition, leadership development and succession planning, among other things. I had been leading Danaher’s talent management process for seven years prior to being appointed vice president. Most of my focus was on the population of people who were or would be direct reports to operating company presidents and higher levels.”

In 2007, he moved into the vice president of human resources role at the Danaher Tool Group, which manufactured and marketed consumer and professional/industrial hand tools.  In 2010, Danaher and Cooper Industries created a joint venture called Apex Tool Group, LLC, which combined the Danaher Tool Group with Cooper Tools. The new business employed 8,000 people in 16 countries and held a much broader and deeper product portfolio.

“The joint venture was a great challenge because we had to culturally and operationally integrate the two large businesses into one enterprise, and in so doing, we became an independent private company. With that, we created and implemented a new organization structure, new benefits and new compensation plans while retaining our core talent. It was my final exam covering everything I learned in 32 years,” he shared.

In 2011, Piazza retired with his sights set on the next step. “I had discussed with my family that I wanted to do something very different once I retired. Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to simply turn off and go to the beach, I focused on teaching. My daughter Adrienne, manager of educational initiatives and leadership development at the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, put me in touch with Dr. Andy Litteral to discuss the possibility of teaching. Andy introduced me to Dr. Richard Coughlan after learning of my human resources experience, and I was eventually hired as an adjunct instructor. Finding that opportunity to divert my energy into something brand new was very satisfying.”

He shared his first experiences at the Robins School. “My first courses were for The Richmond MBA. I taught Strategic Talent Management, and then I went on to teach Organizational Behavior and Business Communications. Soon I started to teach Executive Education courses in addition to the MBA courses, while serving as a Capstone Project advisor and an Executive-in-Residence for a couple years. I was happy with the opportunity to engage more within the Robins School and delighted to join on a full-time basis.” Piazza began serving as director of Executive Education in May.

He looked forward to what his role has in store. “I’m able to leverage my experience and face new challenges in Executive Education. Working with, and learning from, Robins faculty and staff has been a great experience. Their focus on quality and value is extraordinary. I know we can excite more clients in our region and beyond, and it is great that we have so much capacity to do more.”

Piazza explained, “We have untapped resources within the Robins School faculty that Executive Education can leverage. Richmond, Va. is home to a lot of businesses, and we can greatly expand our reach. My goal is to effectively grow our programs while having meaningful conversations with firms regarding their needs so that we can have a greater impact within the community.”

Piazza concluded, “When I was at Danaher and Apex, I was fortunate that my values and the companies’ values were congruent. I can say the same about my alignment with the University of Richmond. I’m highly energized by The Richmond Promise, the values and culture of the University, and I look forward to adding value to the Richmond business community through Executive Education.”