LAKE FOREST, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (LFGSM) is pleased to announce the appointment of human resources executive Leanna J. Walther to its Board of Directors. Elected to the Board in May 2013, Walther will serve on the Board’s Human Resources & Compensation Committee. A LFGSM Class of 1999 alumna, Walther is Vice President, Human Resources, Operations at AbbVie, Inc., a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. With approximately 21,000 employees and its medicines available in more than 170 countries, AbbVie was formed in 2013 following its separation from Abbott Laboratories.
Walther has more than 25 years of experience in human resources leadership. She joined the human resources staff of Abbott Laboratories in 1987 and held positions of increasing responsibility, rising to become a Divisional Vice President in 2004. In 2009, she was appointed as Abbott Laboratories’ Divisional Vice President, Human Resources, Proprietary Pharmaceuticals – U.S., a business with approximately $10B in sales and 4,500 employees. She assumed her current position upon AbbVie’s separation from Abbott Laboratories in January, 2013.
“We are delighted to welcome Leanna Walther, a LFGSM Class of 1999 alumna, to our Board of Directors,” said LFGSM President & CEO John Popoli. “Leanna brings key expertise and broad experience as a human resources executive and strategic business leader that are highly valuable in helping LFGSM achieve its mission-critical goals. Having earned her Lake Forest MBA with honors in 1999, she has continued throughout her career to demonstrate a passion for lifelong learning and continuous improvement that stands at the core of the School’s values. We look forward to the valuable impact she will have in helping our leadership team guide the School as it strives to meet the evolving needs of the students and area business community we serve.”
“I look forward to sharing my experience with my alma mater, LFGSM, helping to shape the direction of the School and its ability to continue to achieve its goals and objectives,” said Leanna Walther. “Having benefited from the Lake Forest MBA experience earlier in my career, I hope that my HR and leadership experience at AbbVie and Abbott will allow me to offer new insight into significantly different workforces that may help LFGSM continue to meet the needs of its students and the area’s diverse business community.”
Walther holds a BA in Communication from DePauw University and earned her MBA, with honors, from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in 1999. Walther is active in the community, including with the Boys Scouts of America where she recently served a 4-year term as Lake Forest Troop 46 Committee Recruiting Chair (2008-2012).
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management is an independent, accredited, not-for-profit graduate business school. LFGSM offers the Chicago area’s premier part-time MBA program for working professionals, with campus-based programs in Schaumburg and Lake Forest, fully online MBA options, and on site courses at some of the area’s leading companies. Learn more about Lake Forest Graduate School of Management’s Leadership MBA, Immersion MBA or Corporate Learning Solutions at www.LFGSM.edu.