Background

A Principal at Interkannections, Zach is also a co-founder and Director of Abound, a non-profit sustainability leadership development organization and Eco Nikko LLC, an organization headquartered in Nikko, Japan that utilizes yoga to foster personal and community development. Zach also has developed the being at work embodied learning system designed to build wellness capacity into organizations utilizing aikido, yogic and bodywork principles. To embed sustainable thinking and practices in organizations and communities Zach led the development of the Ikan Sustainability Value Web and the Ikan Sustainability Framework. He also writes extensively on The Capacity Evolution Blog and authored the white paper: So How Sustainable Are You? How Do You Know? available on the Interkannections website.

Zach specializes in whole system change and organization systems design, talent management, leadership development, and is also a skilled facilitator and executive coach. He has developed and implemented projects for a number of Fortune 500 and 100 organizations and also has extensive management experience in human resources, business development and internal consulting experience in the Japanese service industry.

Projects and Results include:

• Evolving Sustainable Thinking: Developed and implemented the Sustainability from the Inside Out workshop which combines somatic and developmental content to create breakthrough learning experiences.
• Capacity Building: Developed and led year-long Action Learning projects with multiple teams in multiple organizations that resulted in greatly enhanced personal productivity and organizational resilience during major reorganizations.
• Post-Acquisition Whole System Change: Designed and implemented a whole system change event for a division of a global manufacturer to successfully complete the cultural integration following their acquisition of a smaller global organization.
• Talent Management: Assisted two recently merged organizations in creating a harmonized talent management system. Results included a rise in retention, sales and productivity and highly motivated employees for both organizations.
• Systems & Processes Innovation: Worked across functions, business units, with front line employees, middle and upper management to generate new thinking, processes, systems and actions to innovate and improve customer service. Results included significant increases in employee excitement, motivation, productivity, and in-house sales as well as customer retention and loyalty.
• Organizational Health and Wellness: Co-created an organizational wellness program with a core group of client representatives that dramatically reduced stress, increased peer support, and improved motivation and productivity in top and middle level managers.
• Organizational Effectiveness: Worked with organizational leaders in a global fast goods retail organization to create and design personal, team, division and organization development plans that led to increased organizational effectiveness and coherence. This helped speed up a number of projects and increase collaboration throughout the company.
• Executive Leadership Development: Developed and facilitated a highly acclaimed one-day leadership development intensive retreat for a group of over 50 global executives.
• Executive Team Development: Develop and facilitate executive strategy sessions for leadership teams that greatly enhance communication, teamwork and trust, and clarity of purpose.

Education

Zach holds a self-designed M.A. in Organization Development and Change from Antioch University McGregor in Ohio (US), and a B.A. in English (Creative Writing) and Philosophy from Denison University. He has also studied at the Masters level at the Naropa Institute in Boulder Colorado as well as the Breadloaf School in Middlebury Vermont. 

Languages

English (native), Japanese (business)

Personal Development

Zach has over 20 years of experience in the martial and meditative arts and is currently focused on the practice of aikido and Shinto Muso Ryu Jo, both of which he has practiced for over 10 years. He has recently included yoga as part of his practice as well. Zach also stays active through hiking, mountain biking, running, and playing and being present with his wife and son.

Focus

Strongly committed to the development of the individual, community and a deeper connection to the eco-systems into which we are interwoven, Zach believes that sustainable living, work and practice begin with developing the capacity to be centered, present and fully engaged amid complexity and change.