Michael Kelly Named Executive Director of the Drucker Institute
Michael Kelly, executive director of the Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs, has been selected to lead Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker Institute, which Peter Drucker founded to strengthen organizations and society and help people manage with courage.
“Michael’s ability to collaborate with leaders from all sectors of society—business, nonprofits, and government—will be a great asset to CGU,” said Len Jessup, president of the university. “Our transdisciplinary approach to the creation, dissemination, and application of new knowledge lends well to Michael’s skills and personality.”
Peter Drucker founded the Drucker Institute to collect, preserve, and share his work with scholars, students, leaders, and managers working to strengthen our “society of organizations” in the public, private, and social sectors.
“Peter Drucker didn’t wish for utopia,” Kelly said. “What he strove for was a society that was simply functioning, one in which individuals could find dignity and purpose. Having spent most of my career working in high-level positions in the private, public, and social sectors, I saw this as a great opportunity to preserve and share Peter Drucker’s work and the work of others he influenced from around the globe to build a functioning society.”
As the leader of CGU’s executive education programs, Kelly will work closely with the Drucker School of Management’s administrative team and faculty to develop and manage programs that provide high-level executive training, which will include access to world-renowned programs at CGU, including positive psychology, leadership, human resources, and evaluation, to name a few.
“Michael’s arrival marks a new era for the Drucker Institute and the Drucker School of Management,” said David Sprott, the dean of the Drucker School. “I look forward to collaborating with him to expand the Drucker philosophy. Our work together to help individuals and organizations develop leadership skills and self-insights is exciting.”
Kelly is a founding partner of the Sconset Group, which advises leaders and organizations, such as the LA Coalition for the Economy & Jobs, whose mission is to bring together business and civic leaders to advance initiatives that stimulate the development of economic growth, quality jobs, housing, and a skilled workforce in Southern California.
“The leadership and resources of the Drucker Institute and CGU and the vast collection of Peter Drucker’s work are instrumental in influencing those who lead and manage the institutions we rely on to produce those positive outcomes,” Kelly said. “I look forward to blending my two worlds to continue to bring about positive change on a larger scale.”
Before leading the Los Angeles Coalition, Kelly worked for Boeing and with California governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is the founding chair of the Philanthropic Foundation for Cal State Dominguez Hills; an advisory board member for WorkingNation; and cofounder of LA Goes Pink, an organization that raises money for breast cancer researchers in Los Angeles. He earned his bachelor’s in economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master’s in public administration from the University of Southern California. He can be reached at michael.kelly@cgu.edu.