Bill Youngdahl

William (Bill) Youngdahl is an associate professor of project and operations leadership and William D. Hacker Faculty Fellow at Thunderbird School of Global Management. He also serves as the academic director for Thunderbirds Leading Global Projects executive education program. Youngdahl teaches in Thunderbirds MBA, Executive MBA, and Executive Education Programs. His is a sought-after speaker, executive coach and educator.

His primary area of expertise is global project leadership. In 2008, he co-authored with fellow Thunderbird professor Robert T. Moran an acclaimed trade book, "Leading Global Projects: For Professional and Accidental Project Leaders." The book serves the industry as a guideline for global project leadership and is built upon the foundational values of the Thunderbird executive education program of the same name. Youngdahl and Moran have delivered the Leading Global Projects program in countries around the world, including the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Japan, Singapore, UAE, and China. They have also developed an instrument for conducting 360-degree assessments of global project leadership capabilities and use the feedback to coach individuals to improve abilities across a set of specific competencies.

Youngdahl has a strong reputation for helping others. For example, he collaborated on a volunteer project in conjunction with the Thunderbird for Good initiative and the Novartis Foundation.

Youngdahl has authored numerous articles for the worlds leading management publications and journals, including such prestigious outlets as Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, International Journal of Service Industry Management, and Journal of Management Inquiry. He also served as an associate editor of Journal of Operations Management, broadly recognized as the leading journal in the field of operations management.

In addition to receiving the award of the Hacker Faculty Fellowship, Youngdahl has received awards for Outstanding Thunderbird Professor, Faculty Senate Award for Publications, and Faculty Senate Award for Service.

Prior to joining the faculty at Thunderbird, Youngdahl worked in manufacturing engineering and project management positions with Xerox and Hughes Aircraft, and he served in the U.S. Navy. Since joining Thunderbird, Youngdahl emerged as an expert executive educator. His expertise in delivering executive education has been sought by such global enterprises as Novartis, ExxonMobil, and American Express, to name a few.

Education

• Ph.D. Business Administration (Operations Management), University of Southern California 1992
• M.S. Systems Management (Information Systems), University of Southern California 1985
• B.S. Mechanical Engineering Technology, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 1983

Areas of Expertise

• Customer Service
• Operations Management
• Supply Chain Management