Sue Sears, VP Global Diversity and Inclusion at Kimberly-Clark and Kris Ruedebusch, KCP Senior Sales Capability Leader lead panel discussion with U.S. Army Brigade Commanders at the U.S. Army, Command and General Staff College, School for Command Prep, Brigade Pre Command and Command Sergeants Major Course  

Fort Leavenworth, KS/ March 03, 2014 / — Kimberly Clark Corporation (KCC) and Apex Analytics Group (AAG) introduced Sue Sears, VP Global Diversity and Inclusion at Kimberly-Clark Corporation as the keynote speaker for the U.S. Army, School for Command Prep, Pre Command Course, “Strategic Leader Seminar” (SLS) held March 02 – 06 2015. The course is held fourteen times per year at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, School for Command Preparation located on Fort Leavenworth, KS.

Senior industry leaders from Kimberly Clark Corporation, led by Sue Sears, VP Global Diversity and Inclusion and Kris Ruedebusch shared their insights and experiences with the U.S. Army Brigade Pre-Command Course, 15-04 during the Strategic Leader Seminar session.

The Kimberly Clark leaders discussed the story behind their award-winning people strategy and shared how it is driving critical cultural changes for Kimberly Clark to adapt and grow to a changing global environment. “K-C’s workplace diversity and inclusion are integral to our growth strategy, and we realized how greater diversity in the management team benefits the growth of Kimberly-Clark’s businesses and brands” explained Sue Sears, Vice President of Global Diversity & Inclusion at Kimberly-Clark Corporation. The Kimberly Clark representatives were truly value-added in the PCC course. Their discussions and corporate perspectives on leading change and creating a positive and successful corporate culture were outstanding.” – COL (R) Tom Guthrie

The classroom of over 50 Army Brigade Commanders and Command Sergeants Majors (CSMs) were engaged and quickly grasped the importance and relevance of K-C’s people strategy to their roles as strategic leaders. KCC executives highlighted K-C’s strategy of delivering measurable business results by embedding the belief that greater diversity of thought, experience and perspective fosters new ideas, identifies breakthroughs, and helps minimize risks in order to achieve goals. KCC’s insights resonated well with the Army officers and senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) as they connected the strategy to messages from senior Army leaders. One commander’s feedback highlighted this linkage “Great case study on how a company self-corrected to maintain relevance”.

“It is essential to have leadership from the top. Our CEO, Tom Falk, champions Kimberly-Clark’s efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive management team. He models the behavior we want to encourage across the organization.” (Source: Sue Sears Q&A Interview, Huffington Post Blog, 8/9/2014) US Army Veteran Kris Ruedebusch described how KCC’s diversity strategy extends to their development of military and veteran talent through their SALUTE network group which focuses on professional development and support of over 500+ military and veteran employees at Kimberly Clark. “Exposure to diverse environments and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of partners is a key component of professional development at Kimberly-Clark.  SALUTE and Kimberly-Clark recognize the great diversity that military veterans can bring to the organization.” Explained Ben Johnson, Sr. Brand Manager Global Intimate Care and Founder Kimberly-Clark SALUTE.

“We really appreciated the leadership perspective Sue Sears of Kimberly Clark provided to our Army’s future senior leaders. Sue’s insights on leading change, valuing diversity and her sharing of techniques to help shape the strategic direction of the firm were unequivocally value-added. This joint outreach initiative recognizes the importance of how seniors can continue to learn from others; it was a truly enriching experience.” – COL (R) Todd Ebel, Director of Brigade Command Development Programs

I know I speak for all our employees at K-C in saying that we consider it a privilege to be there to help our veterans in any way we can for all the sacrifices they and their families have made for us. I was inspired by being with such a talented group of professionals during the SLS panel and believe that these military leaders model leadership every day and those skills are very transferrable to the business world.

About US Army PCC, Strategic Leader Seminar at Fort Leavenworth

This strategic leader seminar series is delivered during each Pre-Command Course and CESL course by the Apex Analytics team in support of US Army senior leader development objectives. The objective of each seminar is to deliver operationally relevant leadership topics and insights through the lens of industry. The SLS executive panel was moderated by CGSC SCP Army instructors Todd Ebel and Tom Guthrie, and Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Business professor Ben Blackford.

The U.S. Army Mission Command Pre Command Course addresses a range of critically important themes in the area of Army senior leadership and strategy. The Apex team brings academia and industry together to deliver the Strategic Leader Seminar, and address similar leadership themes through the lens of industry. The seminar series identifies and invites leading industry organizations to exchange perspectives in strategic leadership with U.S. Army Brigade commanders and Command Sergeants Major as well as senior government civilian executives. Keynote speakers include industry corporate thinkers and leaders in their field, as well as papers and workshops delivered by university professors and industry practitioners.

About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world’s population trust K-C’s brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the Company’s 143-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

About Apex Analytics Group
Apex Analytics focuses on delivering a valuable Strategic Leader Seminar series for the U.S. Army’s SCP, helping to ensure their success and shape the future of the Army through the Commanders, CSMs, and senior Civilian Executives attending the course. Apex Analytics’ mission is to provide operationally relevant and professional services to our clients.

For more details about the information provided in this release please contact: James Dowdy, Apex Analytics Group, 913.314.3802. jd.dowdy@apexanalyticsgroup.com