DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Biography:

Serving as the Managing Director in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University, Rich partners with the Department Chair to develop and execute the strategic plan for the largest department at Northwestern. He oversees the areas of finance, research administration, information technology, safety, space and facilities, human resources, academic program administration, external relations, and appointments of international faculty, staff, visiting scholars, post-doctoral fellows and research associates.

Prior to joining Northwestern in 2017, Rich served as the Director of Business Continuity at Walgreens Co. based in Deerfield, Illinois, where he led all aspects of Walgreens' award-winning Business Continuity, Emergency Management and Crisis Management programs across the enterprise. In this role he led resilience efforts for the entire enterprise of over 12,000 locations and nearly 300,000 team members. During this time his expertise was further utilized as an advisor to the United States Department of Health and Human Services on matters of critical infrastructure as a member of the Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council. Rich also served in the United States Navy aboard numerous nuclear submarines in the Pacific Fleet including as Chief of the Boat of USS Henry M. Jackson. His executive roles included Command Master Chief both aboard a large surface ship and at the Navy’s largest shore command where he led over 10,000 personnel, managed a budget of over $650MM and oversaw the training of over 154,000 personnel. During his career he also authored and taught leadership and management development courses for over 35,000 leaders.

Selected Awards:

• American Business Award - Bronze Stevie Award, Support Team of the Year 
• University of Illinois "Notable Alumni" 
• Business Continuity Institute's North American Award for Most Effective Recovery
• Lloyd's List Award-Global (finalist)
• Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience
• CIR Continuity Award (finalist)
• Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Practice
• THEA Award for Themed Training Experience
• Design-Build Institute of America Best Overall Design (public sector)
• Chief of Naval Operations Afloat Safety Award