In the past year, Sally Blount celebrated two major milestones: she turned 50, and she became dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. With an ambitious new agenda that includes reorganizing the administration, creating a new strategic plan, launching the school’s “Think Bravely” marketing campaign, and overseeing the construction of a world-class facility for Kellogg to call home, Blount has her work cut out for her.
But Blount is no stranger to the innovation she says has come to define Kellogg. She received her Ph.D. in management and organizations from the school in 1992 and said being an alumna has helped her understand how Kellogg shaped her as a leader.
In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Victoria Stilwell, Blount discussed her experience as the school’s new dean as well as the changes Kellogg will see under her leadership.
How has your first year leading Kellogg been?
It’s been an incredibly energizing year. I love being at the helm of the school and the brand that has a whole lot of flexibility in what it is and what it brings. We aren’t constrained by the same institutional constraints many of our competitors have, a sense of doing it a certain way. Kellogg has always been able to innovate, and I love the fact that we’re the competitor that people expect new things from. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
In your most recent blog post, you said “Kellogg has to re-envision itself in light of the 21st century’s challenges and opportunities — strategically, operationally, even as a brand.” What are some of those challenges and opportunities, and how will you respond?
There is more complexity and more uncertainty in the world than ever before. When you have 7 to 8 billion people in the world, that creates more complexity in the process of organizing all the human beings on the planet. We also have many more interlocked economies, businesses across borders that create additional complexity in how the world works.
Read the full article: Kellogg’s Sally Blount: My First Year