Burke Robinson
2361 Columbia Street
Palo Alto, CA, 94306-1237
Phone: (00)1.650.857.1064
E-mail: burke@burkerobinson.com
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Summary of Expertise
Works with the top
management team and board of directors of leading global companies to help them
make complex decisions about strategy and change in their organizations. Leads
numerous executive seminars and retreats each year for organizations worldwide
to develop strategic agendas, identify issues and challenges, create new
alternatives, evaluate uncertain consequences, make clear decisions, and
implement action plans. At Stanford University, leads a team of professionals
who teach a sequence of courses on decision making in organizations. In China,
teaches EMBA courses and entrepreneurial programs. Speaks at international
conferences on current topics in decision and risk analysis.
Burke Robinson,
LLC
February 1999 to present
CEO
Palo Alto, CA
Advises, coaches, and assists senior executives as they make key decisions
that shape their organization’s future, including crisis decisions, major
investment decisions, enterprise strategy, and portfolio strategy. Conducts
strategy seminars and workshops, training and development programs, and
executive retreats. Provides practical approaches for the art of qualitative
structuring as well as the science of quantitative analysis of key strategic
decisions. Teaches four-day courses on decision and risk analysis for EMBA
programs in China at Jinan University and Anhui University. Also teaches
decision quality courses in China for the New Entrepreneurs Development Program.
Stanford
University
April 1999 to present
Consulting Professor, Management Science & Engineering
Stanford, CA
Leads a team of twenty professionals who teach a dozen undergraduate and
graduate courses on decision making in organizations, with a pragmatic focus on
how to improve the quality of both decision process and content. In an
experiential learning environment, small teams of students develop their skills
using state-of-the art tools and techniques for framing, structuring, modeling,
assessing, and analyzing some of the actual decisions being made in a variety of
different organizations. Also, mentors and advises students on life and career
decisions.
Institute for
the Future
February 2003 to
October 2003
Director, Business Horizons Program
Menlo Park, CA
Directed a multi-disciplinary research and consulting program to develop
forecasts about alternative future scenarios, and to draw insights about
strategic decisions that deliver value in those scenarios. Redesigned the
signature product, the Ten-Year Forecast, as a trilogy of reports: words to
define future risks and opportunities, numbers to portray data and trends, and
images to capture conceptual maps and vital visual information. Facilitated
conferences and workshops. Managed customized research and consulting
engagements.
Strategic
Decisions Group
August 1981 to
February 1999
Director and Partner
Menlo Park, CA
Helped global Fortune 500 clients create and realize value in five key areas:
1. Strategic Leadership — developed corporate portfolio and business unit strategies; provided advice and guidance on global expansion, merger and acquisition, corporate/project financing, product and market revitalization, business process innovation, and organizational realignment.
2. Strategic Management — shifted focus of the corporate culture to value creation, re-engineered management and decision processes, restructured businesses around value centers rather than functions, and developed systems for asset value management.
3. Business Development — screened new business candidates, created high-tech product opportunities, developed international market entry alternatives, refocused business plan for partners in global consortium, and analyzed competing venture development strategies.
4. Risk Management — diversified commodity portfolio risks, documented mega-project construction and operating risks, assessed technical and economic risks of industrial equipment repair/replacement, and measured financial liquidity risks.
5. Decision Analysis — optimized R&D project portfolios, assessed market uncertainties for new products, evaluated capital cost sensitivities, compared risks of alternative technologies, and analyzed risk and return of investment decisions.
Responsible for marketing and managing up to $5 million of
annual consulting project revenues in energy, oil & gas, utilities, pulp &
paper, forestry, mining & metals, chemicals, software, pharmaceuticals,
biotechnology, telecommunications, automotive, insurance, and financial service
industries. Developed long-term account relationships with clients; led practice
area development; and organized internal processes for recruiting, training, and
performance review.
Resource
Planning Associates
October 1980 to August 1981
Senior Associate
San
Francisco, CA
Consultant in energy
and natural resource practice area. Responsible for marketing and managing up
to $1 million in consulting project revenues. Developed EPRI seminar program
for electric utility executives. Focused on decision analysis for R&D and
technical investments.
SRI
International
September 1978 to October 1980
Decision Analyst
Menlo Park, CA
Assisted government
and corporate clients with decision support software design, cryptography
research choices, residential fire prevention strategies, refinery/petrochemical
plant expansion options, oil sands investment decisions, and coal gasification
technology R&D selection.
Institute for
the Future
November 1973 to September 1974
Research Associate
Menlo Park, CA
Researched future trends: societal values in response to the energy crisis,
critical global priorities for philanthropic foundation programs, and social
impacts of telecommunications technology.
Education
PhD 1979 Management Science &
Engineering Stanford University
MS 1976 Management Science
& Engineering Stanford University
MA 1973 Technology and
Human Affairs Washington
University, St. Louis
BA 1971
Psychology
Stanford University
Professional
Affiliations
Scientific Research Society (Sigma Xi)
Association for Psychological Type (APT)
Certified trainer for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
