Dr. Dee A. Soder

With decades of experience in business and psychology, Dr. Dee Soder remains one of the nation's leading advisors to top executives, companies and boards. The pioneer of executive coaching, a multibillion dollar industry, Soder is consistently cited by the Wall Street Journal, Fortune magazine, CNN, CBS Marketwatch, and NPR as "the country's top executive advisor," "the CEO's coach," and "the CEO's consigliere."

The founder and managing partner of the CEO Perspective Group, Soder advises top management and Boards on a wide range of issues. For over 20 years, Boards of Directors have asked Soder to conduct highly sensitive assessments to determine the status of chief executives. Clients include corporations, private equity firms, government, investment banks and non-profits, as well as highly successful executives and consultants — the leaders in every field.

Soder's career is full of "firsts." She was a Vice President at Prudential early in her career; led one of the President's Reorganization Projects for the White House; was Staffing Director for the District of Columbia; a chief of the D.C. Police Department; and a partner at Rohrer, Hibler, and Replogle (psychological consulting firm). While Senior Research Psychologist for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, she co-founded the highly regarded Personnel Testing Council in Washington 28 years ago. Soder's ability to translate her extensive technical background into practical results has frequently resulted in awards such as commendations from President Carter, Chase Manhattan Bank, the District of Columbia, the New York City Police Department, and plaudits from the Brookings Institution, the American Medical Association, the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NACD, Directors & Boards magazine, the American Association of University Women and 2008 honoree, ABC Competition for support of the arts and business. Over the years, she has been a professor at several universities. In 2004 Soder founded Fast Forward University™, the first accelerated training program for potential corporate stars.

Soder was on the Board of the Women's Campaign Fund, Women's Economic Round Table and several nonprofit boards. One of three people recognized in the Labor Department's initial Glass Ceiling report she has been honored many times for her work helping women advance. She volunteers considerable time to federal and state law enforcement agencies. Soder's insights and advice to leaders were featured on television, print, and online after September 11 — helping businesses better address the crisis. A sought after speaker, Soder has given over 20 keynotes and panels on leadership and corporate governance. Her articles and research on CEO assessment have received considerable acclaim from members of Congress, associations, governance experts, and key business leaders. Her commentary in "Inside the Mind of a Leader" (Harvard Business Review, 2004) has been widely praised for its insights on leadership and ethics. "Leading When It Counts", the lead article in a special Directors & Boards on Business Continuity and Crisis Management, was widely circulated after 2007 violence. With recent economic turmoil, Soder has become the "war-time consigliere" to CEOs and Boards. Via Renaissance Weekend meetings, research, and conversations with academic and political leaders she continues to stay a "Step Beyond."

Attending graduate school at night, Soder is a Phi Beta Kappa and earned a B.S. with Special Distinction, M.S., and Ph.D. in Psychology, with an emphasis on industry and legal applications, from the University of Oklahoma, as well as post-doctoral work in assessment and forensic psychology from George Washington University.

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