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Croixstone Promotes Grace Lynch to Director, Business Operations

Croixstone is excited to announce today the promotion of Grace Lynch to the role of Director, Business Operations. Grace joined Croixstone in March 2021 in the role of Senior Manager, Business Operations.

In her role as Director, Business Operations, Grace will continue to apply her background in operational and process excellence to sustain and scale Croixstone’s internal business operations function.

“Grace has played a vital role in delivering high-impact operational services and results since she joined the firm nearly two years ago,” said Patti Weber, Croixstone’s Chief Executive Officer. “Croixstone’s success in executing a national expansion strategy amidst the global pandemic, while concurrently achieving record revenues and profits, is a testament to Grace’s skills and expertise in leading our internal operations.”

Grace’s professional background includes nearly two decades at Wells Fargo during the bank’s growth spree where she provided leadership focused on problem resolution and process optimization in the Office of the President. During her time at the bank, Grace also performed due diligence and integration activities for mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, Grace served as a leader in the bank’s credit risk area where she was responsible for evaluating credit processes, policies, and regulatory requirements for all consumer lines of business, including mortgage originations, student lending, credit card, non-real estate lending, collections, and repo and asset disposal.

As a social innovator, Grace is one of three co-founders of the Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance, a community group that fuels collaboration and amplifies the voices of the Charlotte region’s pancreatic cancer community.

Learn more about Grace here.

ChatGPT Fast Facts

It is nearly impossible to scan the business news over the past few months without seeing “ChatGPT” in the headlines.

Here are some fast facts to help you get to know what ChatGPT is all about.

The big picture: Many experts believe that new chatbots like ChatGPT are poised to massively disrupt technology to the same degree like Apple’s iPhone, Google’s search engine, and Netscape’s web browser proved disruptive.

“Anybody who doesn’t use this will shortly be at a severe disadvantage. Like, shortly. Like, very soon.”
– Jeff Maggioncalda – CEO, Coursera

So what is it?: ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence tool that allows a user to generate original text. It can serve up information in clear, simple sentences, rather than just a list of internet links. Furthermore, the AI tool can explain concepts in ways humans can easily understand.

ChatGPT automatically generates text based on written prompts in a manner that is much more advanced and creative than earlier chatbots. The software debuted in late November 2021, and it has generated extreme buzz.

Here’s the backstory: ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based company that was founded in December 2015. Open AI’s founders include well known technology gurus including: Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, Greg Brockman, Wojciech Zaremba, Elon Musk, and John Schulman.

OpenAI’s mission: The company conducts research in the field of AI with the stated goal of promoting and developing friendly AI in a way that benefits humanity as a whole.

Yes, but: AI chatbots are anything but perfect. They learn their skills by analyzing huge amounts of data posted to the internet, and they therefore can blend fiction with fact. They can deliver information that is biased along with toxic language (including hate speech).

The money train: OpenAI’s founders pledged $1B to launch the company. The company received a $1B investment from Microsoft in 2019, another significant investment in 2021, and a rumored $10B investment in January 2023. Microsoft said the renewed partnership will accelerate breakthroughs in AI, and help both companies commercialize advanced technologies.

Learn more:
OpenAI
ChatGTP

Our Sources: CNN Business, Axios, The New York Times, Microsoft, Gizmodo, Wikipedia

Croixstone Welcomes Lisa Cahill as Senior Talent Leader

Croixstone is excited to announce today that Lisa Cahill has joined the organization in a newly-created role as Senior Talent Leader. Cahill will design and execute recruiting strategies to attract experienced professionals for the firm’s consulting and executive search practices.

“Having known Lisa for over a decade, I couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to the Croixstone team,” said Patti Weber, Croixstone’s Chief Executive Officer. “In her new role with the firm, Lisa will apply her advanced relationship-building skills to meet both our business and people objectives as Croixstone continues its national expansion.”

Cahill is an extraordinary connector who builds and nurtures long-lasting relationships that make a positive difference in the lives of people, organizations, and communities. In the early 1990s, she was among a few female pioneers recruited to join global pharmaceutical leader GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in a male-dominated sales organization. During her more than 15 years with GSK, Cahill excelled in building relationships with primary care and specialty physicians, and she served as a sales leader and district sales trainer for several divisions of the company including a new start-up division. Her success at GSK led to additional career opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry at both Abbott Laboratories and Avion Pharmaceuticals.

Additionally, Cahill spent nearly a decade in the specialty healthcare profession as a Physician Liaison for organizations including Southeast Pain and Spine Care, Carolinas Pain Institute, and Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center.

Read our Press Release here.

Croixstone Welcomes Brian McLaughlin as Director, Organizational Effectiveness

We are excited to announce today that Brian McLaughlin, MBA has joined Croixstone Consulting in a newly-created role as Director, Organizational Effectiveness. In this new role at the firm, Brian will deliver high impact programs and initiatives that support the firm’s corporate strategy and operational goals.

“I am thrilled to welcome Brian as an internal consulting resource to our senior leaders and teams at Croixstone,” said Patti Weber, Croixstone’s Chief Executive Officer. “In his new role with the firm, Brian will offer guidance and support with major short and long-term initiatives, especially those related to organizational design, leadership behaviors, team performance and change management.”

Brian brings to Croixstone over 30 years of experience in business transformation, process reengineering, change management, human resources leadership, and consulting. Prior to launching his consulting career in 2019, McLaughlin served for over 4 years in a variety of senior human resources leadership roles with The Chemours Company.

Additionally, Brian served more than three decades in a variety of corporate and site leadership roles with EI DuPont de Nemours including Global Human Resource Manager for 3 global business units with $4.3 billion in annual revenue and 37 manufacturing sites.

Read our Press Release here.

The Charlotte Business Journal Interviews Croixstone’s CEO

To many outside the industry, terms such as “consulting” and “transformation” can be vague. Croixstone Consulting’s CEO Patti Weber is known for her pragmatic approach in helping others to understand the firm’s business model.

Laura Williams-Tracy (Contributing Writer) of the Charlotte Business Journal recently interviewed Patti to learn how Croixstone fills a niche for middle market companies across the USA.

Read (or listen to) the December 2022 interview here.

Croixstone Ranks #2 on Fast 50 List

Croixstone Consulting announced today that it landed on the Charlotte Business Journal’s Fast 50 list as the Charlotte, NC region’s second fastest-growing private company. The ranking, which is based on the average revenue growth over a three-year period, was revealed at the Charlotte Business Journal’s annual Fast 50 Awards Dinner on December 1.

Read our latest Press Release to learn more.

Croixstone is Growing at Fast 50 Speed

The Croixstone team is in celebration mode this week!

Our hometown hometown business periodical, the Charlotte Business Journal, announced on Monday, November 14, that Croixstone has been named as one of the Charlotte region’s 50 fastest growing private companies. Our ranking, which is based on the average percentage of revenue growth over a three-year period, will be revealed at the Charlotte Business Journal’s upcoming 2022 Fast 50 Awards Dinner on December 1.

It takes a village to fuel a small business, and Croixstone thanks our consultants, clients, internal leaders and business partners for your incredible contributions in fueling Croixstone’s growth.

Review the 2022 “Fast 50” list here.
(paid subscription may be required)

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know that November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month? This month is exceptionally important to Croixstone Consulting as three of our senior leaders have families who have been impacted by this challenging disease.

Croixstone’s CEO and co-founder Patti Weber lost her father to pancreatic cancer, our Managing Partner and co-founder Mark Weber lost his mother to the disease, and our Senior Manager of Business Operations Grace Lynch lost her niece to the disease.

Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the USA and is the nation’s third leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite these facts, the typical American knows very little about the disease.

To honor the loved ones they’ve lost to pancreatic cancer. Patti, Mark and Grace are determined to educate Americans about the disease. In 2020, the trio launched a non-profit community organization (The Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance) to increase awareness of the disease with a hyper local focus on the fast-growing Charlotte, North Carolina region.

Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance is a member of the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition (WPCC) which is a global consortium of pancreatic cancer advocacy organizations. In October 2021, WPCC profiled Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance along with Patti, Mark and Grace in its monthly newsletter.

Read the profile here.
Learn more about the symptoms and risks of pancreatic cancer here.

WOSB Recertification

We are continuing to celebrate a memorable week at Croixstone Consulting! In follow-up to our news on September 26, 2022 that we have received national recertification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), Croixstone is proud to announce a second achievement this week.

Our CEO, Patti Weber, announced today that Croixstone has been granted recertification as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). The certification was granted by the Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC), a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), who serves as an approved third-party certifier for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s WOSB Federal Contracting Program.

This latest achievement fuels continued growth opportunities for Croixstone by allowing the firm to compete for federal contracts set aside for the WOSB Federal Contracting Program.

Read our Press Release here.

WBE Recertification

The Croixstone team is excited to announce that we have received national recertification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Croixstone was first certified as a WBE in 2020. The enterprise certification is a powerful tool that enables Croixstone to expand the firm’s visibility among decision-makers in supply chain diversity and procurement.

Read our Press Release here.

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