James T. Ryan

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Jim Ryan is a leader in human capital management and executive recruiting with more than 30 years in human resource management, operations and executive positions. He has been instrumental in bringing about organizational change in virtually every company he has served, including his own.

Jim’s corporate experience includes pharmaceutical sales for Johnson & Johnson and Human Resource Management and executive management for The Singer Company, Frito-Lay and Welch Foods. In 1994 he established his own consulting firm and later built a successful staffing service, matching top-notch people with the businesses that could benefit most from their skills.

Over the years, Jim has managed human resources in both union and union-free facilities. He has negotiated a number of collective bargaining agreements with a variety of international unions earning the respect of the bargaining teams and the union membership. At Welch’s, Jim initiated “Operation Excellence,” a task group designed to improve operational and organizational effectiveness and began the process to forge a new relationship between labor and management based on mutual understanding, cooperation and communication.

Today, at Decision Associates, Jim leads companies through strategic planning, succession planning, human capital management, executive search and the management of complex organizational change.

With his trademark entrepreneurial spirit, Jim continues to strengthen businesses and nonprofits through his involvement in The Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, The Manufacturers’ Association of Northwest Pennsylvania, The Erie Community Foundation, and the Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NWIRC) activities, among others.

Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology (with distinction) from Ohio State University and an MBA with a concentration in organizational behavior from Gannon University. He has completed human resource executive programs at University of Michigan Graduate School of Business, University of California at Irvine, University of Southern California Center for Effective Organizations, Babson College and the Center for Creative Leadership. Jim holds a lifetime certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources from the Human Resource Certification Institute and designation as a Master Human Capital Strategist from the Human Capital Institute.

Jim is active in the Opportunities Unlimited as board chair, Erie Club Admissions committee, Millcreek Sewer Authority board member and Erie Ambassadors steering committee. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and served in Vietnam in 1969-70. He holds nine military decorations.