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  1. Directory
  2. Faculty
  3. William Klepper

William Klepper

Academic Director in Executive Education
Executive Education
Adjunct Professor
Management Division
Photo of William Klepper
Areas of Expertise
Leadership & Organizational Behavior
Contact
Office: 878 Geffen
Phone: (212) 8543405
E-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Klepper joined Columbia Business School in 1996 after over thirty years as a general manager in higher education.  He is a management professor who teaches Executive Leadership in the EMBA program and serves as the Faculty Director of the partnership with the Financial Times/Outstanding Directors Exchange on corporate governance. His teaching and research interest are in the areas of Executive Learning, Strategic Leadership and Corporate Governance. His most recent book, The CEO’s Boss: Tough Love in the Boardroom (2010, 2019) Columbia University Press was ranked as one of the Top Five Books by The Wall Street Journal’s livemint.com in December, 2010. The 2nd edition which includes his Columbia CaseWorks governance case studies published in 2018.

Columbia CaseWorks published his case studies on Executive Leadership and Governance: Corporate Leadership and the Personal Leadership Credo(2011), BP (2012), P&G (2014). Wounded Warrior Project (2014 and 2016), Demoulas Market Basket (2015) and Wells Fargo & Company (2017),ExecOnline (2022). BBVA published his Governance and Managing Change in the 21st Century (2014). Tough Love in the Boardroom was published in the Effective Executive, Icfai University Press (August, 2010). His article on What CEOs Have Yet To Learn was featured in Columbia Business School’s Alumni E-Newsletter and was published in the Effective Executive, Icfai University Press (January, 2009). The Klepper Leadership Model was first featured in Key Account Management and Planning (2001).

He serves as faculty director and teaches in Columbia’s ExecOnline Leading Strategic Growth course launched in the spring 2014 and Building and Leading Effective Teams launched in 2015. He is the faculty director and teaches in Executive Education’s Developing and Leading High Performance Teams, and teaches the Executive Leadership course in Columbia’s EMBA program. Dr. Klepper received his Ph.D. from St. Louis University in 1975.

He has worked with a number of corporations in custom programs including Aegion, AT&T, BankBoston, Bausch & Lomb, Bell Canada, BOC Gases, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Chase Manhattan Bank, Altria, Aviva, Deloitte, DuPont, Ericsson, Finmecannica, General Electric, GKN, Grand Metropolitan, Johnson & Johnson, Keysight, KONE, M&T Bank, Nabisco, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, SAP, Sony, StorageTek, Sun Microsystems and White Eagle Industries (Poland).

In his home community, he has served as President of the School Board, Mayor of the Township and President of the County Legislature.

Education
PhD, Saint Louis University, 1975
Joined CBS
1996

All Activities

  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Awards and Honors
  • Press
  • CaseWorks
  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Chapters
  • Courses
  • Case Studies
Course
B7550: Executive Leadership
View Course on Executive Leadership
  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Articles
In the Media

The ‘Muskification’ of the Federal Government Is in Full Swing

CNN Business
In the Media

Elon Musk Holds Talks with Politicians from 13 Countries—here’s the Agenda

Daily Star
In the Media

Elon Musk Has Met with Politicians from at Least 13 Different Countries: Here’s What He Has Talked About

CNN
In the Media

Tesla: The Spotlight Has Turned on Its Directors as Elon Musk Asks for More Control. Are They up to the Fight?

Yahoo! Finance
In the Media

Elon Musk Isn’t the First CEO to Use Drugs on the Job. Where Should Companies Draw the Line?

Fortune
In the Media

Elon Musk Is Shaping up to Be This Generation's Henry Ford – for Better or Worse

Insider
In the Media

Elon Musk Is 'Totally out of His Element' at Twitter because He Doesn't 'Understand Social Media,' a Harvard Leadership Expert Says

Insider
In the Media

Jack Dorsey Criticizes Musk Regime, Says Twitter CEO Should've 'Walked Away' From Deal

Technology
In the Media

Elon Musk Is a Wild card Who Could Make Life Difficult for Twitter's New CEO

CNN
In the Media

Jeff Bezos Is Stepping Down as Amazon CEO. He'll Still Have Huge Power at the Company

CNN
In the Media

Jeff Bezos Stepping Down as Amazon CEO Signals That We're Nearing the End of the Founder-CEO Era in Big Tech. Here's What It Means for a Company When Its Founder Takes a Step Back.

Business Insider
In the Media

3 Things Boeing Needs to Do to Fix Its Broken Culture

Barron's
In the Media

Boeing, Nike, and McDonald's: Why CEO Turnover Spiked in 2019

Yahoo! Finance
In the Media

Boeing's Bad Week in Washington: US Lawmakers Push CEO to Resign, but Investors Wait for 737 Max Approval

CNBC
In the Media

Wells Fargo's Mea Culpa: How to Lead Change after a Scandal

Forbes
In the Media

Wells Fargo Has a New Boss. His First Task Is Taming Washington

CNN
In the Media

Americans Are Losing Faith in the Government to Solve Their Problems - and Turning to Corporations Instead

Vox
  • CaseWorks
Case ID
230405

ExecOnline: It Takes a Leader to Broaden Access to Leadership Development

How can companies adopt various leadership agendas, practices, and behaviors at different stages of the business life cycle to help navigate through inevitable inflection points?

View Case on ExecOnline: It Takes a Leader to Broaden Access to Leadership Development
Case ID
180406

Volunteering for Conflict?

What is the best way for a volunteer to address the gaps in service delivery and governance that she identifies at the organization?

View Case on Volunteering for Conflict?
Case ID
170413

Wells Fargo & Company: Corporate Governance Crisis

What corporate governance policies should be enacted by Wells Fargo to avoid future allegations of unethical practices?

View Case on Wells Fargo & Company: Corporate Governance Crisis
Case ID
170405

The Wounded Warrior Project in 2016

What steps should Wounded Warrior Project executives and board members take to overcome the PR crisis it faced in early 2016?

View Case on The Wounded Warrior Project in 2016
Case ID
160405

Demoulas Market Basket: A Governance Challenge

Could more effective governance structures have prevented the meltdown at Market Basket in 2014?

View Case on Demoulas Market Basket: A Governance Challenge
Case ID
140419

Procter & Gamble In 2013: A Board Adrift?

Did Procter and Gamble's Board act in the best interest of the company in 2013 when it replaced CEO A. G. Lafley with his predecessor?

View Case on Procter & Gamble In 2013: A Board Adrift?
Case ID
81801

The Client Who Fell Through the Cracks (A and B)

How should an employee respond to a manager's request to fudge data after a client's portfolio underperforms?

View Case on The Client Who Fell Through the Cracks (A and B)
Case ID
110416

Corporate Leadership and the Personal Leadership Credo

What are the benefits of formally articulating the values one intends to demonstrate as a leader in a "personal leadership credo"?

View Case on Corporate Leadership and the Personal Leadership Credo
Case ID
120406

BP: A Company in Peril?

What role did ineffective leadership at BP Oil—both at the CEO and board level—play in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill?

View Case on BP: A Company in Peril?
Case ID
81803

Caught in the System: Felipe Montez and Concerns about the Global Supply Chain

What action should a junior manager take when he discovers poor working conditions at his company's South China supplier?

View Case on Caught in the System: Felipe Montez and Concerns about the Global Supply Chain

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