About Us
Dr. Jeremy Wortman
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With a strong passion for, and commitment to, the positive development of individuals and organizations, Jeremy Wortman is the Owner of HRD Initiatives which specializes in Organizational Development and Talent Management Solutions. In this capacity he works with client partners’ executive teams in determining talent management strategies, building leadership talent, the implementation of relevant solutions and the coaching of individual leaders.
Wortman has over seventeen years of experience in organization and leadership development with a significant amount of his time, early in his career, at TD Ameritrade where he was the Director of Organizational Effectiveness. There he was responsible for enterprise-wide talent management initiatives as well as partnering with senior executives across the organization to determine business unit and department-level talent management strategies, needs, and solutions that drive their performance goals. He has extensive knowledge of organizational psychology and has had great success in developing strategies and programs that build better individuals and organizations using a strengths-based approach.
Wortman has also focused his expertise within the accounting profession since 2004. He is a frequent speaker at various Regional, National and International conferences on the topics of Ethical Decision-Making, Leadership Development and Talent Management. As a consultant to the profession his clients include a range of small firms to the top ten largest in the United States, many of whom are found on the Accounting Today’s Best Firms to Work for list.
Wortman attended the University of Nebraska where he earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, Leadership and Organizational Development as well as a Masters in Business Administration. His undergraduate degrees are in Economics and Human Resources. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Academy of Management. He is also active in his local community as the former President for the Young Alumni Board for the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska where he has also been an adjunct professor since 1999.
Harry Lakin is a graduate of the Arizona State University, Hugh Downs School of Communication, Tempe, Arizona. Mr. Lakin did his post-graduate studies at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California.
A serial entrepreneur, Harry has formed, successfully managed and ultimately exited numerous businesses during his career including in the retail, service and transportation sectors.
Trained by the Arizona Attorney General’s office as a Mediator, Harry is expert in fostering better interpersonal communication and dispute resolution.
In 2012, Harry decided to return to his passion (and roots) of helping people achieve better communication outcomes. Mr. Lakin though his company, Hire Capacity, offers Talent Management solutions. Harry works with clients throughout North America helping to identify the clients best employee prospects and then facilitates recruitment, hiring and employee retention strategies. In addition, Mr. Lakin offers leadership workshop courses in Emotional Intelligence, Employee Engagement, Employee Coaching and Workplace Ethics.
Always one to give back to his community, Mr. Lakin has served in the following positions of service (among others):
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Chairman of the Arizona State Personnel Board (Appointed by then Governor Bruce Babbitt)
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Chairman of the Board of Directors, Junior Achievement of Central Texas
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Member of the MetroOrg Board, Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix
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Member of the Board of Directors, Arizona Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
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Harry Lakin
Why EQ Should Be Priority #1 to You and Your Business?
It's stunningly straight forward.
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Employees today want to work with and for Companies that treat them as the unique and individual human beings they are.
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If we've learned anything over the past three or so years it's that people feel life is too short to work for a company or a boss that is not aligned with their core values.
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Companies too, feel the same way. Employers need people with social skills that enhance company culture, not detract from it.
Developing Emotional Intelligence in individuals and then embracing it as an organization is the key driver of employee long term success and retention in the workplace and of corporate productivity as a whole.