Biography

Jim Champy, Chairman of Dell Services' consulting practice, is recognized throughout the world for his work on leadership and management issues and on organizational change and business reengineering. His first book, Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, sold more than 3 million copies and spent more than a year on The New York Times best seller list. He is also the author of the best seller, Reengineering Management: The Mandate for New Leadership, which was recognized by Business Week as one of the top ten best business books of 1995.

With Professor Nitin Nohria of the Harvard Business School, Champy is the co-author of The Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey and Fast Forward: The Best Ideas on Managing Business Change. His columns and articles appear in such magazines a Forbes, ComputerWorld, Sales and Marketing Management, Leader to Leader, and Baseline. His work has also been featured on BusinessWeek.com, Search CIO, and Safari.

In 2008, Mr. Champy’s book, Outsmart! How To Do What Your Competitors Can’t, was published. Outsmart! reveals many surprising and counterintuitive lessons learned by companies who have built new business models, or altered existing ones, to achieve super-high growth rates.

His latest book, Inspire! Why Customers Come Back, includes eight concise case studies that look at how businesses become successful by “inspiring” their customers to be loyal for the long-term. The examples show creative thought and explore how a company’s vision and mission can directly impact their sales success. Both Outsmart! and Inspire! are part of a series of business books, describing new business models, that Mr. Champy is writing for the Financial Times Press. His third book in the series will be DELIVER! How to be Fast, Flawless, and Frugal.

At Dell Services, Champy provides strategic guidance to the company's team of business and management consultants and plays a pivotal role in furthering the firm's goal to create an approach to services design and delivery unlike any in the industry. He consults extensively with senior executives of multinational companies seeking to improve business performance. His approach centers on helping leaders achieve business results through four distinct, yet overlapping areas—business strategy, management and operations, organizational development and change, and information technology.

Prior to joining Dell Services, Champy was Chairman and CEO of CSC Index, the management consulting arm of Computer Science Corporation. He was one of the original founders of Index, a $200 million consulting practice that was acquired by CSC in 1988. Under Champy, the company's consulting practice grew at a rate of 25 percent a year.

Champy earned his BS in 1963 and his MS in Civil Engineering in 1965 from MIT. Anxious to broaden his education, he attended Boston College Law School, where he became deeply involved in the intellectual life of the school and served on The Law Review as a writer and as an editor of The Annual Review of Massachusetts Law. He received his JD in 1968 and immediately passed the bar exam.

In 1969, Tom Gerrity, Champy's roommate from MIT who recently retired as dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, had an opportunity to start a company based on the work he was doing toward his PhD. His first project was to build an automated investment portfolio management system, and he asked Champy and two other MIT classmates—Fred Luconi and Richard Carpenter—to join him as partners. They started with an initial investment of $370 each and named the company Index Systems.

By 1988, Index saw the need to become part of a large company and was acquired by CSC. After CSC acquired Index, Gerrity left to become dean of Wharton and Champy became chairman, leading the firm to international prominence and its growth to $200 million. "At Index, I learned how to grow a business," he says. As chairman of consulting for Dell Services, Champy continues to consult with clients, while providing strategic guidance to Dell Services' own growth.

Champy is in demand as a speaker around the world. He is often asked by major media to comment on the news of the day and is a frequent guest on television and radio programs. Champy is a member of the MIT Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Board of Trustees, and serves on the Board of Overseers of the Boston College Law School. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Analog Devices, Inc.


	Home Acclamations Articles Biography Contacts Other Books Podcasts/Video	Biography Jim Champy, Chairman of Dell Services' consulting practice, is recognized throughout the world for his work on leadership and management issues and on organizational change and business reengineering. His first book, Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, sold more than 3 million copies and spent more than a year on The New York Times best seller list. He is also the author of the best seller, Reengineering Management: The Mandate for New Leadership, which was recognized by Business Week as one of the top ten best business books of 1995. With Professor Nitin Nohria of the Harvard Business School, Champy is the co-author of The Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey and Fast Forward: The Best Ideas on Managing Business Change. His columns and articles appear in such magazines a Forbes, ComputerWorld, Sales and Marketing Management, Leader to Leader, and Baseline. His work has also been featured on BusinessWeek.com, Search CIO, and Safari. In 2008, Mr. Champy’s book, Outsmart! How To Do What Your Competitors Can’t, was published. Outsmart! reveals many surprising and counterintuitive lessons learned by companies who have built new business models, or altered existing ones, to achieve super-high growth rates. His latest book, Inspire! Why Customers Come Back, includes eight concise case studies that look at how businesses become successful by “inspiring” their customers to be loyal for the long-term. The examples show creative thought and explore how a company’s vision and mission can directly impact their sales success. Both Outsmart! and Inspire! are part of a series of business books, describing new business models, that Mr. Champy is writing for the Financial Times Press. His third book in the series will be DELIVER! How to be Fast, Flawless, and Frugal. At Dell Services, Champy provides strategic guidance to the company's team of business and management consultants and plays a pivotal role in furthering the firm's goal to create an approach to services design and delivery unlike any in the industry. He consults extensively with senior executives of multinational companies seeking to improve business performance. His approach centers on helping leaders achieve business results through four distinct, yet overlapping areas—business strategy, management and operations, organizational development and change, and information technology. Prior to joining Dell Services, Champy was Chairman and CEO of CSC Index, the management consulting arm of Computer Science Corporation. He was one of the original founders of Index, a $200 million consulting practice that was acquired by CSC in 1988. Under Champy, the company's consulting practice grew at a rate of 25 percent a year. Champy earned his BS in 1963 and his MS in Civil Engineering in 1965 from MIT. Anxious to broaden his education, he attended Boston College Law School, where he became deeply involved in the intellectual life of the school and served on The Law Review as a writer and as an editor of The Annual Review of Massachusetts Law. He received his JD in 1968 and immediately passed the bar exam. In 1969, Tom Gerrity, Champy's roommate from MIT who recently retired as dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, had an opportunity to start a company based on the work he was doing toward his PhD. His first project was to build an automated investment portfolio management system, and he asked Champy and two other MIT classmates—Fred Luconi and Richard Carpenter—to join him as partners. They started with an initial investment of $370 each and named the company Index Systems. By 1988, Index saw the need to become part of a large company and was acquired by CSC. After CSC acquired Index, Gerrity left to become dean of Wharton and Champy became chairman, leading the firm to international prominence and its growth to $200 million. "At Index, I learned how to grow a business," he says. As chairman of consulting for Dell Services, Champy continues to consult with clients, while providing strategic guidance to Dell Services' own growth. Champy is in demand as a speaker around the world. He is often asked by major media to comment on the news of the day and is a frequent guest on television and radio programs. Champy is a member of the MIT Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Board of Trustees, and serves on the Board of Overseers of the Boston College Law School. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Analog Devices, Inc.