Professional Services Leadership Initiative Graduates Second Cohort

High-performing marketing managers from four global firms met at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business as part of Cohort Two of the Professional Services Leadership Initiative (PSLI). This two-session program is organized by the Center for Excellence in Service and the Office of Executive Programs at Smith. 

Founding partners of the PSLI are Randstad, the global staffing company, which had representatives from France, Poland, and Japan; JLL, the commercial real estate firm, which sent a team of U.S. managers and was showcased in a case study on rebranding; and T. Rowe Price, the investment firm, which sent participants from the U.K. and the U.S.  PwC joined this year’s PSLI as a new partner. 

As part of the PSLI experience, the group enjoyed a private tour of the U.S. Capitol in the company of former Congressman Moody Laughlin. Topics explored in class included marketing models, global branding,  digital marketing, data analytics, partnering with agencies,  aligning marketing and sales teams, and customer experience management. The group also completed team-based Action Learning Projects (ALPS), applying what they learned to real problems facing their companies. 

PSLI partners sent senior-level executives to Smith to observe the teams’ ALP presentations, and offer feedback. Upon returning to their firms, the teams will be operationalizing their projects. 

Smith’s Center for Excellence in Service has a worldwide reputation for leadership in professional services marketing. The program was designed by Janet Wagner, associate professor of marketing and director of the Center for Excellence in Service, and adjunct professor Suzanne Lowe.