New York, said the brassy H.L. Mencken, “is the place where all the aspirations of the Western World meet to form one vast master aspiration.”  

Duke CE’s Blair Sheppard relishes that sentiment. “If you purport to be the best in the world at what you do, you have to play in the most significant markets,“ he announced at the official opening of a new office on West 21st Street.

To the applause of employees, educators, and guests, Sheppard invited Bob Daugherty of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Hope Greenfield of Lehman Brothers to join him and Duke CE’s President Judy Rosenblum in cutting the white ribbon on the evening of May 10th.

With existing offices in London and San Diego in addition to its headquarters in Durham, NC, Duke CE needed to be in New York—now.  It was inevitable that Duke CE would plant a foot in the Northeast, with several clients headquartered in the metro area, more and more programs being delivered there, and increasing interest from every quarter—though Rosenblum commented that the dream of a New York office had become real faster than anyone imagined.

“Were it not for a set of fantastic clients,” Sheppard put in, “we would have never had the ability to do this.  Our clients were willing to take a bet on us and they allowed us to be creative. That is what got us here.” 

Those clients included Daugherty and his PricewaterhouseCoopers colleague, Chief Learning Officer Tom Evans, who have overseen their firm’s partnership with Duke CE, using education to guide culture change and drive business strategy since 2001.

In offering congratulations, Daugherty said, “Our transformation wouldn’t have happened without our relationship to Duke CE. It has been a partnership in which we’ve bonded very closely together. The business model is one in which you have access to intellect from around the world. There are a lot of people from this organization thinking on our behalf every single day to help us be truly the leader in our profession.” 

He added, “It is an honor to do business with you, an honor to have you as a partner.”

Lehman Brothers’ Greenfield, a managing director and the chief learning officer, has worked with Duke CE since 2004. “The greatest thing Duke CE has done is that you’ve made [your location] immaterial to us,” she said. “The relationship has been so seamless.

“Duke CE is not executive education in the standard way—and I don’t go to universities because all you get from universities is what they’re doing at that particular point in time.… What Duke CE brings is a set of resources and capability that I can’t replicate in my own firm or by going to other executive education providers. I’m delighted to see this New York office – but I am more delighted by the quality of the relationship that we have.”

Kim Taylor-Thompson, a key member of Duke CE’s Global Learning Resource Network, is moving from her position as professor of clinical law at New York University School of Law to serve as managing director for the office. Taylor-Thompson wasted no time, convening an educator forum the day after the opening ceremony to orient members of the educator network, which Duke CE maintains as a key differentiator.

Other New York staff include:

• David Miller - VP Business Development and Managing Director
• Schon Beechler - Executive Director
• Rosemary Mathewson - Managing Director
• John Kent - COO, NY
• Michelle Hoover - Associate Director, GLRN
• Tom Colligan - Managing Director
• Kameka Dempsey - Project Director
• Quiana Hollie - Program Manager