faculty

Major General Keith Thurgood, Ph.D.
(USA, Retired, BYU 1981)

Expertise:

Change, leadership development, strategic planning, operational excellence, continuous improvement, succession planning, leadership coaching

Experience:

Keith has served in the U.S. Army for over 28 years leading large military organizations on active duty and as a member of the Army reserve. His most recent military assignments include Commanding General, the 143rd Transportation Command and Deputy Commanding General, 377th Theater Support Command, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) with follow on assignments as Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Reserve with responsibility for execution of an annual budget of over $9B and oversight of 200,000 Soldiers world-wide. MG Thurgood also led the Army-wide Employer Partnership Initiative designed to reduce veteran unemployment.

Keith has served a variety of C-level positions including PepsiCo where he led their strategy and innovation team; Sam’s Club where he led one of three $15B operating divisions; president of the largest operating division of a health care performance improvement company, and was the CEO of “The Exchange”, the DOD’s $10B for-profit retail organization. MG Thurgood is currently a clinical professor at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Scholarly Work/Publications/Awards:
Keith has written many papers about leadership, character, organizational excellence, and succession planning. He has received the Brigham Young University Leadership Alumni Award in 2008. He also has received various military awards. Keith is a frequent speaker addressing leadership, strategy, healthcare and veterans’ issues and has testified before the House Armed Services Committee on global DOD retail operations and Soldier and family issues.