UVA Darden School and Foundation Name Kelly Bean President and CEO of Executive Education, Professor Tom Steenburgh Senior Associate Dean

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business and Darden School Foundation have named new leadership for Darden Executive Education, a top-ranked global provider of short courses, online courses and custom solutions for leading companies and organizations.

Kelly Bean will serve as president and CEO of Darden Executive Education and non-degree programs, and Professor Tom Steenburgh will assume the role of senior associate dean of executive education and non-degree programs.

“Darden Executive Education inspires and develops executive leaders at all stages of their careers, whether it be through certificate, custom, open-enrollment or online programs delivered in Charlottesville, Washington, D.C., or around the world. We partner with organizations to help them achieve world-class performance and to drive growth and innovation,” said Dean Scott Beardsley. “Kelly and Tom are taking the helm at an exciting time, where executive education growth has been reignited. They are poised to prepare Darden — and you and your organization — for new heights of excellence to meet the urgent, complex and global needs of business today.”

Bean, who began the role 1 February, comes to Darden from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where she served as associate dean of executive education. In her previous position, Bean successfully positioned Anderson as a leader in the field, significantly increasing the number of custom clients and developing strong and enduring relationships with client companies and partner institutions.

An experienced teacher with a focus on personal development and strategic problem solving, Bean has also been a leader in curriculum innovation with faculty, working with school clients to deliver business solutions.

Bean is the past chair of the board of UNICON, a global consortium of executive education organizations, and previously served on the board of ASCENT, an organization focused on leadership development of multicultural women.

Bean rose to the top of a competitive and global pool of candidates in a search conducted by an outside executive search firm and the UVA Executive Search Group.

Said Bean, “I’m excited to embark on this new chapter of my executive education career with such a highly-regarded program. Darden faculty bring such a critical perspective at a time when executives are dealing with constant change and retooling to combat large-scale disruption. We have an opportunity to make a real difference in business and society and continue to elevate the success Darden has created in partnership with leading organizations.”

Steenburgh, the Bank of America Research Professor of Business Administration, has run business-to-business marketing and sales programs both at Darden and at Harvard Business School. He is also a co-founder of the Thought Leader in the Sales Profession Conference, which is widely attended by leading academics and senior sales leaders.

“Companies are having to deal with an unprecedented level of change and uncertainty. We look forward to helping them develop the skills they need to thrive in the continually changing environment,” said Steenburgh.

Darden Executive Education offers a portfolio of short courses and custom solutions for organizations, which are delivered in Charlottesville, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and around the globe. Its clients have included global organizations such as AB InBev, Northrop Grumman and multiple branches of the U.S. military. Its technology-enabled synchronous and asynchronous online courses in topics such as design thinking and innovation in the workplace have made Darden a leader in the digital delivery of actionable insight.

Darden Executive Education is routinely cited among the world’s best providers. In 2016, Financial Times named the organization No. 1 in the world for open-enrollment in the categories of faculty, teaching methods and materials, course design, preparation, facilities, and food and accommodation.

Bean explained, “The current climate gives Darden an exciting opportunity to contribute to business and society in a way that realizes our mission to inspire and develop executive leaders in today’s global environment. This is what we do best.”