Since retiring from Accenture, Ellen Balaguer has createdÌęenormousÌęimpact in education, serving as a role model to countless Leeds students.ââ
If you ask Ellen Balaguer what sheâs most proud of in her philanthropic work, sheâs quick to quip thatâthanks to the efforts of the entire Leeds School of Business community to elevate its standing and impactââa bum like me would never be accepted there today.âÌę
Rather than tout her own accomplishments, Balaguer (Fin, Psychâ82) points to âa dramatic increase in the quality of the research and education at Leeds in the past two decades, which has allowed us, as a community, to significantly enhance the impact on the lives of our students, faculty and staff.â
Balaguerâs compelling storyâan impressive career with Accenture, her tireless work as a mentor and her emphasis on philanthropy that creates positive impact for othersâled to her selection as part of AACSB Internationalâs 2023 class of Influential Leaders. AACSB is the worldâs largest business education alliance; this annual initiative honors notable alumni from AACSB-accredited business schools whose work inspires the next generation of business leaders.
This year, AACSB sought nominees who create positive impact through leadership that is compassionate, curious and resilient, with a focus on purpose, people and planet.Ìę
âI donât do any of this for the recognitionâfor me, itâs about making impact and making the world a better place, and having fun doing it,â Balaguer said. âAt the same time, itâs nice to know youâre making a difference. I was so honored to find out Iâd been nominated, let alone that Iâd been selected.âÌę
âThe most rewarding part of working with Leeds is getting to talk with students and alumni, helping them figure out their own journeys.â
Ellen Balaguer (Fin, Psychâ82)
After retiring from Accenture as a global managing director in 2009, she became a highly active board member and philanthropist whose service includes the Leeds Advisory Board, the CU Boulder Enterprise Corporation board, the CU Denver Business School board, the Jane Goodall Institute, the Florence Crittenton School Denver, World Pulse, ActivateWork, the Colorado Ballet and many others. She was presented with the Leeds Alumni Service Award in 2012 for her extensive involvement with the school, including mentorship of students and supporting initiatives related to women in business, career development, global learning and scholarships.
Confidence in tomorrow's leaders
Her mentorship record is particularly impressive. Leeds is nationally recognized for its mentorship programs, but Balaguer has never been formally registered in the program. Get her in front of a class, though, and sheâs liable to leave with a half-dozenâor moreânew protĂ©gĂ©s. Ìę
âThe most rewarding part of working with Leeds is getting to talk with students and alumni, helping them figure out their own journeys or sharing perspectives from my own career,â she said. âI joke sometimes that people my age say young people donât want to work as hard as we did. But thatâs never been my experience. I have so much confidence in todayâs students to sustainably address our problems, and I look forward to the time when they are in charge.âÌę
At Accenture, Balaguer led many strategic growth initiatives for the organization and facilitated countless complex global deals. She successfully turned around several distressed business units and helped drive significant growth in outsourcing and consulting.Ìę
Her experience at CU was important preparation for her Accenture career. Balaguer got into business âby accident,â as she said, after taking an economics class in her first year: âI have often said that in my career, I may have used my psychology degree more than my business degreeâeven though when I was a college freshman, I would have told you business was the last career path I had in mind. That said, I have come full circle and now wholeheartedly believe that business can be a primary source for good.âÌę
The advantages her degree offered are a key reason she enthusiastically supports Leeds and other education-related causes.Ìę
âEducation, to me, is a root solution for addressing our biggest problems,â she said. âI want to make education far more accessible for far more studentsâespecially underrepresented studentsâto help them obtain the same advantages I had through my own great experience at CU.âÌę
A long record of service
At Leeds, Balaguer has established scholarships to support economically and socially disadvantaged students, while also providing funding for programming and activities that support students who have been historically excluded from accessing educational opportunities. Her impact goes far beyond Colorado, thoughâfor example, she sponsored a five-year pro bono project as part of a partnership between Accenture, the African Medical and Research Foundation and the Nursing Council of Kenya to educate 20,000 new registered nurses in Kenya, where the university system only had capacity to graduate 100 new RNs each year.Ìę
âI try to bring all the elements of the leadership and strategy skills I built in my career to bear in the nonprofit world,â Balaguer said. âAnd itâs not always as different as it seems. Youâre still trying to make an impact, to help an organization meet its goals. The way investments work are somewhat different, but how you build, hone and execute a strategy is very similar.âÌę
That enthusiasm was what made Balaguer an easy candidate for Leeds to nominate.Ìę
âA leader must be smart, strategic, energetic, trail-blazing, caring and thoughtfulâall qualities that colleagues and contemporaries use to describe Ellen,â said Yonca Ertimur, Leedsâ acting dean. âEllen has given back so much to her alma mater, and the community has benefited immensely from her leadership.â
âEllenâs achievements demonstrate that success in business can also mean success for society,â said Caryn Beck-Dudley, president and CEO of AACSB. âHer efforts to prioritize purpose, people and planet should inspire all of us to reorient our ideas about impactful leadership.â
When Will SinglesâÌęDay Find Its Place in the US?
With 25% of millennials projected to never marry, independence is becoming profitable. Itâs time that U.S. businesses adapt to this growing trend, according to Leeds Professor Peter McGraw.
CU Boulder Is Named a Top 50 Ignition School
Fast Company and Inc. released their inaugural list of institutions that impact society through innovation and entrepreneurship. How is the Leeds School of Business igniting some of that impact?