A seasoned retail executive and educator, Lynn Olsen, Ph.D., is a Logile Advisory Board member and Principal Consultant of The Innovation Group, Inc. Lynn has a unique range of executive leadership experience in retail operations, merchandising, strategy, leadership development, and leading large-scale change. He provides thought leadership on a broad range of complex issues and advises executives and leadership teams in the retail, manufacturing, professional services and healthcare industries.
Prior to founding The Innovation Group in 2010, he was Corporate Vice President of Retail Operations at SUPERVALU. His industry career spanned four decades in management across many roles at all levels. During 12 years on the Corporate Retail senior staff, Lynn led a series of strategic retail operations and merchandising improvement initiatives across SUPERVALU’s retail companies. His business change teams designed and implemented streamlined business processes, new staffing designs and related technology, data management, and reporting tools in collaboration with their Information Technology and Supply Chain Services colleagues.
Lynn has long been active in industry affairs. He is a currently a member of the International Leadership Association, the Minnesota Organization Development Network, the Minnesota Change Management Network and the Association of Change Management Professionals.
As an educator, Lynn has been on the adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas (MN) Opus College of Business since 1999, working exclusively with graduate and executive education students. He is co-lead faculty for The Leadership & Management program as well as teaching courses in Strategy & Marketing. As a mentor, he serves as a trusted advisor and coach to both Executive MBA students and his client companies’ leaders. He also serves St. Thomas as a member of the University Technology Advisory Committee.
As a scholar, Lynn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Cardinal Stritch University, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University, where his doctoral research centered on the unique demands and leader development needs for business turnaround leadership.
