Leslie Marquard
Marble’s tagline, "we make clients wildly successful" began with a client describing the Leslie Marquard effect. As both coach and consultant, her way with questions and on-target guidance have created a global fan base of leaders and organizations that use her to help them set, refine, and reach stunning new goals.
As a certified executive coach, Leslie helps senior executives achieve substantial professional development goals. Leslie’s innovative approaches and ability to partner with her clients makes her an indispensable ally. She is a certified team coach, provider of The Leadership Circle Profile™, the Leadership Circle System™, and Appreciative Inquiry; and is a member of both the International Coach Federation and the Chicago Coach Federation where she has been a guest panelist.
Coaching clients include executives from Heidrick and Struggles, Lockheed Martin, Marquette University, The US Dept. of Defense, Mercer, Deloitte, Lansing Community College, Grant Thornton, Nestle' USA, Eaton, University of Kentucky, KSBJ, Road Ranger, Brookdale Senior Living, and more. As a corporate strategist and specialist in organizational transformation, Leslie takes on her clients’ biggest challenges. In her usual collaborative fashion, Leslie helps her clients create a preferred future complete with an action plan that the client is ready to implement before the white board marker is dry. She engages the whole system in a strengths-based approach to strategy. No white binders needed.
Leslie's vast experience covers higher ed, retail, insurance, aerospace and defense, transportation, manufacturing, higher-ed, professional services, nonprofit, finance, banking, pharmaceuticals, transportation, athletics, construction, broadcasting, museums, healthcare and more. She taught in the University of Notre Dame’s Unleashing Your Leadership Potential, for high potential managers, and has previously taught in the Integral Leadership program for full-time MBA students.
Leslie earned her BS degree from Louisiana State University and her executive coach certification from Georgetown University. She holds additional certifications in The Leadership Circle Profile, The Leadership Circle System, Appreciative Inquiry and is currently pursuing her Master Certified Coach certification, Spiritual Formation certification and Immunity to Change qualification. She is celebrating 18 years as Co-Founder and Managing Director of Marble Leadership Partners.
Philosophy
The name "Marble" comes from the collaboration of our founders' names, Marquard, Bill and Leslie and we are partners in life and in work. Kitschy, we know, but it is consistent with our core philosophy of service: collaboration. We involve a cross section of partnering professionals on almost every client engagement, and rarely is the same team assembled twice.
We prefer to leave the fresh-faced MBA crowd for the Big Guys and team with seasoned professionals who, like us, stay at the cutting edge of their respective fields. We collaborate with clients, too.
No one knows your business better than you do, and we respect that. We bring fresh perspective and outside insight, and add it to your deep institutional knowledge to create something that neither you nor we could have done on our own.
History
From our humble beginnings on the front porch of our home in Chicago, Marble Leadership Partners, Inc. has become a trusted partner to companies, organizations and executives everywhere. Teamed in life and in work, Leslie and Bill Marquard founded Marble in 2003 as a boutique strategy and transformation consulting firm. Our goal was to align years of Big Firm consulting and Fortune 200 executive experience with our values and interests in serving clients. We were off and running swiftly and have been ever since.
In 2004, Marble added Executive Coaching services to its portfolio. We knew that transformation inside organizations first happens inside the leaders, so Leslie completed coaching certification to help leaders transform themselves.
After five years in business, Marble moved its headquarters from our home to the swanky digs of 200 S. Wacker Street across the street from the Willis Tower. Even though we're usually on the road serving clients, it's good to be in the city again when we can be.
In the fall of 2011, Bill went back to "the dark side" and rejoined a Big Firm, fulfilling his growing desire to mentor fresh-faced MBAs. Marble continues, under the managing direction of Leslie, even though the "B" in Marble has left the building, so to speak. (We thought briefly about changing the name, but Leslie thinks “Marle” sounds like a dog from a movie, so the B stays.)
Check back for more history as we continue to serve a wide and wild array of clients and engagements. You never know what's at the end of O'Hare runway 27L!
