Everyone can be a leader. Leaders and Thinkers is an "outside the box" thinking global forum of authentic leaders birthed through LinkedIn professional network group. C. Benjamin Anyacho in Austin, Texas, USA is the founders and facilitator. Peter Wood from Canada is the group coordinator. We are business-minded leaders and thinkers from 100+ nations on earth – our purpose is honest strategic partnership, to raise 1,000,000  thinking authentic leaders around the world.

Here, it’s natural to think outside the box.  We challenge our assumptions and question the everyday things we take for granted. We ask: Why? What if?  

This group is a few weeks old, and we currently have 8500+ thinkers, C-level executives, founders, coaches, mentors, inventors, entrepreneurs, thinkers and leaders from every continent who are involved in strategic business partnerships, collaborations, and cross-fertilization of leadership ideas.

By the way, authentic leadership is always a choice, not a position.

About C. Benjamin Anyacho, founder and facilitator, Leaders & Thinkers  

• Authentic servant-leader, exceptional networker, “outside- the-box” thinker, and business strategist, project manager, business mentor,  and innovator.
• Founder and moderator of the emerging great Leaders & Thinkers (Target: 1,000,000 thinking authentic leaders) on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1319847 www.LeadersandThinkers.org
• An entrepreneur, corporate crisis management consultant and founder & managing partner at Able J Resources & Consulting, a new hybrid Employee Assistance Program with chaplaincy, www.AbleJresources.com
• Want to  add value and build people differentiation to employers and employees; help employees in the workplace feel “whole” at work—being able to bring their spiritual self to the job alongside their mental and physical selves through Able J Resources, on call, on site and online, 24X7
• Certified Restorative Therapist and crisis manager
• Radio/TV talk show co-host of Austin Arise! Transforming Revival Radio with Benjamin Anyacho and Barbara Bucklin, weekly on FM 99.3 and FM 98.5 and TV shows on city-impacting issues in Austin and Central Texas
• Keynote speaker, authentic leadership and “outside-the-box” thinking mentor and coach: Presents at conferences in Texas and internationally to audience ranging from 20 to 1000 leaders at various levels of leadership.
• Founder and executive director at Apostolic Bridge Builders, Inc. that facilitates, connects and networks 500+ businesses and non-profit organizations in Texas for city and regional transformation since 2002 through roundtables and citywide gatherings
• Project Manager, new product developer in a wide variety of businesses
• Apostolic leader and missionary, facilitator of New Wine Gathering in Austin, Texas
• Managed a grassroots effort which included about 80,000 university students and Youths
• Fostered dozens of strategic partnerships among community leaders, media, compassion and transformational leaders locally and globally
• President, students’ Union (government) of Federal Polytechnic
• Obtained HND (B.Sc.) ‘95 in Banking & Finance in Nigeria; BBA ‘05 and MBA ‘07 at St. Edward's University, Austin, TX

• Dossier of C. Benjamin Anyacho, MBA, PMP

  • Benjamin Anyacho is a Harbinger of excellence in Project and Program management and delivery, with over 15 years of result-oriented experience in managing complex enterprise-wide and global projects & programs; he has added multi-million dollars in value to organizations diverse industries both in the private and public sectors.  
  • He is currently a senior project manager and senior business advisor with the Office of Strategic Planning, Texas Department of Transportation, where he assists in organizational strategy, leads in delivering cultural change, drives enterprise-wide programs and projects of varying complexities and scope; Benjamin designed Project Management Development and Certification programs, where he leads/oversees 29 certified PMPs to instruct, coach, and mentor dozens of other project managers in PM best practices and credentialing; He is the go-to person for project management principles and methodologies; He developed Project Management instructional strategies and curriculum; in conjunction with the PMO, Benjamin led the design and standardization of PM tools, templates, processes, and procedures, and establishment Organizational Process Assets.
  • Benjamin is a value-adder, unrepentant crusader of project management principles and methodologies, an insightful contributor to its professional development,  quintessential technocrat, and a skilled strategist; He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP); earned B.Sc. in Banking & Finance; He also obtained Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration, Global Business concentration from St. Edward's University, Austin; The Juliana King University in Houston conferred upon him the honorary degree of Leadership, and he also serves as a board of Trustee member of the University; Benjamin founded a couple of large non-profit organizations, including Leaders and Thinkers International with 20K+ global leaders from more than 150 countries; He serves as a founding advisory board member of the ADRN--the largest disaster relief organization in central Texas, and VP Marketing of the PMI Austin Chapter board
  • He is the author of Bold, Fresh Wine: A Cry for Sustainable Transformation, 2010
  • Benjamin was an adjunct professor to some local colleges, including Park University, Austin
  • He lives in Round Rock with his wife and two kids and has lived in Austin for 16 years
  • Benjamin Anyacho is a Charismatic Project Manager and Dashboard Evangelist with over 20 years of result-driven leadership experience in managing complex and multinational Programs and Projects ranging from $1 million to $25 million in value
  • He said, “Whenever they said it cannot be done, I have always proved them wrong.”
  • Anyacho has created and developed dozens of Program and Project management and leadership curriculum (including all PMBOK knowledge areas) and strategies
  • Benjamin has presented at numerous local and global conferences in the areas of project, program, and portfolio management, visionary and transformational leadership, business and economic development, community/national transformation and sustainability, transportation, etc.
  • Currently, he is a senior project manager (Operation Excellence Coordinator) at Research and Technology Implementation (now at Office of Strategic Planning) of Texas Dept. Of Transportation where he developed and implemented an enterprise-wide PM Development and Certification Program; led a PM team that included PMO to standardize PM tools, templates and process, and creation of Organization Process Assets (OPA);
  • He is the go-to person for mentoring and coaching project managers on PM principles and methodologies; manages a program with 29 certified PMPs who coach and mentor other project managers; he drives his division’s Dashboard
  • Prior to his current position, he was the Interim Director, DBE/SBE/HUB section, Office of Civil Rights, Texas Departments of Transportation where he supervised staff, monitored and developed programs like Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE), Historically Underutilized Business Program (HUB), Small Business Enterprise Program (SBE) and oversaw their compliance with Federal and State regulations. He also oversaw the development and coordination of supportive/outreach service programs, which assist DBE/HUBs with procurement opportunities with TxDOT. He developed dozens of training curriculum for small businesses and made presentations at chambers of commerce, businesses, and governments across Texas
  • Benjamin was twice a national best seller of a nationwide insurance company
  • He founded and led Apostolic Bridge Builders that has mobilized hundreds of other non-profit organizations in Texas since 2000
  • He is a founding Advisory Board member of Austin Disaster Relief Network—the largest disaster relief Network in Texas that has recruited, trained, and certified 4500+ disaster-ready volunteers with more than 300 affiliated organizations since 2008—providing guidance on strategy, leadership, marketing, innovation, and sustainability
  • As an outside-the-box thinker, Mr. Anyacho founded and leads two online global leadership think tanks with memberships totaling 30K from more than 150 countries  (www.leadersandthinkers.org), with the goal of mobilizing and mentoring one million authentic leaders that think outside-the-box
  • Dr. Anyacho is a board of trustee member of Juliana King University, Houston that conferred on him with an honorary doctorate degree in leadership; he advises the university on strategy, technology, innovation, and globalization, including capacity latent development, the singularity, existential risk, transhumanism, and ethics
  • Dr. Anyacho is the newly elected VP Marketing of PMIA

  Education: Dr. Benjamin Anyacho earned B.Sc. Banking & Finance from Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Nigeria and a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration, Global Business concentration from St. Edward's University, Austin, TX
  Entrepreneur
  Before joining TxDOT in 2010, Dr. Anyacho as an entrepreneur, exceptional networker, corporate crisis management consultant was the founder and managing partner at Able J Resources & Consulting, a hybrid Employee Assistance Program with chaplaincy, specializing in developing sustainable long term visions to transform companies and individuals from the inside out yielding extraordinary results, www.AbleJresources.com
  Project/Program Manager
  He has over 20 years of managing successful projects/programs in Texas and abroad and has overseen several highly complicated specialized projects with organizations like the Human Recourses Center, University of Texas, Austin, UT Development Office, Abbot Laboratories and managed TxDOT’s process redesign, re-engineering of the DBE/SBE/HUB programs, Standard Operating Procedures, and TUCP Memorandum of Understanding
  Media: Mr. Anyacho is a radio/TV talk show co-host of Austin Arise! Weekly shows on FM 99.3 and FM 98.5 since 2007.
  Published Work: Mr. Anyacho has several published works. He is the author of Bold, Fresh Wine: A Cry for Sustainable Transformation www.boldfreshwine.com
  Professional Teaching Experience
  He held teaching positions at several institutions of higher learning including Park University, Austin, ITT Technical Institute, Austin, TX where he provided curriculum instruction, lectures, developed course syllabus, class exams, graded course materials, supervised student projects.
  Other Background

  • He began his carrier as a Chief Finance Officer of multi-nation conglomerate where he supervised dozens of accountants in several states and introduced newly enhanced accounting procedures and systems
  • He was the president of Students’ Government of Federal Polytechnic, Owerri, Nigeria, 1993 – 1995
  • He was the co-founder and Secretary General of National Association of Nigerian Students and Youth Corps Members, 1995-1996 that laid the foundation for the mobilization of one million man match
  • He is an apostolic leader, missionary, founder, and executive director of Apostolic Bridge Builders, Inc. that connects and networks 500+ businesses and non-profit organizations in Texas; this has fostered dozens of strategic partnerships among community leaders, media, NGO and transformational leaders, including government agencies, locally and globally. He has initiated and coordinated dozens of successful local and global leadership, business, and crisis management conferences  and summits since 2000

  Family
  He lives in Round Rock with his wife and two kids and has lived in Austin for 16 years.

  
  

Detailed profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/anyacho