Jim Austin, MPA, MURP

James (Jim) Austin, MPA, MURP, is a health care consultant and former executive who combines business strategy and organizational development theory with extensive industry experience. He teaches Leadership and Marketing in a graduate program at Brown University and leads senior executive seminars through the Wharton School for audiences across the United States, China, Japan, India, Europe, and the Middle East.

Austin was a senior principal at Decision Strategies International. During his tenure, he directed numerous strategic planning and organizational transformation initiatives, including Scenarios of the Future for a medical devices firm and the League of Southeastern Credit Unions; R&D prioritization for a major consumer products company; a strategic plan for the American College of Radiology; strategic decision-making programs for GSK India; strategic change initiatives at ANZ in Australia; and the development of a new vision and strategic priorities for the national and Illinois Boards of Volunteers of America. He currently leads his own consulting firm, JH Austin Associates, Inc.

Prior to joining Decision Strategies International, Austin spent 12 years at Baxter Healthcare, including his final four years as Vice President of Strategy Development for the Renal Division. In that role, he identified new business opportunities, facilitated annual strategic planning processes, and partnered with senior leadership on organizational development initiatives for the division during a period of rapid growth.

Before relocating to Chicago, Austin worked as a consultant with Arthur D. Little, Inc., where he led large-scale planning, business development, and strategic positioning studies in the United States and internationally. Earlier still, between college and graduate school, he spent four years in Botswana as an economist and planning officer in the Ministry of Finance.

In addition to authoring numerous articles, Jim has written and co-authored two books: Transformative Planning: How Your Healthcare Organization Can Strategize for an Uncertain Future (Health Administration Press, 2018) and Leading Strategic Change in an Era of Healthcare Transformation (Springer, 2016).