Speaker's Name
Thaddaeus Irby

Title
Lead Program Manager

Company Name
General Motors

Bio

Dr. Thaddaeus Irby currently performs as the Lead Program Manager for the Retail Experience within General Motors (GM) and is a M.B.A.-level Adjunct Professor at Wayne State University (WSU).
At GM, Dr. Irby is responsible for leading the execution of Global Connected Consumer Experience (GCCX) - Retail products and services offerings to its customers. He previously performed as a Program and Business Manager within GM for the User Experience department. At WSU, Dr. Irby teaches MBA-level courses focusing on management and leadership in the 21st century.
Dr. Irby’s career began in 1998 as an Intelligence Analyst with the U.S. Air Force where he was stationed stateside and abroad. After a 4-year enlistment, he transitioned to civilian life and began working for SAIC at the Office of Naval Intelligence as a Maritime Intelligence Analyst. One year later, Dr. Irby began working for Lockheed Martin (LM) and spent the next 11 years in various Program, Portfolio, & Project Management roles throughout the U.S: established a department that supported portfolio management for Business Development & Engineering; as a Program Manager, grew a High Performance Computing portfolio from $3M to $8.5M in 2yrs; as a Manager, led 40 employees in research projects, training, & special assignments; acted as a Project Manager for the GPS program; and created over 1000 global technical publications for a classified DoD customer. Dr. Irby moved to Detroit in 2014 and worked as an Project Manager with Ford, managing the Lincoln Client Experience program.
Dr. Irby received a B.S. Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC), M.S. Project Management from The George Washington University, & a Doctorate of Management from UMUC. Dr. Irby is a certified Green Belt & also ITIL Foundations certified.
Dr. Irby’s achievements include receiving the LM Celebration of Excellence – Individual Excellence Award, Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) - Modern Day Technology Leader Award, DoD High Performance Computing – Up & Coming Hero Award, IS&GS Defense Employee of the Month, U.S. Presidents Community Service Award, six Significant Recognition Awards, & the U.S.A.F. Joint Service Achievement Medal.
Dr. Irby has participated in or led over 100 community service activities: science fairs, runs/walks, Junior Achievement, Great Minds in STEM, and the Math & Science Academy. Created a STEM mentoring video with National Geographic and LM, and served as a volunteer Board President for a K-8 Charter School. Dr. Irby lives in Metro Detroit, loves yoga, running long-distance, traveling, reading, and is a member of 100 Black Men of Metro Detroit. He has a 3yr old son named Aydan.

Session List

Making the Most of Graduate School
Saturday, February 09th 3:15 PM to 4:30 PM Room: Maryland Suite AB - Lobby Level