Indpendent Consultant
Leona Thomas, BS electrical engineering ’94, MBA ’10, is a strategic executive leader and business transformation expert with over 25 years in executive leadership, business strategy, operations, technology, business transformation and change. Thomas got involved in business transformation early in her career and has developed an expertise in building and reshaping companies through critical transformations involving startups, rapid growth, merger and acquisitions, major regulatory and industry change, emerging industries, new opportunities, corporate repositioning, modernization and innovation.
Over the course of her career, Thomas has worked for large consulting companies such as Slalom Consulting and CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation) where she founded and built CSC’s multimillion-dollar Global Chemical Regulatory and Sustainability Practice, has held executive leadership roles such as COO at Wylie, an AI and Machine Learning Company picked up out of incubation, and CTO at Benefits Data Trust – a leading nonprofit helping people get access to the public benefits they are eligible for; and has founded multiple consulting companies providing strategic management and yransformation expertise such as PHMC (Public Health Management Company). All of these efforts, and many others, focused on leading an organization through a major transformational change and building an organization able to take its next steps for the future.
In addition to her professional experience, Thomas is involved in multiple community development and volunteer activities. She is a current a Board Member at Philadelphia City Rowing, a Philadelphia nonprofit giving Philadelphia public high and middle school students an opportunity to row combined with educational support, coaching and mentoring, as well as a graduate and member of DiverseForce On Boards, a member of Society Information Management (SIM) Nation DEI Committee and a long-standing member of SIM Women’s Summit Executive Leadership Council. She also spent over eight years on the board of William Way, Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ Community Center, as well as co-chairing and founding their Strategic Planning Committee for over 10 years.
In addition to her professional and community activities, Thomas also has an B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an Executive MBA from Drexel University and is a National Association of Corporate Director’s (NACD) Certified Director.