Héctor Colón, M.S., O.T.
- President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan
- Global Speaker
- Entrepreneur and Founder of the Champ Institute
- Author: My Journey from Boxing ring to Boardroom: 5 Essential Virtues for Life and Leadership
- 7-time National boxing Champion and former member of the USA National Boxing team.
- Titan 100 CEO award – 2023
- 40 under 40 hall of fame: Milwaukee Business Journal- 2023
- BizTimes Wisconsin’s 275 most influential leaders – 2022
According to a recent Gallup poll, only 36% of the workforce is actively engaged. This is leading to high turnover, self-interest and poor decision-making, even amongst the best organizations. Employee satisfaction, business success and becoming a workplace of choice is not possible under these circumstances.
As a former 7-time national boxing champion and now President and CEO, I feel called to share how the virtues I learned to become a champion in the boxing ring can solve our most complex business challenges. The virtues leadership framework I developed has contributed to becoming a workplace of choice in multiple organizations, ended chronic homelessness in Milwaukee by 70%, and obtained awards such as “Turning the Ocean Liner Award” by the US Department of Housing for Urban Development. These virtues also helped me earn the recognition of being one of the most influential business leaders in the nation, a turnaround expert, 3-time entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist.
After teaming up with me, you will learn how to roll with the punches/challenges in life, reflect and remain composed like a true boxer before reacting to challenging situations. You will also learn how five virtues will bring out the champion in you and those that surround you allowing you to do something that is honorable and remarkable for others. These virtues are practical and presented with vulnerable and emotional stories that will draw you into laughter, self-reflection, and connection. I will be in your corner and provide you with a framework that will drive business growth, employee engagement, and improve your success exponentially. Let’s go Champ.
Servant-CEO, Héctor Colón is the President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (LSS). Under his visionary and Servant-Leadership approach, Colón has positioned LSS for greatness – adapting new models and business strategies to increase impact and viability for employees, clients and the organization. Before the start of Colón’s tenure in 2017, the organization had not met its budget for four consecutive years. Since that time, LSS has generated multi-million-dollar surpluses with a $18.6 million-dollar turnaround in five years.
No stranger to financial turnarounds, Colón worked with his team to turn multi-million-dollar deficits into multi-million-dollar surpluses while serving as Executive Director of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, he led several county-wide initiatives, including efforts to reform the juvenile justice system, end chronic homelessness, transform mental health care, and eliminate a 30-year waitlist for disability services.
Héctor will say that his own personal and professional turnaround began in boxing. As a member and champion of the National USA Boxing team, he won seven national titles and competed in the 1992 Olympic Trials. At the height of his boxing career, Colón stepped away from his success to serve God. Today, he is an independent director on the board of USA Boxing where he and the organization focus on inspiring athletes to discover their own path to personal and professional greatness.
Colón’s life experiences and success prepared him to answer the call of Servant-CEO. He is working to inspire a Servant-CEO collective and revolutionize the social services sector in the following ways:
• Position the nonprofit sector as the industry of choice
• Fully commit to the growth and development of all clients and their potential for greatness
• Reimagine a Servant-Led sector that will thrive well into the future
Colón was recently named the Nonprofit Executive of the Year by BizTimes Media and the Hispanic Man of the year by United Migrant Opportunity Services (UMOS). His first book, “From Boxing Ring to Boardroom: Five Virtues For Life and Leadership” was released in August 2020.
