Transforming Organizations Through People, Purpose, and Strategic Leadership
Todd Walther is an accomplished global executive, organizational transformation strategist, and human capital advisor with 25 years of professional experience helping organizations navigate growth, complexity, and change. A former Global Chief Learning Officer at dentsu and a seasoned leader across multinational enterprises, Todd has built his career on a fundamental belief: sustainable business success depends on understanding the intricate relationships between people, strategy, culture, and organizational structure. His expertise spans executive succession planning, workforce strategy, organizational development, change management, talent transformation, and leadership effectiveness. Having guided organizations through acquisitions, global expansion, operational restructuring, and technological disruption, Todd brings a distinctive combination of executive-level perspective, practical operating experience, and systems thinking to corporate boards and advisory engagements.
As Global Chief Learning Officer at dentsu, one of the world’s leading global marketing and communications organizations, Todd held responsibility for enterprise talent and workforce capability strategy supporting more than 65,000 employees across 147 markets. Serving on the global human resources executive team, he oversaw an approximately 100-person organization and a budget exceeding $10 million. His responsibilities included developing global leadership capabilities, strengthening executive succession pipelines, modernizing talent systems, and preparing the workforce for changing business demands. He helped establish global succession planning practices that contributed to a 60% internal fill rate for critical senior positions, demonstrating his ability to connect leadership development with organizational continuity and executive readiness.
During his tenure at dentsu, Todd also played a pivotal role in one of the organization’s most significant operating-model transformations. As Regional Senior Vice President of Talent and Learning for the Americas, he supported the consolidation of approximately 250 agencies into three integrated service lines. This transformation required substantial organizational redesign, including the restructuring of career pathways, job architecture, and workforce capabilities for approximately 15,000 employees. Todd helped consolidate more than 100 job families into 14, establish a consistent career framework across ten organizational levels, and integrate fragmented talent teams into a centralized center of excellence. The restructuring generated approximately $3 million in annual cost savings while creating a more cohesive and scalable approach to talent management. The career architecture developed through this work subsequently informed a broader global rollout reaching more than 45,000 employees.
Recognizing that artificial intelligence would fundamentally reshape the future of work, Todd expanded his leadership focus to include enterprise AI readiness and workforce transformation. At dentsu, he developed the organization’s first enterprise AI enablement strategy in collaboration with leading technology organizations, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services, and Adobe. His work focused on preparing employees and leaders to adapt to emerging technologies, evolving skills requirements, and changing operating models. Today, he continues to advise professional services organizations on AI-driven work redesign, helping leadership teams consider how automation, workforce capabilities, and organizational structures must evolve together. This experience provides Todd with valuable insight into the human capital opportunities and risks associated with technological innovation.
Before joining dentsu, Todd served as Chief Learning Officer and Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Merkle, where he played an instrumental role in building the talent infrastructure that supported extraordinary organizational growth. During his tenure, Merkle expanded from approximately 600 employees to more than 10,000, navigating rapid growth, international expansion, and its eventual acquisition by dentsu. Todd developed foundational career architecture, leadership development systems, performance management processes, and workforce strategies that allowed the organization to scale while maintaining operational discipline. His experience navigating the challenges of rapid expansion gave him a practical understanding of how emerging businesses can evolve into sophisticated global enterprises without losing the entrepreneurial energy that initially fueled their success.
Earlier in his career, Todd served as Director of Learning and Development at Under Armour, where he established the company’s first enterprise talent development function during a period of significant commercial expansion. As annual revenue increased from approximately $640 million to $1.1 billion, he created Under Armour University and developed five centers of excellence to strengthen leadership capabilities, organizational learning, and employee development. His work helped build the people systems needed to support a rapidly growing consumer brand. This experience further reinforced his understanding that organizational capability must evolve alongside financial performance, particularly in businesses experiencing accelerated market demand and increasing operational complexity.
Todd’s foundation in large-scale organizational transformation was also shaped by his work with Constellation Energy Group and Baltimore Gas and Electric. As Principal Consultant for Organizational Development and Change, he led major restructuring and integration initiatives across complex energy operations. At Baltimore Gas and Electric, he directed the largest organizational redesign in the utility’s history, increasing the average management span of control from 6.9 to 11.4 without involuntary workforce reductions. He also supported organizational change during the operational turnaround of Ginna Nuclear Power Plant and directed change management planning for the proposed Constellation-FPL merger. These assignments strengthened his expertise in organizational risk, operational restructuring, stakeholder alignment, and leadership during periods of significant uncertainty.
Building on his corporate leadership experience, Todd founded Walther Advisory Group in 2023 to provide strategic advisory and fractional executive services to CEOs, chief human resources officers, and leadership teams. Through the firm, he advises organizations on workforce planning, organizational design, talent systems, and business transformation. His consulting engagements have included integrating talent functions across the enterprise supply chain organization of a global aerospace and defense company, leading a culture and team-effectiveness engagement for the HR function at Loyola University Maryland, supporting immersive leadership development for healthcare executives, and advising professional services firms on AI-enabled organizational redesign. His advisory approach is intentionally focused, allowing him to work closely with leadership teams on complex challenges where targeted expertise can create meaningful organizational impact.
Todd has also expanded his entrepreneurial experience through ownership of Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming franchise operations in Maryland. His involvement includes site selection, lease negotiations, financing, business planning, and operational launch responsibilities for two locations in Howard and Baltimore counties. This venture adds a valuable dimension to his executive perspective by placing him directly in the position of a business owner with profit-and-loss accountability. Combining his experience leading global workforce initiatives with the financial and operational realities of entrepreneurship allows Todd to appreciate both the strategic decisions made in boardrooms and the practical challenges faced by business owners and management teams.
Throughout his career, Todd has developed broad industry experience spanning energy, marketing, professional services, healthcare, consumer products, retail, and organizational consulting. His international exposure includes work across global markets and experience involving Australia, India, Japan, Argentina, Chile, and other parts of South America. These experiences have strengthened his appreciation for cultural differences, international workforce dynamics, and the importance of adapting leadership strategies to diverse business environments. He is particularly interested in contributing to organizations in energy, marketing, professional services, and healthcare, where his expertise in human capital and enterprise transformation can help leadership teams navigate strategic inflection points.
Todd’s academic credentials provide a strong intellectual foundation for his practical leadership experience. He holds a Master of Science in Applied Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Baltimore, a master’s degree in education with a focus on experiential education from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English and Psychology from the College of William & Mary. He also holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) credential and is a Certified Master of Managed Change through LaMarsh and Associates. His additional professional training includes human performance improvement, emotional intelligence assessment, behavioral profiling, and leadership development methodologies. This combination of advanced education and professional certification reflects his commitment to evidence-based organizational practices and continuous professional development.
Beyond corporate leadership, Todd has demonstrated a lasting commitment to education, mentorship, and the development of future leaders. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University, teaching graduate-level leadership development and emotional intelligence, and at the University of Baltimore, teaching organizational development, change management, and group dynamics within its industrial/organizational psychology program. He also served for several years on the Skillsoft Advisory Board, bringing his expertise in organizational learning and workforce development to the broader professional education community. These experiences reflect his belief that effective leadership requires intellectual curiosity, shared knowledge, and a willingness to learn from others.
Todd’s personal interests have also influenced his approach to leadership. An enthusiastic mountaineer and outdoor adventurer, he has spent time climbing and skiing in the Teton Mountains and co-founded Grand Dynamics with his brother. The organization used outdoor adventure, physical challenges, and applied business psychology to strengthen executive effectiveness and team performance. Todd draws meaningful parallels between mountaineering and organizational leadership, particularly the importance of preparation, mutual trust, sound judgment, adaptability, and remaining composed under pressure. His appreciation for live music and outdoor exploration further reflects a personality grounded in curiosity, creativity, and the pursuit of meaningful experiences.
Today, Todd is focused on applying his extensive leadership experience to board directorships, strategic advisory positions, and organizations preparing for their next phase of growth. Drawing on several years of service on the Skillsoft Advisory Board and the CLN Advisory Board, he offers valuable perspectives on executive succession, compensation and human capital governance, organizational transformation, and the workforce implications of emerging technology. His background is particularly relevant to Compensation and Human Capital Committees, Nominating and Governance Committees, and special committees overseeing acquisitions, integration, or enterprise transformation. His transition toward a more selective portfolio of leadership engagements reflects a desire to contribute his experience where it can create lasting value.
Based in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore metropolitan area, Todd continues to bring a global perspective, entrepreneurial mindset, and deeply human understanding of business to his professional engagements. His career demonstrates that organizational success is not achieved through strategy alone, but through the alignment of people, capabilities, culture, and execution. As a prospective board director and strategic advisor, he offers the experience to recognize emerging challenges, the judgment to evaluate competing priorities, and the conviction to help organizations build a stronger future. His guiding philosophy is both practical and enduring: lasting transformation begins by understanding the whole organization and recognizing how every decision shapes the people and systems that drive its success.
Character: Todd Walther demonstrates integrity, resilience, and a genuine commitment to helping people and organizations reach their full potential. His leadership philosophy reflects personal accountability, respect for diverse perspectives, and the belief that sustainable success requires balancing organizational performance with the well-being of employees and stakeholders.
Knowledge: Bringing 25 years of experience in human capital strategy, executive succession, organizational development, workforce transformation, and global enterprise leadership. His advanced academic credentials, professional certifications, and experience across multiple industries provide him with the expertise to evaluate complex organizational challenges and contribute informed perspectives to board-level discussions.
Strategic: Todd excels at connecting business objectives with the organizational structures, leadership capabilities, and workforce strategies required to achieve them. His experience guiding multinational transformations, supporting rapid organizational growth, integrating acquisitions, and preparing businesses for AI-driven change equips him to help boards anticipate challenges and identify opportunities for long-term value creation.
Communication: An accomplished communicator who translates complex organizational issues into clear, actionable insights for executives, employees, and stakeholders. His experience as a global executive, advisor, university instructor, and leadership facilitator demonstrates his ability to build trust, encourage meaningful dialogue, and align diverse groups around shared strategic priorities.
