V. Robert Hayles Ph.D Robert Hayles assists people and organizations in becoming more effective. He speaks, writes, and consults with a strong foundation in pluralism and diversity. He was also the 1996 Chair of the Board of Directors, American Society for Training and Development. Robert has served more than 75 clients in the private, public and civic sectors. They include; Urban League, World Bank, Internal Revenue Service, Government of Colombia (S.A.), City of Austin, Alberta Community Development, Stanford University, Hewlett Packard, Monsanto, Allstate, Ford, Levi Strauss, Amoco, U. S. West, and Ameritech. Robert was formerly the Vice President, Human Resources and Diversity with Pillsbury, a Grand Metropolitan Company. His line human resource responsibilities included the Tax, Treasury and Technology organizations. He also was responsible for leading diversity work worldwide for Grand Metropolitan's food businesses (e g., Pillsbury, Green Gland Häägen–Dazs, GrandMet Foods Europe). Prior to the above position Robert was the Director, Human Resources for the Pillsbury Technology Center. Before Joining Pillsbury/GrandMet he was the Manager, Valuing Differences, for Digital Equipment Corporation in Sales, Services, Marketing and International. He led strategies in all of the above diversity roles to leverage diversity for productivity/profitability by working across all differences. Other previous positions Include: Associate Professor of Engineering Administration at George Washington University; Director, Research and Human Resources at the Office of Naval Research; and Research Scientist at Battelle's Human Affairs Research Center. Robert was the first behavioral scientist to manage the U.S. Department of Navy Technology Base with an annual budget of more than one billion dollars. Robert has an undergraduate degree in the behavioral and physical sciences, a doctorate in psychology and postgraduate education in business. He brings a unique blend of technical, teaching and consulting expertise to address the challenges of an increasingly diverse workforce. He is co-author of "The Diversity Directive: Why Some Initiatives Fail and What to Do About It," Irwin Professional Publishers, 1996.