There’s a new book coming soon in the Advantage family

Jonas has been a life-long entrepreneur. In 1992, he came to the United States to build a U.S. presence for the Swedish leadership and development firm, BTS Group. During his 24-year tenure, he grew BTS USA from just himself to over two hundred professionals, working with executives or leadership teams in over two hundred of the Global Fortune-500 companies. Today, BTS is publicly traded and employs over seven hundred professionals across the globe. After leaving BTS, he returned to his native Sweden to become the CEO of a housing development company with nearly one hundred employees and contractors.

“When Rich first sent me some of Jonathan’s research and shared his views on the need for more role-specific assessment and development materials, it was like a lightbulb went off.” Having spent much of his professional life growing small companies and developing leaders in large, global organizations, Jonas instinctively knew most business tools, simulations, and leadership development materials were not the right fit for executives growing small companies. He quickly came to realize how many leaders throughout the world are flying without a handbook, let alone a good set of tools to help them better prepare for their experiences. “I knew I wanted to be a part of this effort to support a large but neglected group of businesspeople.”

Richard’s introduction to leadership was as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds a PhD in industrial psychology and his first post-doctoral job was with Development Dimensions International (DDI), a fledgling assessment and leadership development company, where he was one of four employees. In three years, DDI employed 50 people and now, 1,100 associates.

He then turned his sights to his own assessment company, Resource Analysis and Development where he stayed until one of his clients, Pitney Bowes, lured him away. He spent nearly 30 years working with other Fortune 100 companies including Aetna and Liberty Mutual. His focus was working with CEO’s and business unit heads on the acquisition, assessment, and development of talent. Later, he joined Jonas at BTS and built the now global assessment practice.

Richard enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren as well as playing golf, fishing, and volunteering with several veterans’ organizations.

Jonathan has spent his lifetime working in and with small businesses. The seeds to this book began in his doctoral research in which he sought to not only better understand how to segment the range of small companies and their needs, but also identified the first small business leader Success Factors© and Derailers©.

He has over 20 years of diverse experience as an executive, entrepreneur, trainer, and coach. Jonathan began his career at Dun & Bradstreet. He started firms in the tech and gaming industry and helped build the Photoshop special effects company AutoFX. He was part of the leadership team at Dynamic Graphics, president of Pandromeda3D and founded the gaming middleware company Meta4 Interactive. He later joined The Early Start Fund. Jonathan has significant academic and instructional design experience, working with Education Management Corporation, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and currently, as the Rosenblum Endowed Professor of Business at Plymouth State University.

Jonathan earned a Doctor of Business Administration and an MBA in strategy. He is an avid reader and admits to binge-watching Doctor Who with his Chinese Shar-Pei, Gracie.