Debra Apruzzese Biography
Debra Apruzzese, President and Founder of Axia Consulting Group, is an accomplished business performance executive with a proven track record in helping businesses seize and create new opportunities through a focus on business performance improvement. With more than 20 years of experience, Ms. Apruzzese has partnered with numerous organizations to identify and implement practical solutions that yield tangible top and bottom line results.
Ms. Apruzzese began her career as an engineer and has more broadly used her highly disciplined, no-nonsense analytical approach to solve complex business problems.
Working with both start-up and Fortune 100 companies, she has developed a unique ability to not only view and understand each piece of a process but, most importantly, how they must be integrated to function successfully and achieve results as a total system.
Where many consulting approaches concentrate on the details in one particular narrow channel, Ms. Apruzzese's approach is concerned with the integration of all components of effectiveness, i.e., strategy, process, people and technology, and making them a coherent and effective system. Her ability to see the big picture is combined with common sense, excellent communication skills, creative problem solving, and quantitative skills. Her ability to listen, negotiate, diplomacy and leadership strengths enable her to lead specialists from any discipline.
Ms. Apruzzese's core philosophy is that “productive and financially successful organizations are created through well articulated strategy, purposeful planning, pragmatic processes and motivated people.” She has successfully collaborated with senior leaders to address and resolve significant post-merger strategy, process and human resource challenges. Using a problem solving tool kit that included process mapping, group facilitation and Lean/Six Sigma principles, she played a critical role in identifying key business objectives, defining core business processes, developing recommendations, brokering and negotiating solutions among groups with differing goals and cultures, and helping lead the new organization to dramatic growth and profitability.
Ms. Apruzzese is recognized as a creative and independent thinker, innovative problem solver and pragmatic implementer. She combines these skills with a working style that creates a genuine culture of trust, teamwork and shared success.
Ms. Apruzzese earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University and is a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt. She has held executive and senior level operating and planning positions in Merck & Co. Inc., Medco Health Solutions, NYNEX, Coyne Electrical Systems and Services, and Mobil Oil.
Position History
| Present | President, AXIA Consulting Group, LLC |
|---|---|
| 2002–2004 | Vice President, Merck Research Laboratories Business Performance Improvement |
| 2002–2004 | Vice President, Medco Managed Care Business Solutions and Quality |
| 1996–2000 | Vice President, Medco Managed Care Account Management Business Planning and Administration |
| 1994–1996 | Executive Director, Medco Managed Care Human Resources |
| 1992–1994 | Director, Merck Manufacturing Operations, Resource Development Services |
| Prior to 1992 | Management Positions, Coyne Electrical Systems and Service, NYNEX, and Mobil Oil Corporation |