Mary Winby

Organization Change Strategy and Implementation

25 years of experience in OD and org change

Expert at designing and implementing effective change strategies

Believes the heart of change is designing a more hopeful future

Lives in the San Francisco Bay Area

Mary is a seasoned organization development consultant with deep expertise in change management. Her work spans multiyear global initiatives to more focused program execution. She has worked in a variety of industries and functions, including IT, services, sales, marketing, and HR. Her specialty is helping executives and their teams:

1. design and launch new change initiatives,
2. drive implementation, and
3. execute for adoption of new skills, behaviors and processes against metrics and milestones.

Mary offers a breadth of services including change leadership, project management, managing transitions, designing/facilitating off-sites, and working with teams tackling strategic challenges. She has held internal OD/Change Management roles at Hewlett Packard, and more recently is consulting in Bay Area companies on merger/acquisitions; performance management; business unit integration, and strategic change initiatives..

Mary teaches Change Management at UC Berkeley and embraces the view that change offers preferred futures. Successful change is premised on principles of a compelling business case; strong sponsorship; committed stakeholders; consistent change-specific communication, integrated project management and metrics to drive implementation. Collectively, these components increase the likelihood of successful change.

​Mary holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Rochester, a PhD from Stanford University, and an MSOD degree from Pepperdine University. She lives in Palo Alto and on the Monterey Peninsula with her husband. Her two stepchildren and son keep her tuned into the ever changing technology and workforce dynamics in the work place. She rides horseback, plays cello and flute, and enjoys playing bridge when time allows.

“I contacted Mary Winby for her Change Management expertise, was immediately impressed and continue to be so. She is a rare blend of professionalism, perceptiveness and agility.  She can step back to view a situation from a strategic level while maintaining compassion for individual situations.”
~ Jeannette Opalski, Director Human Resources, CSR Technologies Inc.

ALL Testimonials

Jeannette Opalski - Director Human Resources, CSR Technologies Inc.
“Mary is a rare blend of professionalism, perceptiveness and agility. She is able to view a situation at a strategic level while maintaining compassion for individual situations. 
She recognized early on that the core issue was not how to manage change, but how to deal with ambiguity. Fast on her feet, she helped us change course by designing a workshop focused on how to manage ambiguity, performance, and morale during times of transition.  She had the credibility to partner with a senior manager to sponsor the workshop.  I recommend Mary because of her depth of knowledge, ongoing insights, sensitivity to the employee mood, and ability to adapt to the situation quickly and effectively to meet changing needs.”

Shelley Sweet - President, i4process
“Mary has an ability to mobilize individuals into focused group efforts that are sustained through tracking timelines, acknowledging member contributions, and having fun.  Her diplomacy and ability to facilitate discussion and decisions keeps the group committed and involved. Her integrity, follow-through, and willingness to adapt are core traits. 
I observed her teaching at UC Berkeley Extension. She believes strongly in using concepts, models and theories as the foundation for her teaching work; she engages students by bringing real life examples from their jobs. Mary has skills in developing a community, making people feel welcome and developing trust among group members. She is a good listener with strong empathy. She is wonderful to work with and have as a colleague, consultant, or teacher.”

Thomas Tanner - Integration Program Manager, Technical Support, Bay Area High Tech Company
“We hired Mary as our project manager for the technical support (TS) department’s merger/acquisition initiative.  She skillfully integrated her extensive change management/communication skills into her PM role to ensure that sponsors, stakeholders, and project leads understood their role in leading the change and completing key milestones.  She was a strong team player, who collaborated easily with all levels of the Integration Management Office (IMO) to align the TS project plans with the IMO overall timelines.  Mary displayed strong execution skills and came up to speed quickly; she demonstrated diplomacy in getting teams to complete tasks, and brought a sense of fun acknowledging contribution of others.”