Raleigh Ormerod
Executive Managing Director and Chair, 2021 - Present
Raleigh has a Fortune 500 executive track record with cross-industry experience including over 100 new enterprises launched. His experience spans the healthcare, medical technology, building products, clean renewable energy, water, government, professional services, and consumer product sectors. His experience includes being a business advisor, multi-board member, radio show host, artist, and active civic leader with the federal International Boundary Waters Commission, City Council, chambers of commerce, industry associations, state commerce department, public school districts, startup accelerators, and executive mentoring organizations.
He started his career at Procter & Gamble, where he grew into global product management responsibility and was recognized as chief innovator and champion of Swiffer, which has become a billion dollar brand. As a Brand Manager at Colgate-Palmolive, he helped drive Colgate Total to become the #1 toothpaste within 5 months. As Marketing Director at The Stanley Works, he increased sales over 25% on key medtech product lines, and sales leads up more than 500%. Top executives referred to his $120 million healthcare vertical market initiatives as “Best in Show”.
Raleigh founded and operated a management consulting practice that has advised senior leaders in over 50 organizations across North America since 2008. Raleigh served on advisory boards of several high-impact startups that got funded and partnered with industry leaders. Raleigh achieved the top-level 1% designation with a prominent public speaking and leadership development organization, and he served as a Director responsible for the leadership development of several hundred members. He was chosen as an original executive mentor with Everwise, a business leadership development organization for Fortune 500s founded by a prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneur, investor, and former Yahoo! Board Chair.
Raleigh is an elected public official where he helps govern board budgets totaling over $120 million. His committee roles to date include Finance, Organization, Personnel, Facilities, Education, Planning, Licensing, Development, and Policy.
Established in 2001 as the Senior Executive Networking Group of New England (SENG-NE or SENG), we assist each other in proactive job progression, job search, and professional development. We operate networking insightful job search and professional development workshops. We believe in lifelong networking for faster-progressing and more satisfying careers.
The structure of our meetings is designed to meet the time constraints of senior executives and those who would like to take advantage of more formal networking within the group. We believe there is value to all in sharing business experiences, personal contacts, and job leads today and going forward from such a functionally and otherwise diverse member base. We seek diversity in industry and function, so this is one of the very few members-only professional networking groups that has finance, marketing, engineering, sales, R&D, legal, medical and various other professions ranging from directors to C-suite levels. SENG has always had a non-solicitation policy, so members do not pitch products and services to each other at our meetings.
In 2020 we began meeting mostly virtually on Zoom in response to the constraints of the pandemic and discovered many members prefer a virtual option rather that fighting morning traffic. In 2021, we became SENG Suite to offer an expanded portfolio of professional development workshops and peer groups appropriate for the full range of members from Directors to the C-Suite. By late 2022, we expand our geographic scope for virtual meetings to extend membership across the country to serve like professionals across the country.
About SENG Suite
Gordon Woodfall
Founder and Chair, 2001 - 2021
Prior to founding SENG-NE (or SENG), Gordon was a Global Vice President and General Manager at Textron. During his 11 years with the company, he led his division to achieve Toyota Production System (TPS) Certification, the Ford Q1 Award, and the Chrysler Penastar Award. Gordon achieved the Site Textron Award for “Best in Class” Manufacturing and Quality Systems.
After Textron, Gordon joined Thermo Fisher Scientific serving as President for 5 years of the Compliance Test Solutions business where he oversaw record organic and acquisition growth, received the Northeast Shingo Award. CEO Marijn Dekkers hailed his organization as the best performing Thermo business over 5 year period where he also achieved the highest Employee Net Promoter Loyalty Score of all Thermo businesses.
Concurrently, Gordon co-founded SENG along with two other partners who subsequently left the organization. The organization is a forum where senior executives from all disciplines may engage in networking for job transition and professional development. The mission of SENG-NE is "networking for life" as a means to develop lifelong relationships. Admission to SENG is by referral from other members, hence the composition of the group is elite and is often coined as "one of the best kept secrets in New England".
Gordon ran SENG from April 2001 until April 2021 when he transitioned the organization to his successor, Raleigh Ormerod. From 2007 – 2010, Gordon also operated as a Principal with Snowden Associates, a retained executive recruitment firm. In 2010 he founded Organizational Performance Specialists, a total solutions provider for the C-Suite and Human Resource community, including organization effectiveness, interim general management, business strategy development, and leadership development.
Message from Gordon Woodfall, Founder
April 1, 2021
“With pride, I recognized that SENG-NE is in its 20th Program Year and had formed a Greater Boston Legacy. But at the beginning of this program year, l realized that we had no plan in place for its continuity, mission sustainability, and post-pandemic rebound. As of April 1st, this is no longer the case, as Raleigh Ormerod, an original SENG-NE member and friend over its 20 years, has made the decision to join SENG as a Managing Director. His initial leadership focus will be the operations of SENG, its events, and membership growth and development.
Raleigh’s experience and expertise will not only be a tremendous asset to the SENG forum and its current platform, but will bring a fresh perspective to SENG’s future for the next decade or two! I want to thank Raleigh for joining the SENG forum, his willingness to help carry the torch, and his commitment to bring breadth and depth to SENG’s leadership and its membership as well as bringing a true Entrepreneurial Spirit to our mission and vision.”