What We Do
The Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional & Executive Development (CPED) provides continuing education, professional development, coaching, and consulting to businesses and professionals to help foster practical skills that drive both individual and organizational success.
To learn more about CPED’s vision and values as an organization, view our Who We Are and History pages.
Join Our Team
Business Development Director
The Business Development Director is responsible for driving revenue growth through strategic business development, consultative sales, and long-term client relationship management. Reporting to the Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, this role serves as a trusted advisor to organizations seeking leadership and executive development solutions and is responsible for identifying, developing, and expanding client partnerships leveraging CPED’s portfolio of executive and professional education offerings. Experience in professional services, human capital, or related consultative environments is strongly preferred.
The Business Development Director is responsible for managing the full sales lifecycle, including lead generation, discovery conversations, solution development, proposal creation, closing, forecasting, and ongoing client relationship management. Success in this role requires strong business acumen, executive presence, consultative selling skills, and disciplined pipeline management.
This role focuses on generating executive education partnerships throughout the Midwest, with primary emphasis on Wisconsin and secondary emphasis on Northern Illinois and Minnesota.
The Wisconsin School of Business and Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional & Executive Development(CPED) is excited to welcome Michelle Reid-Powell as the new Executive Director and President of CPED. As the previous CEO of the CARA Group, Inc., Michelle joins CPED with a strong background in leadership, organizational, and talent development. Michelle will lead CPED's strategy, growth, and operations as we continue to expand our offerings to deliver high-impact learning and development solutions to our client partners. Please join us in welcoming Michelle to the team!
MICHELLE REID-POWELL
President and Executive Director
How We Value Our Team Members
CPED has a strong commitment to creating a positive organizational culture that provides an environment for our employees to thrive. As a member of the CPED team, you receive great benefits including:
- Work from Anywhere
- Unlimited PTO plus 10 paid holidays
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Disability and life insurance
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- 401(k) with company match up to 4% of employee’s salary
- Free enrollment in CPED professional development programs
- Friends and Family discount pricing for select CPED programs
Building a Positive Organizational Culture
The Center for Professional & Executive Development is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We strive to blend diverse backgrounds and perspectives while fostering a culture of belonging that positively impacts our team, partners, and communities.
We have several teams dedicated to providing the best employee experience including our onboarding committee and the FAVE (Fun and Volunteer Events) team. FAVE plans different social and volunteer events for CPED team members throughout the year.
Meet the CPED Team
Get to know more of CPED's team members through our feature on the CPED blog.