Oklahoma State University names Lawrence Crosby dean of Spears School of Business

Thursday, March 4, 2010

(STILLWATER, Okla., March 4, 2010) – Lawrence Crosby, globally recognized expert on the measurement and management of customer relationships, has been named dean and professor of marketing for the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.  The appointment was approved today at the regular meeting of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents in Stillwater.  Crosby will assume his new position on May 17.

“We are extremely pleased to have Larry Crosby join the OSU team,” said OSU President Burns Hargis.  “He has a strong academic background and is a proven entrepreneur. Larry is a globally recognized expert in customer relationships.  With our Branding Success fund-raising campaign and plans for expanded facilities, we expect the Spears School to reach new heights under Larry’s direction.”  

First as an academic and then as a consultant and business leader, Crosby has helped evolve the field of customer relationships from satisfaction to loyalty to the branded experience.  His measures, models and management principles have been adopted by Fortune 500 companies around the world.

Crosby’s appointment also carries with it the titles of Norman & Suzanne Myers Chair for Excellence in Business and Richard W. Poole Professor for Excellence.  Crosby said he is eager to begin repositioning the Spears School to take a leadership role in the “new economy.”

“The Spears School has made wonderful accomplishments and come into its own in the last 10 years, and I think we are really poised to move into the next level,” Crosby said.  “I think it’s incumbent on me to have some ideas about what that future state may be.  For example, I see an enhanced brand reputation, a culture that breeds creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, global leadership around sustainable enterprises and new energy solutions, and a school that is unsiloed, nimble and agile.  

“But I don’t think a leader can entirely dictate the vision either,” he said.  It’s more like an impressionistic painting than a painting in realism.  My approach is to provide a general sense of where we’re heading and to let everyone – faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders – participate in refining that vision and determining the steps to implementation.”

Most recently, Crosby served as chief loyalty architect of the Customer Experience Practice at Synovate Ltd.  He founded and served as chairman and CEO for Symmetrics Marketing Corporation, a customer loyalty research and consulting business.  He sold Symmetrics to Synovate in 2004.  Synovate is a global market research company that provides research solutions and services to clients in more than 60 countries.  Crosby was responsible for building Synovate’s global practice and capabilities in customer experience research and consulting.

Crosby earned a doctoral degree in business administration, a master’s of business administration and a bachelor’s degree in general studies from the University of Michigan.  Before founding Symmetrics, he served as CEO and managing director of CSM Worldwide, an affiliate of Walker Information, and served on the faculty at Arizona State University, the University of Michigan and the University of Nebraska. Crosby’s work has been published in a variety of academic and professional journals.   

Crosby said he plans to apply his customer relationship know-how to the Spears School.

“The first step in building an enduring relationship is to understand who your constituents are and what they really need from OSU.  You do this by establishing an on-going conversation,” Crosby said.  “We shouldn’t just try to sell them our programs, but rather determine how we can provide a true benefit by offering an individualized experience.  And the other part, of course, is consistently delivering on what we promise.  I try to manage relationships that way, and I am confident that our constituents will reciprocate in return.”