Atlanta, GA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/12/2010 -- A top list of leading decision makers are lining up to serve as panelists for “The Decisive Corporation! Seminar” that is to be presented by the Thomas Group twice in the Dallas area. Joining internationally acclaimed decision guru, Michael E. McGrath, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Thomas Group and author of the Decide Better! book series, will be Gary C. Thomas, President/Executive Director of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART); Dr. Stephen Mansfield, President and CEO of the Methodist Health System; Major General James L. Williams, Commanding General of the 4th Marine Division; James Oberwetter, CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce; former Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum, CEO of Aidmatrix; and Tommy Gonzalez, Irving City Manager. McGrath, who has appeared as the leading authority in corporate decision making on CNBC, CNN, and FOX Business Network and the panelists will unveil the new and essential concepts of the Decisive Corporation he has developed through years of research. The panelists were selected for the expertise in decision-making for large organizations and will address such issues as how decision models increase corporate profitability, what decision structures and processes have the greatest impact, and the reasons corporations make bad decisions. Both seminars will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 AM CST. The first will be on October 12th at the Las Colinas Marriott at 223 West Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, TX 75039. The second seminar will be held on October 14th at the Fairmont Dallas at 1717 North Akard Street, Dallas, TX 75201. A free breakfast buffet is included.

Each attendee will also receive a copy of McGrath’s critically acclaimed, award-winning book, Business Decisions!. The Greater Irving Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, D CEO, Business Executives for National Security, and Decide Better! are serving as sponsors.

“I am very pleased to have this outstanding group of panelists for The Decisive Corporation! Seminar,” said Michael E. McGrath. “Each panelist brings a degree of expertise that is uncanny in the decision-making process and will allow attendees to learn important lessons in the decision process that can spell the difference between success or failure in today’s business world.”

Dr. Stephen Mansfield has been President and CEO of the Methodist Health System since 2006. Methodist has been recognized by Thompson Reuters as one of the Top 100 Most Improved health systems in America and by Modern Healthcare, the Dallas Business Journal, and the Dallas Morning News as a Best Place to Work. Before joining Methodist in 2006, Dr. Mansfield spent seven years as the President and CEO of the five hospital St. Vincent Health System based in Little Rock, Arkansas and before that worked for the Baptist Memorial Health Care System in Memphis for 23 years.

Gary C. Thomas has been President/Executive Director of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) since 2001. As President/Executive Director, Thomas is responsible for a 13-city multi-modal transit system over a 700-square mile area. He directs the agency's top managers and 3,700 employees, emphasizing a strong customer focus.

Major General James Williams was last assigned as the Commanding General, 4th Marine Division since April 2007. His previous positions were as the Assistant Division Commander, 2nd Marine Division and as Deputy Commanding General (Mobilization), Marine Corps Combat Development Command. He also served during combat operations as the Assistant Division Commander, 2nd Marine Division from 2005-2006, at Camp Blue Diamond, Ar-Ramadi, Iraq, and earlier with I Marine Expeditionary Force as the Deputy Commanding General in Fallujah, Iraq. General Williams’ leadership extends to the commercial sector as well, as he served as CIO for EmCare and COO for Medical Arts and Mainland Hospital.

Tommy Gonzalez is the City Manager of Irving, Texas. He has held that position since 2006 and previously served as Assistant City Manager for Dallas. A former military man, he was in charge of interrogations as enemy soldiers were apprehended in the desert during the Gulf War. In the mid-'90s, Mr. Gonzalez went to Bosnia. He's also served on military and training missions in Central and South America. This year he was named one of the top Hispanic business leaders by the Dallas Business Journal.

James Oberwetter is the CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber. He is the former United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Prior to his ambassadorial service, Oberwetter was Senior Vice President of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., of Dallas, where he advised the Chairman, Ray L. Hunt, and the Hunt family of companies including Hunt Oil Company, on governmental and public affairs strategies domestically and internationally.

Scott McCallum is the former Governor is Wisconsin and current CEO of Aidmatrix. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin for 14 years under Tommy Thompson prior to serving as Governor.

Michael E. McGrath is the Executive Chairman and CEO of the Thomas Group and the author of the award winning book, Business Decisions!. He is also the creator of the popular and award winning Decide Better! decision-making series and bestselling author of Product Strategy for High Tech Companies. Michael is a world expert on decision-making. He is a successful turn-around CEO, renowned management consultant, experienced board member and powerful speaker who has taught decision-making skills for 25 years. Michael also has a top reputation and track record for being able to make tough, strategic decisions in the corporate world and is highly sought after for his insight and opinions. Michael is frequently featured on ABC, CBS, FOX and CNN as an expert in business and decision-making.

Michael was a cofounder and managing director at Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath (PRTM), a leader in helping global technology-based companies make better decisions by developing management processes and methodologies. In over two decades of management consulting, he has worked with more than 1,000 companies in U.S., Europe, and Asia. McGrath initiated PACE® (Product and Cycle-time Excellence), PRTM’s product-development consulting practice that applied an innovative decision process reducing time-to-market in a variety of global companies.
In addition to advising others on decisions, Michael has demonstrated exceptional decision making skills as CEO of the turnaround of i2 Technologies and as president and managing director of PRTM, building it to one of the most successful consulting firms in the world.

The Decisive Corporation! Seminar is the only one of its kind that actually delves into the decision-making framework and develops a process that allows corporate management to develop skills necessary to make the decisions that will allow for corporate success. Drawing upon the group’s proficiency in decision making, the seminar offers insight and practical real world examples that can be applied in any corporate setting. Attendees will be able to delve into in-depth questions during the seminar on how to make better decisions.

“The knowledge that attendees will leave the seminar with will allow them to develop the processes needed to make impactful decisions for their businesses,” said McGrath. “The biggest failing for most corporations is not having the process in place to make the proper decisions. With this seminar and our panelists, attendees will leave empowered with the tools needed to make the right decisions.”

The seminar will provide case studies on successful and bad decision making. Some of the case studies presented in The Decisive Corporation! Seminar were used by McGrath and CNBC when discussing the best and worst decisions of the past decade such as NBC’s decision with the Jay Leno Show and Conan O’Brien disaster, the AOL/Time Warner merger, AIG, and Apple. As perhaps the worst decision process of 2010, McGrath and panelists will expound upon comments he made about BP on CNN to provide a case study on how BP’s decision process failed. Closer to the Dallas area case studies on Blockbuster and the just announced Southwest/AirTran merger will be covered. The intent of each case study is to provide attendees insights and perspective when making corporate decisions.

Register for the seminar online at http://thomasgroup.eventbrite.com/.