Nick Michna
Senior Director, Organizational Development Amsted Rail
With over 20 years of experience in human resources, specializing in learning, leadership development, talent management, and organizational effectiveness, Nick’s career has spanned multiple sectors, including retail, airline, non-profit, legal, manufacturing, and consulting. Nick has led the Talent/Learning & Development functions for the American Bar Association and Morton Salt. In addition, he was a Principal consultant at Korn Ferry.
Experienced in building and implementing high-impact learning and development, talent management, and leadership programs, strategies, and solutions at a global level. Nick’s expertise includes high-potential and leadership program development as well as performance management and career pathing design. He has implemented and led a variety of organizational effectiveness initiatives including; change management, diversity and inclusion, culture and engagement, and succession planning.
Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a master’s degree in communications and training from Governor’s State University.
Seminars
- Addressing long-term succession risk by redesigning operations leadership pipelines across Amsted Rail’s 20-site heavy manufacturing footprint, where traditional promotion paths were falling short
- Using structured talent roundtables, role-specific capability assessments, and individual development plans to identify, prepare, and track high-potential leaders for critical plant and general manager roles
- Designing and launching a two-year Operations Academy focused on building strategic, financial, and people leadership skills, with strong executive alignment, tailored curriculum design, and site-level readiness plans
- What strategies help organizations move beyond ad-hoc promotions to a systematic approach for identifying and preparing future leaders?
- How can talent roundtables and capability assessments be embedded into workforce planning without slowing operational priorities?
- What role does executive sponsorship and tailored curriculum design play in ensuring leadership development aligns with business goals?
- How can organizations measure the impact of succession programs beyond readiness, such as retention, engagement, and plant-level performance?
