Matt Paknis

Matt Paknis is a senior management consultant, educator, and author known for his expertise in leadership development and organizational effectiveness, with a focus on reducing workplace bullying. Paknis brings experience from six years of college football coaching, 10 years of playing football, and five championship seasons to his consulting practice. He served as an assistant coach at Penn State under Joe Paterno and has spoken publicly about his experiences with childhood abuse, using these insights to inform his work on healthy leadership and resilience. Paknis has spent more than 25 years helping global clients adopt effective management practices and improve organizational culture. He authored the book "Successful Leaders Aren't Bullies," which presents real-world cases and strategies to address workplace bullying.

Paknis studied organizational behavior, economics, and architecture at Brown University, where he also played football and later joined the coaching staff. He coached at Brown, Penn State, and the University of Rhode Island (URI), where he earned his MBA. Paknis designed and facilitated corporate leadership and team-building programs for the University of Rhode Island's corporate retreat center and created a 50-hour Practice of Management Certificate Program for Brown's Learning Communities, which ran for more than 12 years and reached thousands of organizations.

Paknis is a guest lecturer at institutions including Bryant University, Rhode Island School of Design, URI, Brown, and University of Massachusetts. He maintains a broad private consulting client base, including long-standing engagements with international technology, automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, defense, higher education, and professional services firms. In recognition of his contributions to social progress and innovation, Paknis was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He also serves as a teacher at New Bedford Public Schools.