The call to create the unique employee program was spearheaded by Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions Head of U.S. Commercial Sales Sean McGrath ’91, and developed collaboratively in partnership with Quinnipiac Lifelong Learning and the School of Business.

“From a relationship perspective, Quinnipiac is right in our backyard. To have such a visible university so close, we should have these close interactions, and I think we should be doing more,” McGrath said.

Led by expert faculty, the tailor-made Leading High-Impact Teams program will welcome its first cohort, 35 members of the Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions sales team this fall. The program will be convened at Quinnipiac’s new School of Business on the South Quad on the Mount Carmel Campus, said Director of Lifelong Learning Alison Witherspoon.

“This transformative four-day leadership experience prepares sales leaders to empower their teams to thrive in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment while leveraging technology to implement organizational strategy at scale,” Witherspoon said.

Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions is part of Assa Abloy Opening Solutions Americas Division. The local vendor is intrinsically connected to Quinnipiac through its products and services. All university buildings and residence halls exclusively use Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions, making Quinnipiac a true Assa Abloy campus, said McGrath.

“We continue to use Quinnipiac as a showcase and a case study for other universities to visit to see how our door security solutions work," said McGrath. "It’s been a great partnership for the last 20 years."

McGrath joined Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions Group in 2005 and began his current leadership role four years ago.

Although internal training opportunities exist, McGrath said he recognized a need to effectively and efficiently increase curated training for the approximate 560 members of his direct sales team. He was inspired to collaborate with Quinnipiac to develop a specialized program after completing a high-level university training intensive developed for top leaders within the Assa Abloy Americas Division.

The concept of connecting with Quinnipiac to develop the program gained momentum as McGrath discussed the idea with fellow Bobcat alumnus, Beth Hulteen-Burkle ’91. Hulteen-Burkle is senior vice president and head of human resources, Americas of Assa Abloy Group.

At its global and divisional levels, Assa Abloy employs numerous leadership training and development programs, including university-based partnerships, said Hulteen-Burkle.

“At the group level, where Sean’s organization is, we rely on the leadership teams to start to create the right types of programs for their audiences, and then my team will support that in any form that they need,” said Hulteen-Burkle. “Where Quinnipiac comes into play, and I think in a great way, is our Americas headquarters, our sales and much of our leadership team is located in Connecticut. So I think it’s a great opportunity for us to partner with a Connecticut university.”

Both Hulteen-Burkle and McGrath said they have carried the impact of their Quinnipiac student experience with them through their lives. Hulteen-Burkle earned a bachelor’s in criminal justice and McGrath earned a bachelor’s in economics with a focus in marketing.

McGrath said his time at the School of Business has helped to shape his professional career.

“When you go to a university, you connect with certain professors. For me, Dr. DeAndrea was an influential mentor,” McGrath said.

A professor of economics, the late Vincent DeAndrea retired with emeritus status in 2006.

“That small class environment, in my opinion, really makes a difference,” McGrath said. “It allows you to build relationships with the individual professors, which I think is massively invaluable.”

The value of a Quinnipiac education was also instilled in McGrath by his parents, both Quinnipiac alumni. Today, his daughter, Victoria McGrath ’27, is the family’s third generation to attend Quinnipiac. At the School of Business, she’s majoring in business with a focus in healthcare administration.

Over the course of many meetings, School of Business Dean Holly Raider and Witherspoon collaborated with McGrath and Hulteen-Burkle to develop the unique, four-day intensive program for Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions.

“Assa Abloy is impressive in its approach to innovation and talent development,” Raider said. “They are thoughtful about how they attract, retain and develop talent. It has been inspiring to learn how they maintain both regional strengths and global excellence.”

Hulteen-Burkle said standing up a new program with a university involves multiple visits and discussions with faculty with the resulting collaboration allowing for continued learning in a creative manner.

“I find it is truly time well-spent. They’re getting the understanding of who we are and what we’re looking for, and really what our employees are looking for, out of these programs,” said Hulteen-Burkle.

Quinnipiac’s Associate Vice President for Advancement Services Carl Pitruzzello said meaningful alumni connections such as those demonstrated by McGrath and Hulteen-Burkle serve to strengthen partnerships and opportunities.

“It’s about the synergy of what our alumni do and what we do here. We have a significant number of alumni who work at many companies that are local," said Pitruzzello. "Depending on the company and what products and services they produce, there are so many different connections and aspects. They could be tapping into many different academic areas. There are a lot of different touchpoints within the university." 

Witherspoon said developing strategic partnerships with innovative organizations like Assa Abloy Door Opening Solutions create a plethora of benefits for partners and for Quinnipiac students.

“Deep alumni relationships such as those with Sean McGrath and Beth Hulteen-Burkle have allowed us to expand what started as a vendor relationship into a multi-faceted high-impact partnership that encompasses workforce development through student career development, employee recruitment, and customized leadership development,” said Witherspoon.

Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions is also a long-time corporate sponsor of Quinnipiac ice hockey and basketball at M&T Bank Arena. In an advisory capacity, Bill Grambo, senior vice president and head of the Commercial Segment for Assa Abloy Americas Division, serves on Quinnipiac’s dean’s advisory council for the School of Business.

“With such rich intersections between Assa Abloy and Quinnipiac, we look forward to continuing to expand our collective impact through our partnership,” said Witherspoon.