Michelle Finegan Saunders
BIO
Michelle Finegan Saunders is a certified executive and professional coach. She helps individuals and organizations achieve fast, measurable, sustainable results in the areas of individual performance improvement, team building, onboarding new employees, and leadership skill development.
PROFESSIONAL COACH
Michelle’s passion and purpose is helping organizations achieve superior performance by unlocking the full potential of their people.
She specializes in:
- Developing leadership skills for the new business environment
- Renewing and revitalizing plateaued employees
- Creating high-performing teams with a strong focus on results
- Successfully onboarding new employees
- Turning problem employees into high performers
- Helping individuals gain clarity around their career goals
- Helping people get promoted
An experienced professional and executive coach, Michelle blends 23 years of hands-on experience as a senior manager with the latest in personal development techniques to produce measurable, lasting results. In particular, she excels at turning around problem employees who labor under a victim mindset and those who have exceptional technical skills but wreak havoc with their lack of interpersonal skills.
Michelle has played a key role in helping companies like Nokia and Questcor Pharmaceuticals design and implement programs that enable mid-level managers to develop the skills and competencies necessary to make the jump to the senior manager/VP level. In many cases, she has taken employees who had stalled in their careers and coached them into becoming stellar performers who rapidly advanced.
EXPERIENCED SENIOR EXECUTIVE
Prior to becoming an executive coach, Michelle held several senior marketing executive positions in the pharmaceutical industry, where she specialized in the neurology, Crohn’s, dermatology and hepatology markets. While working for companies such as Skinmedica, Inc., Bayer, and Elan Pharmaceuticals, she demonstrated a proven track record of results while employing strong strategic oversight and substantial problem solving skills.
As Vice President for Skinmedica, Michelle was responsible for strategic oversight and marketing execution on all new product marketing for dermatology pharmaceutical products. As senior global marketing director for Elan Pharmaceuticals, she had full responsibility for all products on the market, while helping to provide strategic vision for those under development.
During her tenure as a senior manager, Michelle excelled at developing market plans, forecasting, leveraging Phase IV studies, publication planning, and new product marketing from pre-clinical research to market approval. She also gained extensive experience managing and developing staff, including hiring, coaching, cross-training, and mentoring. The experience gained and the skills developed now play an important role in guiding and informing her professional coaching assignments.
INSTRUCTOR AND GUEST LECTURER
Michelle teaches The New Power Couple: Sales and Marketing at the University of San Diego, bringing students up to speed on how to connect with prospects and customers in today’s rapidly changing markets. She is also a guest speaker for USD’s business development course.
LIFELONG LEARNER
Michelle has completed more than 100 hours of coaching training at the Life Purpose Institute in San Diego, and continues to participate in advanced training courses to further her abilities. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Women’s Organization and Professional Women in Healthcare, where she has mentored other professional women. She is also an active member in the “Finding a Cure for Diabetes” organization, and works to eradicate bullying in schools with the “Difference Makers International Organization.”