The RBL Group
The RBL Group is a private, partner-led consulting firm founded in 2000 by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, providing research-based human capability, leadership development, organization strategy, and strategic HR services to enterprise clients, CHROs, and executive teams globally via consulting, academies, assessments, and the RBL Institute membership.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersProvo, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The RBL Group does
The RBL Group is a private, partner-led education and consulting firm founded in 2000 by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, headquartered in Provo, Utah. The firm delivers human capability development services spanning four practice areas: Organization Strategy & Transformation, Leadership Development, Talent Management, and Strategic HR. It serves large enterprises, CHROs, executive teams, and high-potential leaders globally through direct consulting engagements, structured academy programs, assessment instruments, and a paid membership forum.
RBL's product surface is built on proprietary research-based frameworks rather than software. Core assets include the RBL Leadership Code 360 Assessment, MENTOR Leadership Battery, Organization Guidance System (OGS), Growth Potential Score (GPS), and the HR Competency Study (HRCS), the latter executed every five years since 1987 in partnership with the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and 19 global HR associations, with the Round 8 dataset comprising 29,000+ respondents. The portfolio is delivered via direct consulting engagements, the RBL Institute (premium membership forum), academies (Dave Ulrich HR Academy, Leadership Code Academy, Talent Academy), the RBL+ digital learning platform, the HR Learning Partnership intensive program, and the annual Human Capability Exchange event. Regional entities include RBL Asia (Singapore) and RBL Latinoamérica, with the latter now running a "Capacidades Humanas + IA" program indicating an AI-themed content layer.
Revenue is generated through professional services fees on consulting engagements, tuition and program fees for academies and the HR Learning Partnership, recurring subscription revenue from RBL Institute corporate memberships and premium content access, and e-commerce sales of books, ebooks, and research reports. The firm employs 101–250 people and operates through regional managing directors in North America (Mike Panowyk), Europe (Henrick Carlsen, Camilla Ellehave), Asia (Darryl Wee), and Hispanic Markets (Ernesto Uscher), with a bench of approximately 15 RBL Principals and senior consultants globally. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the Institute operates on a corporate membership model, and online content uses a freemium-to-paid tier structure.
The RBL Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The RBL Group
- Legal name
- The RBL Group, Inc.
- Website
- https://rbl.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- The RBL Group is a private, partner-led consulting firm founded in 2000 by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, providing research-based human capability, leadership development, organization strategy, and strategic HR services to enterprise clients, CHROs, and executive teams globally via consulting, academies, assessments, and the RBL Institute membership.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The RBL Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Leadership Development & Executive Coaching (BPAHAGAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- C-Suite & Senior Executive Coaching (EDABANAA), Team & Group Executive Coaching (Leadership Teams) (EDABANAF), People Analytics, Assessment & Psychometrics Consulting (BPAHAGAH)
Keywords
Where The RBL Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Provo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The RBL Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: Professional consulting engagements for organization strategy, leadership development, talent management, and strategic HR transformation delivered by RBL principals and partners.
- Training and Development Programs: Academy programs including Leadership Code® Academy, Talent Academy, and specialized leadership development programs with both synchronous and asynchronous learning components.
- RBL Institute Membership: Premium membership program offering exclusive HR content, workshops, mini-forums, newsletters, webcasts, and professional development resources for HR leaders.
- Premium Access Content: Expanded content services available for a fee, including research reports, books, ebooks, and premium educational materials.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Standard Access - Free foundational content access |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium Access - Paid expanded content services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
The RBL Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The RBL Group delivers professional consulting, proprietary leadership assessments, and structured learning programs that help enterprise organizations build leadership capability, transform HR functions, design organization strategy, and develop talent. Offerings are delivered through direct consulting engagements, the RBL Institute membership forum, and named academies, supported by diagnostic frameworks such as the Organization Guidance System and the RBL Leadership Code® 360.
Product overview
The RBL Group is a global education and consulting firm that provides a comprehensive portfolio of services focused on human capability development. Their offerings span four key areas: Leadership Development (including academies, coaching, and assessments), Organization Strategy & Transformation (including strategy design and culture shaping), Talent Management, and Strategic HR (including HR transformation and HR strategy). The core portfolio includes consulting services (Organization Guidance System, HR Transformation & Alignment), assessment tools (RBL Leadership Code® 360, MENTOR® Leadership Battery, HR Assessments, Growth Potential Score), academies (Dave Ulrich HR Academy, Leadership Code® Academy, Talent Academy), programs (High Potential Leader Program, Leading for HR Excellence, HR Learning Partnership), the RBL Institute membership forum, the RBL+ digital platform, and events (Human Capability Exchange, RBL Podcast). These offerings work together as an integrated system where assessments diagnose capability gaps, consulting engagements implement changes, and academies develop the skills needed to sustain improvements.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RBL Institute: Premier HR development forum offering workshops, mini-forums, newsletters, webcasts, and learning programs.
- RBL Institute Login
- Human Capability Exchange
- HR Learning Partnership (HRLP)
Products and services
- Organization Guidance System
- Leadership Transformation & Alignment
- Leadership Development
- Strategy & Business Design
- Positioning for Customer Advantage
- Shaping a Customer-Centric Culture
- RBL Institute
- HR Transformation & Alignment
- Strategic HR Development
- HR Strategy Development
- HR Assessments
- RBL Leadership Code® 360 Assessment
- MENTOR® Leadership Battery
- Growth Potential Score (GPS)
- Dave Ulrich HR Academy
- Leadership Code® Academy
- Talent Academy
- High Potential Leader Program
- Leading for HR Excellence
- HR Learning Partnership (HRLP)
- Results-Based Teams
- Coaching
- RBL+
Quantifiable outcome
- Human capability contributes up to 44% of employee productivity (revenue per employee) and 26% of intangible asset valuation according to Governance & Guidance for Growth (G3) Human Capability Initiative research
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The RBL Group
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The RBL Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
The RBL Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- University of Michigan Ross School of BusinesscoreLong-standing research partnership conducting the global HR Competency Study (HRCS) every five years since 1987. The partnership involves RBL co-founder Dave Ulrich as professor at Michigan and collects data from HR professionals worldwide to identify competencies that drive business results.
- 19 Global HR AssociationscoreRBL partners with 19 HR associations globally for the HR Competency Study research initiative, enabling broad participation and diverse perspectives from HR professionals across regions and industries.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The RBL Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with deep leadership development, talent management, and executive search practices that directly overlap RBL's HR transformation and leadership advisory offerings. It serves Fortune 500 clients at much greater scale and is a key benchmark for RBL's enterprise ambitions.
- Egon Zehnder: Egon Zehnder is a premier leadership advisory and executive search firm offering board advisory, executive coaching, and leadership development services to global enterprises. It competes with RBL at the senior executive coaching and C-suite advisory layer.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search and leadership consulting firm offering leadership assessment, succession planning, and culture shaping services. It overlaps RBL's executive advisory and organization design engagements for enterprise clients.
- Deloitte (Human Capital practice): Deloitte's Human Capital practice offers leadership development, HR transformation, and organizational design services at a global scale that dwarfs RBL. It is a key competitor for large multi-workstream HR transformation RFPs and bundles learning and assessment work with broader consulting engagements.
- McKinsey (People & Organizational Performance): McKinsey's People & Organizational Performance practice serves C-suite clients on organization design, leadership development, and HR transformation. It competes for the same CHRO and CEO audience as RBL but at significantly larger engagement size and with broader analytical infrastructure.
- GP Strategies: GP Strategies is a global performance improvement company providing training, consulting, and managed learning services to enterprises. It competes with RBL's academy and training programs as well as enterprise learning engagements, particularly in regulated and industrial verticals.
Direct peers
- Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): CCL is a nonprofit leadership development research and education provider offering leadership programs, assessments, and coaching for individuals and organizations worldwide. It directly competes with RBL in leadership development academies, 360 assessments, and executive coaching.
- Development Dimensions International (DDI): DDI is a global leadership and talent assessment firm offering leadership development programs, behavioral simulations, and selection tools for enterprise clients. It directly competes with RBL's Leadership Code® and MENTOR® assessments and leadership academy programs.
- FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey provides leadership development training, coaching, and content (including The 7 Habits) to enterprises and individuals globally, with a subscription-based All Access Pass model. It overlaps RBL's academy offerings, content distribution, and enterprise leadership development engagements.
- BTS: BTS is a global professional services firm specializing in strategy execution, leadership development, and sales transformation using simulation-based learning and coaching. It competes with RBL in leadership academies and strategic HR/leadership transformation engagements.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The RBL Group social profiles
Digital presenceThe RBL Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The RBL Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
The RBL Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
The RBL Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The RBL Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The RBL Group
What does The RBL Group do?
The RBL Group delivers professional consulting, proprietary leadership assessments, and structured learning programs that help enterprise organizations build leadership capability, transform HR functions, design organization strategy, and develop talent. Offerings are delivered through direct consulting engagements, the RBL Institute membership forum, and named academies, supported by diagnostic frameworks such as the Organization Guidance System and the RBL Leadership Code® 360.
Is The RBL Group a public or private company?
The RBL Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The RBL Group founded?
The RBL Group was founded in 2000. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is The RBL Group based?
The RBL Group is headquartered in Provo, United States, in the North America region.
How does The RBL Group make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are training and Development Programs, RBL Institute Membership and premium Access Content.
Who are The RBL Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Korn Ferry, Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, Deloitte (Human Capital practice), McKinsey (People & Organizational Performance) and GP Strategies. Direct peers are Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), Development Dimensions International (DDI), FranklinCovey and BTS.
Does The RBL Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for The RBL Group.
What industry is The RBL Group in?
The RBL Group's product category is Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAGAD, Leadership Development & Executive Coaching, with a secondary code of EDABANAA, C-Suite & Senior Executive Coaching. Its NAICS code is 541612 and its SIC code is 8742.