“Things do not happen, they are made to happen.” – John F. Kennedy
“What could have happened, did.” – Dreamer Tatum (Semi-Tough by Dan Jenkins)
About Rod Ray: Rod Ray, Ph.D., P.E. is the former CEO of Bend Research, Inc. Bend Research is a technology development company providing innovations for the agricultural, electronics, energy, and space industries. Over the last 25 years, Bend Research had an increasing focus on drug-delivery technology development for the pharmaceutical industry. In 2014, the company was purchased by a large private equity company and ultimately became part of Lonza, a Swiss pharmaceutical technology and manufacturing company.
During his career at Bend Research, Dr. Ray held positions starting from Research Engineer, advancing to Director of Engineering, President and Chief Operating Office, and served as Chief Executive Officer from 2008 through 2014. Through this progression from Research Engineer to CEO, Dr. Ray learned many Leadership lessons—the hard way. Upon retirement in 2014, Dr. Ray began developing and formalizing these Leadership lessons into a body-of-knowledge for use in consulting and for teaching courses in practical, useful leadership.
Dr. Ray holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University, and a Masters and Doctorate from The University of Colorado, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Oregon and Colorado. In 2014, Dr. Ray founded Canyon Mountain Consulting from which he is currently a consultant and board member for various pharmaceutical and technological companies, including NovaTech, EarthCruiser, Onboard Dynamics, and Element1.
In order to practice good Stewardship, Dr. Ray serves on the board of several non-profit and higher-education organizations such as Mosaic Medical and Oregon State University-Cascades (where he teaches Thermodynamics and Leadership). Dr. Ray consults in organizational development for the City of Bend–Bend Fire and Rescue, and on strategic planning for several organizations including Grant County Economic Development.
Rod and his wife Lori have a daughter who is a supervisory nurse at the St. Charles hospital in Madras, and a son studying Chemical Engineering and Pre-Med at Montana State University. They have one granddaughter, who loves animals.
The Ray family owns, operates, and continuously improves a small cattle ranch and tree farm, Birch Springs Ranch, in the Strawberry Mountains just outside of John Day, Oregon.