Scott McLagan set to retire after nearly 20 years at Daniels
Scott McLagan looks at his career in segments, not dissimilar to stops along a bus route.
The first part of his career was in the corporate world, where he spent more than 25 years holding senior executive roles with two large global companies (Fisher Controls and Emerson Electric) and a tech start-up that was sold to Oracle. That part of his journey, and the consulting that would follow, required a great deal of travel, with McLagan traversing nearly 300,000 miles each year and spending little time at home.
So, when the opportunity came for McLagan to slow down and return to his native Denver, he leapt at it.
“Our kids were fairly young at the time, and I just decided that I didn’t see myself doing that for 20 more years,” McLagan said of his traveling corporate career. “So, I decided to jump off that bus.”
And when he landed, McLagan found a new route to the Daniels College of Business. In 2004, he joined his wife, Barbara Kreisman, as a staff and faculty member, leading the Executive Education program and teaching classes. McLagan would eventually transition fully into teaching; he’s taught courses in leadership, executive team development, strategic planning/execution and global business. He was also the co-lead for both the Leadership and Global Business elements of the Executive MBA program.
That program sparked much of McLagan’s joy when reflecting on his time the University. He fondly remembered the more than 30 sailing trips he took to San Diego with the Executive MBA students, calling out the importance of getting away from the traditional classroom setting.
“My fondest memories are those where you are away from the classroom, and you get to know the students really well,” he said. McLagan will also miss the other experiential portion of the EMBA program, its international trips.
His colleague, Kerry Plemmons, professor of the practice, praised McLagan’s ability to translate his experience in the business world into the classroom.
“Scott McLagan walked into the Daniels in 2004 and changed our approach to leadership in the business world,” Plemmons said. “Scott has taught 37 cohorts of Executive MBA Cohorts, and has an impact on virtually every company in Colorado. Over 1,000 Executive MBA alumni have Scott on speed dial for coaching, counseling, mentoring and generally helpful advice.”
Cindi Fukami echoed that sentiment, adding that McLagan’s impact spreads far outside the University’s campus.
“He joined our faculty in his second career. Scott did not ‘need’ to work, rather, he wanted to give his extensive knowledge and experience in leading effective organizations,” she said. “He is beloved by countless students and has planted seeds of great leadership in those with whom he has worked, and those seeds have sprouted all over the world.”
In addition to his work in the classroom, McLagan has also designed and delivered executive leadership programs and consulting engagements for companies such as Newmont Mining, Anadarko, DCP Midstream, Kaiser Permanente, Denver Health, Centura Health, Level 3, CenturyLink, Starz, Pacific Life, Comcast, United Way, Dell and Vail Resorts.
Amanda Cahal, director of MBA Global Programs, compared McLagan to Yoda, saying his wisdom spread throughout the University and the surrounding business scene.
“What really sets him apart is that he not only teaches in all of those areas, but he lives them,” she said of his diverse course load and student population. “He is authentic to the core, and it is his authenticity which resonates most deeply. There is hardly a company in Denver he hasn’t touched, and their senior leaders will be calling him for advice for years to come.”
While McLagan wasn’t certain how long he’d teach when he first landed at Daniels, he’s thankful for the chance it has afforded to him.
“I always thought it would be really fun to teach but I wasn’t sure I’d get an opportunity,” he said. “Once I got it, I loved it.”
In preparation for his retirement, McLagan is looking forward to regaining some free time, especially on the weekends. While at Daniels, McLagan said he spent most weekends teaching and he’s appreciative to soon have that time to spend with his family, especially his grandchildren.
As he gets off at the next stop in his career, McLagan won’t stray too far from the business community. He and Kreisman are doing coursework and development together surrounding, ironically enough, retirement. The duo hopes to help people better prepare for when their retirement day comes.
While he’s helping others in their retirement, McLagan doesn’t acknowledge that this is his own. Instead, it’s just another stop on his journey.
“I like not to think of it as a retirement and instead that I’m transitioning to other things,” he said.