William S. Kane, Ph.D.

Bill joined the faculty at The School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University in the fall of 2022, where he teaches a wide spectrum of Human Resource Management topics for both undergraduate and graduate students. Passionate about “student readiness” for post-graduation, his classes highlight case studies, best practices, research, and his own relatable experiences in the corporate world. His ability to bring this subject matter to life in an engaging and pragmatic manner has already earned him recognition for teaching excellence by school administrators, peers, and students.

 

Prior to joining RU, Bill was a highly accomplished global practitioner in the Human Resources field with broad and deep experience in all aspects of functional leadership across multiple industries in the Fortune 500. He has been a trusted advisor to CEO’s, leadership teams, and boards at IFF, Kyowa Pharmaceuticals, and Sumitomo Corporation. He has specific expertise in leading, planning, and executing the people strategy associated with profitable business transformations, turnarounds, and start-ups.

 

Bill has served on numerous Advisory Boards including as an elected member of the Smithsonian Science Education Center in Washington, DC, promoting STEM in the classroom. He has also been a member of The Conference Board, CHRO Council.

 

Bill has been active with and had leadership roles with several HR associations. He speaks at human resources and business conferences, and his views have been featured and quoted in multiple media outlets. 

 

Bill is the author of The Truth about Thriving in Change (2008) and Leading Business Teams (2024). The latter, written with Andy Hill, is based upon learnings from John Wooden, UCLA’s legendary basketball coach

 

A lifelong learner, Bill earned his Ph.D. at the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. He holds three master’s degrees: an MA from Fielding in human & organizational systems, an MBA in management, and an MA in organizational psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has taken executive education programs at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland and he received his executive/organizational coaching certification from the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership (IECL) in Sydney, Australia. His undergraduate degree is from Rutgers College.

 

Bill and his wife, Coleen, reside in Long Beach Township, New Jersey.