Author: Babs Ryan
Bio: Babs Ryan

Big-business escapee Babs Ryan has successfully boomeranged from senior leadership roles in Fortune 100 companies (GE Capital division head of new product development, Citibank VP of business development), chief marketing officer at Kawasaki Motors UK, and top directorships in blue chip advertising agencies to small-business owner with clients in more than 200 countries.

Babs has traveled in 78 countries including Pakistan (North West Frontier Province), Iran, Israel, Syria, Myanmar (Burma), India (including Kashmir), Israel, Oman, and Zimbabwe, and worked abroad for 11 years. She has seven U.S. patent applications. As founder and president of Sparks Worldwide LLC, a Chicago-based enterprise, she helps multinational corporations bloom by forecasting global trends and translating those trends into improved, patentable products and relevant business solutions.

Citibank transferred her to their UK mortgage division in 1991 to reverse the mortgage crisis (very similar to ours in the U.S.), where she developed strategies and programs for preventing/slowing foreclosures, minimizing bank write-offs, and creating new lending growth. One of her programs, offering free unemployment insurance with every mortgage, drove substantial new mortgage volume in a depressed market and created increased profitability for both Citibank and the insurance underwriters.

She has worked with Ford Motor Co., General Motors, AT&T, Allergan (Botox Cosmetic), American Express, Corning, De Beers Diamond Mines, Eli Lilly, Fisher-Price, Hearst Publishing, Home Depot, J. Walter Thompson, IBM, MasterCard, Mont Blanc, Procter & Gamble, Sears, ShopRite, Walmart, and Western Union.

Her best-selling business book America’s Corporate Brain Drain (August 2008) forecast the crumbling of big banks and businesses.

This Massachusetts native has a master’s degree in international business from Thunderbird. Her interests include Taekwondo (black belt), SCUBA, and alpine ski racing (A level).  She is founder and former president of the Chicago Motorcycle Meetup (180 members), is a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and has been a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.