Greg Dekker ’85 has been named vice president, sales effectiveness, for the Teknion Corporation, where he leads learning and development, industry analysis and advanced customer collaboration. Previously, Dekker was national sales manager for the Baker Furniture Company and a consultant with Applied Research and Consulting by Steelcase.
At Calvin, Dekker pursued a combined business and psychology degree, plus an unusual concentration in fine arts.
“Since only education majors were awarded fine arts minors, I took all the courses anyway, and we called it a concentration,” said Dekker. “It’s possible that not many people understood the combination, but it fit my curiosity around how people relate to design, and became a foundation for all my work that followed. Plus, I got to study with artist and Calvin professor Robin Jensen. We still own four of his pieces—including a seven-foot sculpture of the Holy Spirit” (pictured above).
In the three decades since Calvin, he has focused on professional speaking and facilitation, creating immersive conference experiences on change planning, understanding generational differences and workplace effectiveness, and he has served many dynamic corporations worldwide. He leads PODIUM, a practice program for advanced collaboration skills, and is author of seminars for discovery—including Shatter!, The Jetsons, and Power Tools for Change.
Dekker and his wife, Rebecca Orlebeke Dekker ’87, live in San Francisco, California, and Raleigh, North Carolina. They have two sons.
