James W. Herring, PhD, is senior vice president, administration, at Children’s Medical Center—Dallas, where he is responsible for law, human resources, governance, compliance, and internal audit, and incorporates superior practices from general industry into the Center’s leadership development program. Prior to Children’s, he designed and implemented leadership development and succession planning systems. His career spans almost 40 years, including over 20 years as a senior human resources professional at Exxon Mobil Corporation and 15 years as a consultant to large private-sector and government organizations.