About Our Founder
Larry G. Patten
Founder
World Leadership Institute
Larry Patten has led a distinguished and highly successful career in business, government, broadcasting, and education. He led the development of this exciting program of strategic development. Recognizing the importance of the individual success in the success of organizations, this program has parallel programs for strategic personal development as well as strategic organizational development. Over the past 30 years, Larry Patten has led a very successful career including a broad array of experiences that helped him develop the dynamic and powerful programs of World Leadership Institute.
He began his career at an early age of sixteen when he formed what at that time was a hi-tech company that made phonograph records for schools and churches. This business continued through the sixties when he became the top franchisee of Century Records. In 1967, he joined Northwestern Bell, one of the regional Bell companies, where he excelled in their highly regarded management-training program. Later he became part of the emerging Community College movement when he accepted a teaching position with Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa . In 1970, he was selected to develop a new educational concept for the college – a combination of individualized instruction and distance learning. Under his leadership the college developed one of the most technically advanced, educationally sophisticated, and operationally sound distance learning/individualized instructional programs in the country. This program is still functioning today more than 30 years later.
Larry was selected in 1981 to lead Iowa Public Television, a statewide network of public television stations. During his tenure, he led the organization to become one of the most highly respected public broadcasting organizations in the country. He launched a successful $7 million capital campaign for a new Iowa Public Television facility that today stands as a symbol of one of his accomplishments. It was during this period that he served on the Iowa Governor's select management committee and chaired many government committees including the Communications Advisory Council that early on set much of the state's communication direction. In 1984, he joined Teleconnect Company, an emerging long-distance provider, as Vice President of Digital Network Services. In this position he developed a new fiber optic network throughout the Midwest . Once again, he was working on the cutting edge showing an uncanny vision of the future. As a result of this understanding of government, education and technology, the General Assembly of the State of Iowa asked him to become a consultant to lead the early development of a statewide and state owned fiber network for connecting all schools and public agencies in the state. He developed the technical plans, operational plans and worked closely with legislative leadership to develop and pass the necessary legislation for this system and program. It is now in place and operational, serving Iowa 's schools and public agencies.
Larry Patten has served in a variety of other leadership roles. He has served as vice chancellor of a community college, chief operating officer of a university, and president of a private college. In 1996, Larry gathered his wealth of leadership experience, creative talent, and desire to share it all with others and founded World Leadership Institute.