Wayne Holden next named president and chief executive officer of RTI International

The RTI International Board of Governors has selected RTI’s Executive Vice President of Social, Statistical and Environmental Sciences Wayne Holden to succeed Victoria Haynes as president and chief executive officer of RTI.


“I am honored and pleased to be selected as RTI International’s next president and CEO,” said Holden. “RTI is a unique organization, and I look forward to helping carry on its tradition of objective, multidisciplinary scientific research and development as we evolve to meet future challenges and opportunities.”

The RTI Board of Governors selected Holden following a rigorous search process that considered many highly qualified candidates. Formalities associated with the RTI leadership transition are expected to be completed in the near future.

“Throughout his distinguished career, Wayne has successfully blended leadership, scientific expertise and business acumen to establish an outstanding track record of success,” said RTI Board of Governors Chairman Bill Moore. “Since joining RTI, he has led efforts to grow and diversify our research business while also contributing significantly to the strategy responsible for RTI’s growth and scientific success in the past seven years.”

“Most important to us all, Wayne understands our organization, our people, and our competitive landscape,” Moore said. “Wayne has a vision for RTI that is grounded in multidisciplinary research and global in reach, one that will ensure RTI continues to grow, evolve and be respected.”

Upon formal election by the Board of Governors, Holden will become the fourth president of RTI since its founding in December 1958. He succeeds Victoria Haynes, who has provided 12 years of dedicated service to RTI.

“She has led RTI during a period of exceptional growth, change and revitalization. She has been a caring leader, a highly capable business person, and an outstanding steward of RTI’s reputation and legacy, and we are grateful to her,” said Moore.
  
Holden is a distinguished researcher and clinical psychologist with more than 27 years of professional experience. He joined RTI as executive vice president of Social and Statistical Sciences in November 2005. In this capacity, he oversees the largest unit at RTI, with annual revenues of approximately $360 million and a staff of 1,400 employees.

Prior to joining RTI, Holden had served as vice president, senior vice president and ultimately president of the research company ORC Macro. Before joining ORC Macro in 1998, he had a successful career in academia serving more than 10 years in a variety of roles in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine, including as director of pediatric psychology and as a tenured associate professor.

Holden has also held faculty appointments at Auburn University and Emory University School of Medicine.  Since 2006, he has held an appointment as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.

Holden is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and has authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters on various topics in clinical child/pediatric psychology and health services research. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for NC Methodist Home for Children and the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Ages in Sarasota, Fla.  He is also on the Board of Advisors for the Emily Krzyzewksi Center, and he is an elected trustee for the Triangle University Center for Advanced Studies, Inc. (TUCASI).

He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg and a doctorate in clinical/community psychology from the University of South Carolina at Columbia. He also completed graduate training in the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.