Dr. Judd Michael

Dr. Judd Michael

Business Management, Sustainability and Safety

Judd is a Professor at Penn State and has worked with the wood industry for more than 25 years. Client firms have ranged from small producers to the largest building materials corporations. His research interests have included human resources optimization, management decision-making, and safety improvement.

Judd has taught courses on “Business Management for Wood Manufacturers” and “Safety for
Biorenewable Industries” at Penn State. He’s also taught an MBA course on “Sustainable Business Strategies” at Penn State for more than 10 years. He has conducted management skills training programs for hundreds of wood industry managers.

One of Judd’s focal areas is how firms can increase their “sustainability” while also increasing their top or bottom lines. He has led numerous university sustainability initiatives, is the Big10 conference representative to the Green Sports Alliance, and co-wrote NASCAR’s Pocono Raceway sustainability report. A hot topic for many industries is ESG performance (environment, social, governance); this is an area that many wood-based manufacturers should consider as a means to increase profitability.

Judd received a BS in Marketing and an MBA from Texas A&M University and a PhD in Wood Science (minor in Business) from Penn State. He has previously held positions at Virginia Tech and Texas A&M working with various segments of the wood industry. He has acted as an expert witness in numerous cases related to trade secrets, packaging/marketing claims, and safety. He was co-author on a handbook of HR best practices for the hardwood industry.