08/10/2026
WOW! What a wonderful post from our friends at the Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce! Thank you for your support and collaborative spirit! Thank you!
🏆HONORS | Congratulations to Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce Academic Partner Walsh College President, CEO & Chief Champion Dr. Suzanne (Suzy) M. Housey Siegle, Ed.D., J.D., MBA on being named to the 2026 DBusiness Magazine List of '𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙮 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣' today.
Suzy Siegle grew up two miles from the Walsh College campus in Troy, which left a thought in her mind when she was young: “If I was ever going to start an entrepreneurial business college, it would look like Walsh.”
Much of her early inspiration came from the number of Walsh students and instructors she knew growing up, and the drive to succeed she saw in them.
After earning a general science degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a law degree at Ave Maria University School of Law in Naples, Florida, an MBA at Western Governors University in Millcreek, Utah, and a doctorate in higher education at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Siegle’s real-life academic career landed her at Concordia University.
While there, she spent 13 years serving the school’s Ann Arbor and Wisconsin campuses, and rose to the position of assistant vice president of legal affairs and operations.
It was a happy and satisfying position, but Siegle couldn’t forget her affinity for Walsh College when, in 2020, she was recruited to interview for the president’s position. Initially Siegle wasn’t selected, but she was recruited as the provost. Two years later, she was named president.
“I was excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of higher education, which I knew was in need of change and growth,” she says. “It was exciting to me to come to a college that was set up very personally for the future of higher education.
“It felt like the perfect alignment of my background in education and experience in business, higher education, and leadership. It was a culminating piece.”
Siegle’s background is diverse. In addition to being a licensed attorney, she also is a scholar in the field of neuroscience. What’s more, she studies applications that pertain to high-performance leadership.
“Neuroscience has really amplified my value and respect for education,” Siegle says. “Realizing the brain is very neuroplastic, we have an incredible ability to change how we think and feel to get better results.”
Much of that potential for change focuses on a concept known as locus of control, which Siegle has studied extensively throughout her career. In that realm, Siegle is a certified executive coach in Locus Mindset Leadership, and works with executive leaders as founder and chief energy officer of The THRIVE Mastermind. All the earnings she receives from speaking, workshops, coaching, and training/development through THRIVE go toward supporting Walsh College.
She also finds the principles she imparts at THRIVE help her as a leader.
“From a leadership development standpoint, when you’re in a CEO role, there are a lot of things that come up for you,” Siegle says. “An understanding of how the mind works has helped me see how I need to continuously evolve to be the leader Walsh College needs for today and tomorrow.”
Goals for her leadership at Walsh include “meaningful growth,” like global endeavors through partnerships already established in India and the United Arab Emirates. But growth just for the sake of growth isn’t the idea.
Siegle and her colleagues are focused on ensuring a strong ROI for Walsh degrees.
To that end, a recent internal study sought to measure the return a student can expect to receive on his or her investment in a Walsh degree during the first 10 years following graduation. According to Siegle, the study has shown a 10-year ROI of:
Doctorate degrees: 12:1
Master of business administration: 9:1
Master of information technology: 8:1
“We can’t make any guarantees of a specific outcome, but this is what our data showed,” Siegle says.
In terms of curricula, Walsh came to be in 1922 as a school mainly for accounting, but over the years it’s grown into a college where students can experience a complete offering of business programs. Adding to that mix, Siegle says the school is already offering degrees in artificial intelligence at every level, and is working to incorporate AI into the classroom responsibly.
“We need to teach students how to use AI effectively in the classroom, because they’re having to use it in the real world,” she says.
In the interest of developing a full range of business training options, Siegle is championing Walsh to expand non-credit-bearing offerings such as professional development, as well as programs in human resources and continuing education in tax and accounting.
Under her leadership, in 2024, Walsh’s doctoral program received a No. 1 ranking by Forbes.
Asked to describe the overall value of the school, it’s a point of pride for Siegle that the founder of Walsh College, Mervyn Walsh, worked as an accountant for Thomas Edison. That direct connection to one of the most innovative minds in history represents, for Siegle, one of the reasons entrepreneurship is part of Walsh College’s DNA.
“Walsh College embodies the very best of a business and technology college, with deep entrepreneurial roots, and with a mission to move business and careers forward,” she says. “What I love about that is this is how we can change the world. I believe education opens doors of incredible opportunity and possibility.”
Even as Walsh seeks to measure the monetary ROI of its degrees over the course of the careers it helps to spur, Siegle believes there’s a greater benefit to students.
“Beyond the value of that degree is the human being you become in the process,” Siegle says. “You can never go back. You think differently, and you analyze situations from both sides, which is the essence of critical thinking. You can analyze and solve the world’s problems.”
“I’m so proud to wear the Walsh College pin because every day it reminds me that we’re serving a mission bigger than ourselves. The pin is a point of pride and responsibility.”
The leaders recognized through Powered by Women are making a lasting impact across the region's business landscape. Through innovation, strategic leadership, and a commitment to excellence, they are driving growth, creating opportunity, and helping shape the future of their industries. Their accomplishments serve as an inspiration to colleagues, emerging professionals, and future leaders alike.
Selected through reader nominations, the 2026 class of Powered by Women are exceptional leaders who exemplify resilience, strategic vision, and operational excellence. DBusiness Magazine celebrates their achievements by inviting others to gain insight from their experiences navigating today’s dynamic business environment.
