Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Cory J. Sauls is recognized as a Pinnacle Professional Member of the Inner Circle of Excellence for his exceptional contributions to enterprise transformation, artificial intelligence, operational excellence, and executive project leadership.
Cory J. Sauls is Executive Vice President of Project Management for Stratus Unlimited, where he provides executive leadership for the company’s national project management organization supporting Exterior Signage, Interior Branding, Brand Maintenance, and Refresh & Rollout operations. He is responsible for developing and executing the strategic vision for project delivery across the enterprise while driving operational excellence, customer satisfaction, profitability, organizational capability, and scalable execution for some of the nation’s largest multi-site branding programs.
In this role, Mr. Sauls leads a nationwide organization of project management professionals responsible for delivering complex customer programs across thousands of locations. He partners closely with executive leaders in Sales, Operations, Finance, Technology, Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Customer Success to standardize project management practices, strengthen governance, improve execution consistency, and accelerate digital transformation initiatives. His leadership also includes advancing AI-enabled project management capabilities, improving delivery performance, enhancing customer experience, and developing the next generation of project management leaders.
Mr. Sauls brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience spanning engineering, manufacturing, enterprise project management, product development, operational transformation, and business strategy. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for transforming organizations by aligning strategy with disciplined execution, enabling sustainable growth, and delivering measurable business results.
Prior to joining Stratus Unlimited, Mr. Sauls held executive leadership positions with Trane Technologies, where he led global enterprise transformation initiatives, enterprise project management, product commercialization, engineering operations, manufacturing productivity, and strategic business programs. During his tenure, he helped deliver hundreds of successful product launches, accelerated product development cycles, generated hundreds of millions of dollars in productivity improvements, and developed high-performing leadership teams across multiple global organizations.
His expertise includes enterprise project management, portfolio governance, AI-enabled business transformation, operational excellence, organizational design, customer delivery, digital transformation, technical systems integration, leadership development, and enterprise execution strategy. He is widely recognized for building organizations that consistently improve customer satisfaction, margin performance, operational efficiency, and cross-functional collaboration while creating cultures centered on accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Mr. Sauls earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Southern University and A&M College, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University, and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University. His unique combination of engineering expertise, executive leadership, and business strategy has enabled him to successfully lead complex organizations through significant periods of growth and transformation.
He maintains several respected professional certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), and Six Sigma Black Belt certifications through both the American Society for Quality and the International Six Sigma Institute. He is an active member of the Project Management Institute, the American Society for Quality, and the International Six Sigma Institute.
Among his many professional accomplishments, Mr. Sauls has consistently delivered transformational business outcomes through enterprise execution, organizational leadership, and operational excellence. His career has been defined by his ability to build high-performing organizations, develop exceptional leaders, leverage emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and execute complex strategic initiatives that create lasting competitive advantage.
His achievements have been recognized through numerous professional honors, including the President’s Award for Leadership and recognition by Marquis Who’s Who Top Engineers for his outstanding leadership, innovation, and contributions to the engineering and business communities.
Looking ahead, Mr. Sauls is committed to helping organizations redefine project management as a strategic competitive advantage by combining operational excellence, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and exceptional leadership. His vision is to build organizations that consistently transform strategy into execution while delivering extraordinary value for customers, employees, and stakeholders alike.
Guided by the philosophy that great organizations are built by developing great leaders, Mr. Sauls believes sustainable success is achieved through empowering people, embracing innovation, maintaining uncompromising accountability, and creating disciplined execution systems that consistently transform vision into measurable business results.
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