Paul N. Friga, PhD

About

Paul N. Friga, PhD, is one of the foremost higher education thought leaders and strategists. With 35 years of experience as a professor, researcher, and consultant at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and Indiana University, he understands how education works and how it should change. His former experience as a consultant with PwC (earning CPA and CMA designations) and McKinsey (including projects in higher education) round out additional relevant experience. Friga currently serves as the strategy development practice leader at AGB. He is also a clinical associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

For the past 10 years, Friga has researched best practices in strategic resource allocation in higher education, presented at international conferences, and co-founded ABC Insights, a premier higher education benchmarking consortium designed to make universities more efficient and effective. HelioCampus acquired the firm in 2020. Over the past three years, Friga has authored over 20 articles and hosted numerous webinars for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and other journals, addressing strategies for change in higher education to survive the COVID-19 crisis and position universities for the long term. He has also conducted many strategic planning projects for universities, not-for-profit entities, and corporations. He has written two best-selling books on team problem-solving (The McKinsey Mind and The McKinsey Engagement) and is an award-winning teacher of strategy and consulting for undergraduates, MBAs, and executives. In summary, he is passionate about helping higher education transform for greatness.

Friga has also served as a trustee at Saint Francis University and the board chair at Saints Francis and Clare Church in Greenwood, Indiana, and he is on the executive board of the Rams Club at UNC at Chapel Hill.

Professional Credentials

Friga received his MBA and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His undergraduate degree is from Saint Francis University, where he received a double degree in management and accounting.