Directory

Learn from the people shaping culture.

A curated directory of authors, consultants, and practitioners doing the best thinking on organizational culture.

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167 of 167 leaders

PLPatrick Lencioni

Founder & President — The Table Group — Author, 'The Advantage'

One of the most widely read voices on team health and organizational clarity. Best known for reframing culture as a competitive advantage, not a soft asset.

LeadershipExecutive CoachingChange Management
AGAdam Grant
Adam Grant Featured

Organizational Psychologist, Professor — The Wharton School — Author, 'Think Again'

Wharton's top-rated professor and one of the most cited voices on how people work at their best. Focuses on generosity, rethinking, and originality inside teams.

LeadershipEmployee Engagement
KCKeith C. Norris

CEO — KPI Fire — Author, 'Fire Starter: How to Ignite Improvement'

Helps organizations turn improvement into a daily operating rhythm. Combines continuous-improvement systems with leadership discipline so culture becomes measurable.

LeadershipChange ManagementEmployee Engagement
BBBrené Brown
Brené Brown Featured

Research Professor, Founder — University of Houston — Author, 'Dare to Lead'

Two decades of research on vulnerability, courage, and shame — translated into a leadership language that has landed inside thousands of organizations.

LeadershipExecutive Coaching
AEAmy Edmondson
Amy Edmondson Featured

Professor of Leadership — Harvard Business School — Author, 'The Fearless Organization'

Coined the term 'psychological safety' and made it operational. Her research is the reason most modern culture playbooks even have that phrase in them.

LeadershipEmployee EngagementChange Management
DCDaniel Coyle
Daniel Coyle Featured

Author, Speaker — 'The Culture Code'

Spent years embedded in high-performing groups — SEAL teams, Pixar, IDEO — to find the specific signals that build belonging. The result is one of the most quoted books on culture.

LeadershipEmployee Engagement
DMDarren Murph
Darren Murph Featured

Workplace Design Advisor — Ex-Head of Remote — GitLab

Wrote the playbook the rest of the industry copied on how to actually run a distributed company. Turned 'remote' from a perk into an operating model.

Remote/Hybrid CultureChange ManagementHR Tech
KSKim Scott

Author, Co-founder — Radical Candor — Ex-Google, Apple

Built the Radical Candor framework after leading teams at Google and Apple. A practical guide to caring personally while challenging directly.

LeadershipExecutive CoachingStartups
ABAubrey Blanche-Sarellano

VP of Equitable Operations — Culture Amp — Ex-Atlassian

Rebuilds people processes so equity is baked in from day one, not bolted on. Focuses on the operating system underneath DEI, not the slogans on top.

DEIHR TechChange Management
EKErica Keswin

Workplace Strategist, Author — 'Bring Your Human to Work'

Advises companies on the rituals and small moments that make work feel human. Practical, not preachy — everything comes back to what teams actually do.

Employee EngagementLeadership
JBJosh Bersin

Global Industry Analyst, Founder — The Josh Bersin Company

The most-followed analyst in HR and workforce tech. His research shapes how large employers think about culture measurement, tooling, and the future of work.

HR TechEmployee EngagementChange Management
MY

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 70

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Why Bad Systems Beat Good Employees. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DWDarril Wilburn

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 69

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Courage, Humility, and Kaizen. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
LCLee Campe

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 68

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Continuous Improvement and The Art of Storytelling. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
TFTom Foster

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 67

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing How Accountability Starts With Structure. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
TATina Agustiady

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 35 & EP 66

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing What Happens When AI Meets Continuous Improvement. A two-time guest (EP 35 & EP 66).

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JR

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 49 & EP 66

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing What Happens When AI Meets Continuous Improvement. A two-time guest (EP 49 & EP 66).

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JGJohn Garrett

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 65

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Building a Culture People Stay For. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DD

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 31 & EP 64

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Turning Improvement Into Sustained Execution. A two-time guest (EP 31 & EP 64).

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
KMKaren Martin

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 63

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Clarity First: Flow, Metrics, and Leading Improvement. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DTDanny Toney

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 62

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Data Driven Leadership. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
KAKatie Anderson

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 61

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Building Teams That Think, Learn, and Improve. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JGJeff Gray

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 60

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Building a Career in Continuous Improvement. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DDDuane Deason

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 59

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Smarter Cost Management. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CKChris Keahey

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 58

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Value of Tracking ROI in CI. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CJCheryl Jekiel

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 57

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Letting Go To Lead. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JO

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 56

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing What Leaders Get Wrong About Transformation. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
FBFrancine Bejarano

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 55

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Execution Gaps Leaders Don’t See. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
SB

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 54

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Translating Vision Into Action. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
LMLyndsay MacLeod

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 53

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Leadership That Sustains Change. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CRChristoph Roser

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 52

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Why Improvement Fails Without Standard Work. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
NBNick Belcher

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 51

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Creating a People-First Lean Culture. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MPMarcial Portillo

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 50

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Building Systems and Behaviors That Make Improvement Stick. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
RS

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 48

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Combining AI, Agile, and Lean for Real Execution. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DKDean Kynaston

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 47

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Leadership Gaps That Kill Agile. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CGChris Gunderson

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 46

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Putting Your Money Where Your Powerpoint Is. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MSMichael Stevens

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 45

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Culture as a Leadership Tool. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
EUEvan Unger

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 44

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Transforming Meeting Culture. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CQClaire Quigley

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 42

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Fixing Failing Transformations. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
BEBob Emiliani

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 40

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Discipline of Lean Leadership. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DBDan Barata

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 39

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Leadership Discipline Missing In Most Transformations. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JLJanine LeaBarrett

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 38

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Building Resilient Teams That Deliver. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CHChris Hayes

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 37

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing How to Wire Your Organization for Excellence. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
AGAdriana Girdler

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 36

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Habits of Great Project Managers. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
LLLorenzo Long

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 34

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Making Sustainability Everyone’s Job. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
PG

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 33

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing What Great Leaders Do Differently. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
SBSteve Burkle

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 32

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing What Makes Improvement Efforts Succeed (or Fail). Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JTJared Thatcher

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 29

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Cost Improvement That Doesn’t Burn People Out. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
LG

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 28

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Leading Lean Across Cultures. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
BHBruce Hamilton

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 27

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Toast Kaizen and the Power of Teaching Lean Through Story. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CDCindy Deekitwong

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 26

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing How to Inspire Teams and Connect With Customers. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
BL

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 25

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing EQ, NPS, and the Metrics That Drive Real Improvement. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MM

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 24

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing How CI is Evolving In The Age of AI. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CL

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 23

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing How Great Leaders Build a Culture of Improvement. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
HEHeather Everton

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 22

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Building Alignment Without Micromanagement. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DK

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 21

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Human Side of Performance Management. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
KSKen Snyder

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 20

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing What Every Executive Needs to Understand About CI. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
THTyson Heaton

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 19

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Human Side of Lean Transformation. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
KCKevin Clay

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 18

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Belt System: What It Means & What It Doesn’t. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DGDr. Gwendolyn Galsworth

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 16 & EP 17

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Leading Through Obeya and Metrics That Drive. A two-part guest (EP 16 & EP 17).

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
RKRandy Kesterson

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 15

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Explaining Lean Through Visual Storytelling. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
SMSpencer Maybee

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 14

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing What Lean Looks Like From The Start. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
AM

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 13

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Being Better Tomorrow Than Today. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JR

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 12

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Turning Frontline Teams Into Change Leaders. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
CMCatherine McDonald

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 11 & EP 80

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing The Habit of Curiosity That Drives Real Improvement. Returned for EP 80: "AI, Leadership, and Collaboration."

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
TITed Iverson

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 10

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Sustaining Results Through Better Leadership. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MKMatt Kroll

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 9

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Structured Problem Solving That Scales. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
WM

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 8

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Leading Change Without Losing Trust. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
DADr. Alan Barnard

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 6 & EP 75

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Solving the Right Problems with the Theory Of Constraints. Returned for EP 75: "Finding Your AI Bottleneck."

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JR

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 4

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing Turning Frontline Ideas Into Big Wins. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
AAAndrei Anca

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 2

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing How To Build A CI Culture That Actually Works. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
NK

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 1

Guest on KPI Fireside discussing How Lean Accounting Unlocks Real ROI. Practitioner, coach, or thought leader in continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
SFSylvie Fortier

Continuous Improvement Leader — Upcoming on KPI Fireside

Founder and Principal Operational Excellence Architect at Phoenix Praxis. Upcoming guest on KPI Fireside.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
ALAlan Lucien

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 76

Co-founder of EZ Process Pro, the ERP platform powering 1,000+ furniture and mattress stores. On KPI Fireside EP 76: "Building a High Performance Team."

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JHJohn Hetherington

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 73

Founder of We Deliver Your Vision, with 25+ years helping CFOs and COOs turn growth targets into operational results; ex-Deloitte and EY. On KPI Fireside EP 73: "Why a 2x Growth Target Breaks Most Operations."

LeadershipOperational ExcellenceChange Management
DNDavid Norris

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 74

Founder of Elevated Strategic Solutions. On KPI Fireside EP 74: "Building a Culture of Improvement."

LeadershipEmployee EngagementChange Management
TVThomas Van Eimeren

Leadership & Culture Practitioner — Culture Experts Directory

Leadership and culture practitioner focused on operational discipline, team alignment, and continuous improvement in complex organizations.

LeadershipOperational ExcellenceContinuous Improvement
JBJustin Bigham

Operational Excellence & Sales Leadership — Culture Experts Directory

Operational excellence and sales leadership practitioner. Helps multi-site teams improve processes, develop people, and drive results through Lean and Six Sigma thinking.

Operational ExcellenceLeadershipContinuous Improvement
DHDaryl Huggard

Leadership & Culture Practitioner — Culture Experts Directory

Leadership and culture practitioner helping organizations build healthier teams, clearer communication, and stronger accountability.

LeadershipEmployee EngagementChange Management
KSKeith Shaw

Executive Coach & Leadership Practitioner — Culture Experts Directory

Executive coach and leadership practitioner focused on helping leaders and teams develop the habits, mindsets, and systems that create healthy culture.

Executive CoachingLeadershipEmployee Engagement
JLJonathan Lewis

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 79

President of McKee Wallwork, Forbes contributor, and author of The Rebuilders. On KPI Fireside EP 79: "The New Story of Work."

LeadershipEmployee EngagementChange Management
PRPaul Reader

Leadership & Culture Practitioner — Culture Experts Directory

Leadership and culture practitioner focused on helping teams build clarity, accountability, and sustainable improvement habits.

LeadershipOperational ExcellenceContinuous Improvement
RSRam Sukumar

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 78

Director of Continuous Improvement at Hexpol Compounding Americas, where he has trained 1,100+ employees in belt programs. On KPI Fireside EP 78: "Scaling Continuous Improvement Across 13 Manufacturing Plants."

LeadershipEmployee EngagementContinuous Improvement
MKMichael K. Simpson

Executive Coach — Simpson Executive Coaching

Executive coach helping leaders and teams build clarity, accountability, and high-performance culture through coaching and practical leadership discipline.

Executive CoachingLeadership
CMChristine Miles

Continuous Improvement Leader — Upcoming on KPI Fireside

Author of What Is It Costing You Not to Listen? Helps leaders and teams turn listening into a competitive advantage. Upcoming guest on KPI Fireside.

LeadershipEmployee EngagementExecutive Coaching
JL

Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan — Author, 'The Toyota Way'

One of the most cited voices on Lean management, known for translating Toyota's production system into principles any organization can apply.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JSJohn Shook

Senior Advisor — Lean Enterprise Institute — Author, 'Managing to Learn'

Spent years inside Toyota before helping bring Lean thinking to the West; known for the 'A3' problem-solving method as a culture-building tool.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JPJames P. Womack

Founder & Senior Advisor — Lean Enterprise Institute — Author, 'Lean Thinking'

Widely credited with coining the term 'lean' after leading MIT's research into Toyota's production system; his books introduced lean thinking to the West.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MRMike Rother

Researcher and Author — Author, 'Toyota Kata'

Creator of the 'Improvement Kata' framework, showing how organizations build a routine, coachable habit of continuous improvement rather than one-off projects.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceChange Management
PSPeter Senge

Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management — Author, 'The Fifth Discipline'

Popularized the idea of the 'learning organization' and systems thinking as a discipline — foundational thinking behind why continuous improvement requires organizational learning, not just process fixes.

Continuous ImprovementLeadershipChange Management
RTRuchika T. Malhotra

Author & Speaker — Independent — Author, 'Inclusion on Purpose'

Bestselling author and former business journalist who advises leaders on building intersectional cultures of belonging at work.

DEILeadership
LZLily Zheng

Fairness, Access, Inclusion & Representation Strategist — Independent Consultant — Author, 'DEI Deconstructed'

DEI consultant and Harvard Business Review contributor who helps organizations move past performative diversity programs toward measurable, systemic change.

DEIChange Management
JBJennifer Brown

Founder & CEO — Jennifer Brown Consulting — Author, 'How to Be an Inclusive Leader'

Founder of Jennifer Brown Consulting and bestselling author who helps organizations build inclusive, future-ready leadership.

DEILeadership
DT

Founder & CEO — TMI Consulting — Co-author, 'Overcoming Bias'

Founder of TMI Consulting, a certified B Corp diversity and inclusion management firm, and co-author of books on bias at work.

DEIChange Management
ABAiko Bethea

Founder — RARE Coaching & Consulting

Founder of RARE Coaching & Consulting and a recognized executive coach focused on accountable, grounded leadership.

Executive CoachingDEILeadership
MHMinda Harts

Author & Assistant Professor of Public Service — NYU — Author, 'The Memo'

Bestselling author and NYU professor known for her work on workplace equity for women of color, trust, and career advancement.

DEILeadership
DC

Professor of Management and Organizations — NYU Stern School of Business — Author, 'The Person You Mean to Be'

Behavioral scientist studying the psychology of 'good people' and how to fight bias with evidence-based tools.

DEILeadership
MWMary-Frances Winters

Founder & CEO — The Winters Group, Inc.

Founder of The Winters Group, a global organizational development and DEI consulting firm she launched in 1984, and a pioneer in the field.

DEIChange Management
MM

Co-Founder & CEO — Awaken — Author, 'The Wake Up'

Co-founder and CEO of Awaken, which delivers interactive DEI education, and award-winning author on courage and real change at work.

DEIEmployee Engagement
SCStephanie Creary

Assistant Professor of Management — The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Wharton scholar studying identity, relationships across difference, and inclusion inside organizations.

DEILeadership
DA

Chief People Officer — Author, 'Inclusion Revolution' — Ex-Vice, Google, Disney

People and culture executive with two decades across Google, Disney, and Vice, and author on racial equity and sustainable leadership.

DEILeadership
GLGeorge LaRocque

Founder & Principal Analyst — WorkTech

Independent HR technology analyst whose firm tracks funding, M&A, and market trends across the work tech sector.

HR Tech
MLMadeline Laurano

Founder & Chief Analyst — Aptitude Research

HCM analyst focused on talent acquisition and employee experience technology, helping HR leaders evaluate vendors and platforms.

HR TechEmployee Engagement
JAJason Averbook

Senior Partner, Global Leader of Digital HR Strategy — Mercer — Co-founder, Leapgen

Digital HR strategist with 25+ years in HR and technology who co-founded Leapgen and now leads digital HR strategy globally at Mercer.

HR TechChange Management
SHStacey Harris

Chief Research Officer & Managing Partner — Sapient Insights Group

Leads the long-running Annual HR Systems Survey, one of the most cited data sets on HR technology adoption.

HR Tech
BEBen Eubanks

Chief Research Officer — Lighthouse Research & Advisory — Author, 'Artificial Intelligence for HR'

Researcher and author studying how AI and talent technology actually change the way HR teams work.

HR Tech
LS

Talent Strategist — Anthropic — Founder, Amplify Talent

Talent strategist and writer who founded Amplify Talent and has spent two decades building people-first recruiting systems.

HR TechStartups
KEKathi Enderes

SVP Research & Global Industry Analyst — The Josh Bersin Company

Leads global HR research at The Josh Bersin Company, publishing evidence-based work on talent, culture, and AI in HR.

HR Tech
LFLaurel Farrer

CEO — Distribute Consulting — President, Remote Work Association

Remote work strategist who has advised global organizations on virtual workforce operations for over a decade.

Remote/Hybrid CultureChange Management
CH

Founder & CEO — Firstbase

Founder of Firstbase, a platform that equips and supports distributed teams, and a prolific commentator on remote work.

Remote/Hybrid CultureStartups
JV

CEO & Co-founder — Remote — Ex-VP Product, GitLab

CEO and co-founder of Remote, a global employment platform, and former VP of Product at all-remote GitLab.

Remote/Hybrid CultureStartups
SC

Founder & CEO — Virtual Work Insider — Ex-Clorox

Coaches enterprise leaders on leading across distance after 18 years leading distributed teams in corporate marketing roles.

Remote/Hybrid CultureDEI
P(

Professor of Organisational Behaviour — London School of Economics — Ex-Harvard Business School

Researcher on the changing geography of work whose studies on work-from-anywhere shaped how companies think about location flexibility.

Remote/Hybrid CultureLeadership
NB

Professor of Economics — Stanford University — Co-founder, WFH Research

Stanford economist whose long-running data on working from home is the reference point for most hybrid work debates.

Remote/Hybrid CultureOperational Excellence
BE

CEO — Work Forward — Co-author, 'How the Future Works'

Future of work strategist who co-founded Slack's Future Forum and now advises leaders on flexibility and organizational change.

Remote/Hybrid CultureChange Management
KE

Chief Potential Officer — The Kevin Eikenberry Group — Co-author, 'The Long-Distance Leader'

Leadership development veteran whose work on long-distance leadership gives remote managers a concrete skill set.

LeadershipRemote/Hybrid Culture
TN

Professor of Business Administration — Harvard Business School — Author, 'Remote Work Revolution'

Harvard Business School professor whose research gives leaders a practical playbook for succeeding from anywhere.

Remote/Hybrid CultureLeadership
LM

Co-founder — Time Doctor & Running Remote — Co-author, 'Running Remote'

Co-founder of Time Doctor and the Running Remote conference, and a bestselling author on async-first remote operations.

Remote/Hybrid CultureStartups
CH

Corporate Officer & Advisor — Stripe — Author, 'Scaling People'

Former COO of Stripe who scaled the company through hypergrowth; her book is a practical operating manual for growing teams.

StartupsOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MG

Operating Executive & Advisor — Ex-Facebook, Ex-Quip, Ex-Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Known for 'Give Away Your Legos,' the widely cited framework for letting go of ownership as a company scales.

StartupsChange ManagementLeadership
MM

CEO Coach & Founder — Mochary Method — Author, 'The Great CEO Within'

CEO coach to founders at fast-scaling technology companies; his book is a widely used operating playbook for startup leaders.

Executive CoachingStartupsLeadership
CF

Engineering Leader — Author, 'The Manager's Path' — Ex-CTO, Rent the Runway

Author of 'The Manager's Path,' the standard guide for engineers moving into leadership, and a longtime engineering executive.

LeadershipStartupsOperational Excellence
JZJulie Zhuo

Co-Founder — Sundial — Author, 'The Making of a Manager'

Former VP of Product Design at Facebook whose book made first-time management feel learnable rather than mysterious.

LeadershipStartupsEmployee Engagement
WL

Chief Technology Officer — Imprint — Author, 'An Elegant Puzzle' and 'Staff Engineer'

Engineering executive and author whose writing on organizational design is widely used by technical leaders.

LeadershipStartupsOperational Excellence
MP

CEO & Founder — Produx Labs / Product Institute — Author, 'Escaping the Build Trap'

Product leadership expert who helps organizations replace feature factories with outcome-driven product operating models.

StartupsLeadershipContinuous Improvement
JN

Co-Founder & Partner — Raw Signal Group — Ex-VP Firefox, Mozilla

Co-founder of Raw Signal Group, which trains managers at fast-growing companies in concrete, unglamorous leadership skills.

LeadershipChange ManagementStartups
MD

Principal — Daimler Partners — Author, 'ReCulturing'

Former Chief Learning Officer at Udemy who helps leadership teams connect strategy, culture, and everyday execution.

Employee EngagementLeadershipChange Management
MG

Executive Coach — Marshall Goldsmith Group — Author, 'What Got You Here Won't Get You There'

Thinkers50 Hall of Fame executive coach who has spent four decades helping senior leaders make lasting behavior change.

Executive CoachingLeadership
SN

CEO Coach & Author — Nawaz Consulting — Author, 'You're the Boss'

Global CEO coach and former Microsoft HR leader who writes for HBR on how power quietly distorts management behavior.

Executive CoachingLeadership
WJWhitney Johnson

CEO — Disruption Advisors — Author, 'Disrupt Yourself'

Thinkers50 leadership thinker whose S Curve of Learning gives managers a concrete way to plan growth for their people.

LeadershipExecutive Coaching
MB

Founder — Box of Crayons — Author, 'The Coaching Habit'

Author of one of the best-selling coaching books of the century, focused on making managers curious before they give advice.

Executive CoachingLeadership
ACAlisa Cohn

Executive Coach — Author, 'From Start-Up to Grown-Up'

Executive coach for startup founders and leadership teams, focused on the messy transition from founder to CEO.

Executive CoachingStartups
JCJerry Colonna

CEO & Executive Coach — Reboot — Author, 'Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up'

Former venture capitalist turned CEO coach who brought radical self-inquiry into mainstream leadership development.

Executive CoachingLeadership
CKCarol Kauffman

Founder, Institute of Coaching — Harvard Medical School — Co-author, 'Real-Time Leadership'

Harvard Medical School faculty member and founder of the Institute of Coaching who advises CEOs on leading under pressure.

Executive CoachingLeadership
HLHortense le Gentil

Executive Leadership Coach — Author, 'The Unlocked Leader'

Executive coach who guides senior leaders away from 'hero leader' behavior toward more human, sustainable leadership.

Executive CoachingLeadership
DC

Executive Education Faculty — Columbia Business School — Author, 'The Long Game'

Executive educator and bestselling author on long-term strategy, reinvention, and building a credible professional reputation.

Executive CoachingLeadership
LW

CEO — The Wiseman Group — Author, 'Multipliers'

Researcher and executive advisor best known for 'Multipliers,' her study of leaders who amplify the intelligence of their teams.

LeadershipExecutive Coaching
AG

Contributing Editor — Harvard Business Review — Author, 'Getting Along'

Workplace dynamics expert who writes the practical playbook for conflict, feedback, and difficult coworkers.

Employee EngagementLeadership
AG

Author & Advisor — Author, 'The Problem with Change' — Ex-Cisco, Ex-Deloitte

Former Fortune 50 HR executive who argues that constant reorganization quietly destroys the stability people need to perform.

Change ManagementLeadership
RM

Professor of Management — Columbia Business School — Author, 'Seeing Around Corners'

Columbia Business School professor and top-ranked strategist known for helping leaders spot inflection points early.

Change ManagementLeadership
DVDemetrios Venetis

Founder & Principal — Xypnios — Operator-led succession for manufacturers

Buys and runs manufacturing companies, with a focus on reducing owner dependency so the culture survives the founder's exit.

LeadershipChange ManagementOperational Excellence
MPMarcel Petitpas

Co-Founder & CEO — Parakeeto — Author & keynote speaker

Helps agencies and consulting firms measure profitability honestly, which forces hard conversations about how teams actually spend their time.

Operational ExcellenceLeadershipStartups
SM

VP, Danaher Business System — Radiometer — Author, 'Finding Fact Before Fixing'

Continuous-improvement leader in medtech manufacturing who insists on finding the facts before jumping to fixes.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceChange Management
CBCatherine Bennett

Executive Editor — Utah Business — Founder, Backpack Marketing

Business journalist and storyteller who shows how honest storytelling, community, and access shape a region's business culture.

LeadershipEmployee EngagementStartups
JL

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 71

Founder of Spyglass Ops, which pioneered the operator placement model — embedding a fractional COO in a business while the search for a permanent hire is underway. Former two-time startup COO and operations coach to hundreds of founders. On KPI Fireside EP 71: "Founder Chaos to Scalable Systems."

Operational ExcellenceStartupsLeadership
ML

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 72

Historian, economist, and author of The Box, the definitive history of the shipping container. Former finance and economics editor at The Economist, economist at JP Morgan Chase, and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. On KPI Fireside EP 72: "Shipping Containers & Lessons for AI."

Change ManagementOperational Excellence
KC

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 41 & EP 77

Founder of Modern Kaizen and a lean and operational excellence expert focused on human-centered AI transformation. Navy veteran and author of two books on mindset, including The Synergy Mindset. On KPI Fireside: "Mindset, Metrics, and Momentum" (EP 41) and "The Next Generation of Continuous Improvement" (EP 77).

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceChange Management
BS

Continuous Improvement Leader — Featured on KPI Fireside — EP 43

CPA, author, and finance transformation leader who spent more than two decades turning manual, paper-heavy finance processes into streamlined, automated systems. On KPI Fireside EP 43: "Building Systems That Win."

Continuous ImprovementOperational Excellence
HY

Continuous Improvement Leader — Upcoming on KPI Fireside

Toyota veteran and co-author, with Darril Wilburn, of Courage, Humility, Kaizen: The Three Disciplines of Toyota Culture. Teaches Toyota's systems and culture to companies worldwide. Upcoming on KPI Fireside with Darril Wilburn.

Continuous ImprovementLeadership
SS

Senior Lecturer — MIT Sloan

Author of The High-Velocity Edge and co-author, with Gene Kim, of Wiring the Winning Organization.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MB

Author — The Gold Mine & Lean Strategy

Co-author of The Gold Mine and Lean Strategy. Known for treating lean as a learning system, not a toolkit.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JT

Founder — Catalysis

Former CEO of ThedaCare and founder of Catalysis. Leading voice on lean in healthcare.

Continuous ImprovementLeadershipChange Management
PA

Founder — FastCap / 2 Second Lean

Founder of FastCap and author of 2 Second Lean. Champion of daily frontline improvement.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
MG

Author & Podcast Host — Lean Blog

Author of Measures of Success, Lean Hospitals, and The Mistakes That Make Us; host of Lean Blog Interviews and My Favorite Mistake.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
TR

President — Teaching Lean Inc.

President of Teaching Lean Inc., LEI faculty, and co-author of the Shingo-winning The Toyota Engagement Equation. One of the first team members at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
ER

Co-owner — Teaching Lean Inc.

Co-owner of Teaching Lean Inc. with 25 years at Toyota; co-author of The Toyota Engagement Equation.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
AS

President — Art of Lean

Former Toyota engineer and author of Four Types of Problems.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
NR

Professor — MIT Sloan

Co-author of There's Got to Be a Better Way and creator of Dynamic Work Design.

Operational ExcellenceChange ManagementLeadership
DK

Co-author — There's Got to Be a Better Way

Co-author of There's Got to Be a Better Way; former Harley-Davidson operations leader.

Operational ExcellenceChange ManagementLeadership
MO

Co-author — Value Stream Mapping

Co-author, with Karen Martin, of Value Stream Mapping.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
ES

Lean Six Sigma Educator — The Problem-Solver's Toolkit

Lean Six Sigma educator and author of The Problem-Solver's Toolkit.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
JB

Co-author — Personal Kanban

Co-author of Personal Kanban; applies lean and visual management to knowledge work.

Continuous ImprovementRemote/Hybrid CultureLeadership
TTTorie T. Thomas

Founder — S.C.A.L.E. Transformation Advisory

Enterprise transformation and value realization strategist with 15+ years leading change in healthcare, pharma, biotech and insurance. Creator of the S.C.A.L.E. methodology and author of 100 Questions Every Business Outcome Owner Must Ask.

Change ManagementLeadership
JD

Director and Master Black Belt — Lean Six Sigma Training Ltd

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, trainer, coach and consultant based in North East England, training teams across the UK, Europe and the US in Lean Six Sigma, operational excellence and Industry 4.0.

Continuous ImprovementOperational Excellence
KL

President & CEO — Learning to Lean

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, PMP and emotional intelligence coach with 20+ years helping teams stop firefighting and build sustainable continuous improvement cultures. Speaker and author of How to Improve Absolutely Anything.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
EMEvan M. Lunt

Director, Supply Chain Digital Transformation — JBT Marel

Technology and operations executive with 25+ years leading global transformation across supply chain, data and analytics, engineering and manufacturing. Leads supply chain digital transformation for a $4B+ company with 50 manufacturing sites, deploying agentic AI and founding an enterprise AI Center of Excellence.

Change ManagementOperational ExcellenceLeadership
OBOlaf Boettger

VP, Johnson Controls Business System – Innovation — Johnson Controls

Continuous improvement executive and executive coach with 28 years across Procter & Gamble and Danaher before joining Johnson Controls. Spent 10 years at P&G and 16 at Danaher in roles spanning business leadership, the Danaher Business System office and VP of Global Marketing & Growth at Leica Microsystems. Now helps executives build improvement cultures that grow people and deliver results — starting with the basics, making wins visible and developing people while improving the business.

Continuous ImprovementOperational ExcellenceLeadership

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