Joe’s professional practice is focused on designing and creating actionable strategies that enable people develop a deeper understanding and commitment to change. This approach provides an integrated and systemic perspective on the complex issues that confront today’s leaders and organizations.
Joe’s recent clients have included a Fortune 100 energy company dealing with social and environmental sustainability, The World Bank focused on innovation and collaboration in Africa, a multi-sectoral alliance committed to the re-invention of the food and agriculture system of Detroit, a Fortune 500 pharmaceuticals company engaged with senior leadership development, organizational effectiveness with international NGOs, and multi-sectoral projects such as Sustainable Food Lab, Bhavishya Alliance (child malnutrition), and the Meadowlark Project (social and economic regional regeneration).
Joe was Managing Partner of Generon Consulting from 2004 to 2007, where he applied his business acumen to the continued growth and strategic development of the firm. He held leadership roles on numerous corporate and public service projects.
Before working with Generon, Joe spent seven years with Shell International, where he held a variety of technical and commercial positions in Colombia and the Netherlands. Initially he worked in the heart of Shell’s operations, developing new business opportunities including gas and renewable-based energy solutions for Colombia and Central America. During the final three years of his tenure, he brought his practical experience to a small executive think tank that was tasked with developing robust and actionable strategic options for the CEO and board of directors of Shell Exploration and Production.
Joe has held a variety of positions in both government and the private sector. He spent 5 years with the government of the United Kingdom as a research scientist for the British Antarctic Survey, traveling and working in the Antarctic Peninsula. From this experience, Joe published several major papers in international journals based on this research.
Joe has a BA in Earth Sciences from Oxford University and a PhD in Earth Sciences from Cambridge University. He studied Photography at the Royal Academy of Arts, Netherlands and won the BBC’s Mick Burke Award in 1991. He has spent time in many of the world’s most remote areas: he has worked in both polar regions, cycled solo across the Sahara, and travelled extensively in the Himalaya. It is through these first-hand and hard-won experiences, alone as well as in small and large groups, that he developed the understanding that clear communication and authentic leadership are critical to success in all enterprises.