Dan Pontefract

Leadership strategist, keynote speaker and bestselling author.

SHORTLISTED

Shortlisted for the Thinkers50 2019 Talent Award.

RADAR THINKER​

Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2018. 

FAST FACT​

Open To Think was the 2019 Get Abstract International Book of the Year winner and won a silver medal at the 2019 Axiom Business Book Awards. 

Ideas

Pontefract’s first book, Flat Army, surfaces five key frameworks to help organizations create a leadership culture that drives engagement, empowerment, and encouragement amongst continued execution. In The Purpose Effect he outlines the three crucial areas of purpose: personal, organizational and workplace role, which combine to create a “sweet spot” balanced state. Open to Think explains how the cyclical process of “open thinking” encourages creativity, leads to better decisions, and delivers thoughtful, sustainable results and his most recent book, Lead Care Win contains nine insightful yet practical leadership lessons to help leaders become more caring and engaging.

Bio

Adjunct professor at the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, in Canada, Pontefract is the founder and CEO of the Pontefract Group, a firm that improves the state of leadership and organizational culture. As chief envisioning officer at the Canadian telecommunications company TELUS, he launched award-winning initiatives including the Transformation Office, the TELUS MBA, and the TELUS Leadership Philosophy.

Content

Lead, Care, Win: How to Become a Leader Who Matters (Figure 1 Publishing, 2020); Open to Think: Slow Down, Think Creatively, and Make Better Decisions (Figure 1 Publishing, 2018); The Purpose Effect: Building Meaning Yourself, Your Role, and Your Organization (Elevate, 2016); and Flat Army: Creating a Connected and Engaged Organization (Pontefract Group Consulting, 2013). Pontefract has presented at multiple TED events and writes for Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, and the Huffington Post.

NATIONALITY: Canadian

Media picks

Verdict

“Dan Pontefract has a track record of giving the world helpful books on how to think differently about important topics such as organizational design and purpose.”

Roger Martin

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