Stewart brings a lifetime of learning and teaching to the business world.  His lively, thought provoking discussions impart crucial principles to today’s leaders.

Stewart Thornhill

“Achieving success in our personal and professional lives often comes down to being curious. I mean really curious. Not just paying lip service to the idea, but actually figuring out what you don’t know. Whether it’s negotiating with a client, making long-term strategic choices, or simply deciding how to allocate time today, a curious, engaged approach can make all the difference.” — Stewart Thornhill

Currently a Professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Stewart Thornhill brings a lifetime of learning and teaching to his talks and seminars. Through an early career in radio journalism with the CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, Stewart learned the importance of condensing a story down to its essential elements and getting the details right the first time. “Radio listeners can’t go back and re-read a paragraph. Each word counts.”

His next career evolution as a manufacturing engineer reinforced his dedication to understanding cause and effect and working toward simple, efficient solutions. The quality assurance approach to personal well-being and lifestyle is evident in his book, “The Personal Sanity Index,” which breaks down the components of health and wellness into simple, manageable pieces.

As a teacher and consultant, Stewart has worked in industries around the world including automotive (Stellantis, Volvo, Mahindra), aerospace (Magellan Aerospace), health (Bayer, Medtronic), public service (US Intelligence Community, Industry Canada), utilities (Bell, ATCO, Saudi Electric), agri-businesses (Maple Leaf Foods, Syngenta), professional services (KPMG, Tata) and finance (TD Bank, Riyad Bank). He is faculty director of Quantum Shift – an annual program for CEO entrepreneurs of high-growth companies developed in partnership with KPMG.

Stewart has been intimately involved, as investor and advisor, with numerous start-ups. His passion for the martial arts led to a two-year period of dedicated study in Japan, after which he served as instructor for a major metropolitan police department. Stewart is a commercial helicopter pilot and is dedicated to aviation safety.

  • Leading Change • Well-Being and Personal Performance • Innovation and Design Thinking • Corporate Entrepreneurship • Leading Family Firms

  • Keynote   Workshop   Interview   Breakout   Panel

  • • Tools to Optimize Personal Well-Being and Performance - Every firm has a few key metrics that leaders use to evaluate the health of the business. Bring this approach to your personal state of well-being. What are the critical indicators for you and how can you make sure you’re performing to your potential?

    • Engaged Change Leadership: An Empathetic Approach - Change efforts encounter resistance. It’s almost a law of nature. Overcoming resistance requires understanding it, and that’s where curiosity and empathy are your best tools.

    • Corporate Entrepreneurship - If change is the only constant, renewal is essential. Finding the right approach to rejuvenating your company is the first step to maintaining competitive advantage.

    • Generational Transition in Family-Led Firms - Passing the baton can be one of the best, and hardest, stages for a family firm. Learning from the hard-won lessons of successful companies will lay the foundation for your future.

    • Areas of Expertise - Leading Change, Well-Being and Personal Performance, Innovation and Design Thinking, Corporate Entrepreneurship, Leading Family Firms

TESTIMONIALS

"Stewart has an incredible ability to connect with the audience, making complex topics engaging and easy to understand. His passion for sharing knowledge and dedication to delivering high-quality content were present at every session. I highly recommend Stewart for anyone seeking a dynamic and knowledgeable speaker to elevate their corporate audiences.”

— Brian Hughes – Former National Managing Partner, KPMG Private Markets Group


"Stewart has worked with our senior leadership team over the past few years with a focus on leadership development, business strategy, design thinking, and leading change.  He delivers exceptional research-based insights with real-world applications.   Stewart’s focus on scaling entrepreneurial leaders has been transformational for many of our top leaders as we’ve grown dramatically and asked more from all of our top leaders to support our growth."

— Jon Ferrando, CEO, Blue Compass RV


"Stewart's ability to simplify the complicated subject of entrepreneurship made it accessible, relatable, and engaging for me. His lectures inspired my entrepreneurial aspirations which will have a major impact on my future career trajectory."

— Joe DeFer, U.S. Special Operations Command, Pacific (Ret.)