About Steve

Steve’s practical, data-driven ideas on knowledge transfer have been used by blue-chip companies around the globe for over twenty years and provide the backbone of his fresh insights on talent risk. These ideas apply up the chain of command—from the front line to the boardroom—and work across generations, geographies, job functions, and industries.

He knows both sides of the talent management problem, having been a talent manager and a line executive. As a young project manager working at Microsoft, Steve began solving talent-related business problems as a response to the intense on-the-job training needs of his rapidly growing technical team. He cofounded a department at Microsoft that provided training and knowledge transfer, and later left to form his own knowledge transfer and consulting company. Expedia then asked Steve to become general manager of their advertising unit—a $20-million business—which he ran until his own growing consulting company required him to return full time.

Steve gives keynotes and speaks internationally, and is known for his high-energy style that combines humor, street smarts, and boardroom wisdom to deliver real answers to tough problems. You won’t be bored and you won’t find yourself wading through a bunch of fluff to get to the good stuff—concepts that can be explained in minutes and implemented within hours.

Steve has written three books; his most recent, Do You Have WHO It Takes?  (Greenleaf Press) introduces new terminology and innovative concepts in the field of Talent Risk Management that have been adopted at the CEO level.

Based in Seattle, Steve is often found hiking around his native Northwest with his wife and two kids.