Gary Heil

Founder, The Center for Innovative Leadership and Author
Exclusively WSB

Gary Heil is an author, director, lawyer and coach. He has been a lifelong student of the human side of organizations and a pioneer in the study of employee and customer engagement. He continues to be a passionate advocate for finding more effective ways to lead inspired teams.

Heil has served on a number of public, private and nonprofit boards and presently serves as chairman of the Compensation Committee of Gymboree’s Board of Directors and chairman of the board of CellTech Metals. He is the co-founder of the innovative webcast Leadership Lessons from the Fast Lane, has served as a member of the Board of Examiners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and has been commentator on American and Australian radio and television.

In 1992, Heil co-founded the Center for Innovative Leadership, an organization dedicated to helping leaders create more innovative and sustainable organizations. He recently completed a study of more than 700 leaders on their attempts to engage people to take responsibility for helping to create the future. The findings of his research will be included in a new book that is set for release in the fall of 2010. Heil has co-authored numerous books, including The Leader’s New Clothes, One Size Fits One, Leadership and the Customer Revolution, Maslow on Management and Managing the Human Side of the Enterprise.

Together with some Hall of Fame players and coaches, he founded the National Pitching Association (NPA). The NPA is an organization dedicated to the education of baseball pitchers and coaches so that the pitchers can pitch more effectively, stay healthier and develop a positive mental attitude and a greater love for the game. Heil also co-authored The Art & Science of Pitching with Tom House and Steve Johnson.

Heil holds a Bachelors of Science Degree from the United States Coast Guard Academy. He holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Behavior and a Juris Doctor from the University of California Hastings College of Law. He is a member of the California Bar Association.