Stephen Whitehead

An interdisciplinary strategist, facilitator, and consultant specializing in leadership development, organizational innovation, change management, and human-centered strategy. With more than two decades of executive leadership and consulting experience, he has worked across higher education, workforce development, nonprofit leadership, entrepreneurship, and organizational transformation, bringing a systems-thinking and creativity-driven approach to helping organizations navigate complexity and change.

As founder of 5th Hammer Innovation, he developed collaborative frameworks that integrate design thinking, strategic facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and experiential learning to help organizations align vision, strategy, and execution. His work emphasizes cultivating cultures of curiosity, adaptability, and innovation while empowering leaders and teams to move from ideas to sustainable action.

Focused on bridging academia, business, and community impact, he leads consulting initiatives that create meaningful partnerships between students, faculty, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and regional industries. His approach combines practical business strategy with interactive methodologies including creative problem-solving, leadership facilitation, and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® to foster engagement, insight, and transformational growth.

A military veteran, speaker, and author, his leadership philosophy is shaped by resilience, lifelong learning, and a deep belief in the power of people-centered innovation to strengthen organizations and communities.