Meet Our Team

Maureen Metcalf, Founder and CEO of the Innovative Leadership Institute®, is a highly sought-after expert in anticipating and leveraging future business trends to transform organizations. She has captured 30 years of experience in an award-winning series of books used by public, private, and academic organizations to align company-wide strategy, systems, and culture using Innovative Leadership techniques. As a preeminent change agent, Maureen has set strategic direction and then transformed client organizations, delivering significant results, including increased leadership effectiveness that drives improved profitability, organizational resilience, leadership team alignment, quality, community impact, employee engagement, and long-term sustainability.

→ Read Maureen’s extended bio

→ Listen to The End of Control–The Leadership Trends of 2026 

George B. Limbert is a visionary executive and transformational leader with a proven track record of driving organizational growth and operational excellence. As President of ILI’s Innovative Executive Solutions™, George partners directly with boards and executive teams to accelerate strategic transformation, deliver measurable performance, and implement world-class leadership frameworks. 

George’s executive leadership is distinguished by his tenure as President and CEO of Red Roof Franchising, where he led a dramatic financial turnaround, tripling EBITDA in just 12 months during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has built scalable infrastructure and operational processes for multi-million-dollar organizations, consistently delivering results in complex, challenging environments.

→ Read George’s extended bio

→ Listen to More than Experience, More than Degrees: Leaders Need More Values 

Diane August is a senior advisor with more than 30 years of experience in organizational learning, talent development, and enterprise change leadership across healthcare, insurance and financial services, higher education, and manufacturing. A former Chief Learning Architect for a Fortune 100 company, she partners with organizations to integrate human capability development with AI adoption.

Diane specializes in building learning systems, communities of practice, governance and communication plans, and collaboration frameworks that accelerate AI readiness and responsible use. She also advises executives on skills development, capability maturity, adoption roadmaps, and the leadership behaviors required to scale AI as a differentiating capability.

David Cepek, C.P.A. is a results-driven Procurement/Supply Chain/Operations leader with over 25 years of experience, including at KPMG and Worthington Industries. He has led initiatives in Purchasing Processes, Strategic Sourcing, and Supply Chain Optimization, delivering cost savings of $100M+. David is skilled in developing transformational initiatives, and procurement strategies and implementing lean methodologies across various functions and industries. He is a motivational leader that inspires teams to evolve and achieve exceptional results in complex environments.

Dave DuBose is an executive advisor and transformation leader with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations improve performance through strategic change, leadership alignment, and operational excellence. Throughout his career, he has partnered with senior executives across retail, consumer products, manufacturing, technology and distribution organizations to solve complex business challenges and accelerate sustainable results.

As a Partner at True North Growth Partners, Dave works with leadership teams to develop strategy, strengthen organizational capabilities and execute large-scale transformation initiatives. He is known for his collaborative approach, ability to build consensus among diverse stakeholders and focus on translating vision into measurable business outcomes.

→ Listen to Lasting Solutions for Labor Shortages 

Junell Felsburg is Senior Director of Cybersecurity & Infrastructure at The Columbus Foundation, bringing over 20 years of experience in systems, networks, and security leadership. She holds certifications, including CISSP, and is an Innovative Leadership Institute Facilitator, blending technical expertise with human-centered leadership. Junell has led multiple IT leadership cohorts and speaks at industry events on cybersecurity and organizational resilience. She is passionate about mentoring emerging leaders and fostering collaboration to strengthen security and innovation. Her work connects global best practices with local impact, ensuring organizations thrive in a secure, adaptive environment.

Patt Hardie‘s consulting focus is leadership and team performance. She is a trusted advisor/coach with over 30 years’ experience in talent, leadership, and organizational development. Patt has a passion for creating optimum ways for integrating solutions and practices into the business with minimal disruption as an enabler to success. Her belief is that while every leader and team is unique, a significant aspect of any leader’s success is a combination of three aligned factors: leader self-awareness/ development; team member self-awareness /growth; and overall team performance.

Patt is recognized for her collaborative, trusted partnerships; powerful facilitation, novel yet practical solutions aligned to business needs, and focus on improved performance for sustainable behavioral change. Her practice has helped hundreds of leaders at all levels and in all environments, from power plants to hospital units, new managers to the C-Suite on multiple continents.

Angelo Mazzocco is a business and technology executive with decades of experience in CIO, CISO, and CEO roles across industry and consulting. He has served as Chief Information Officer for Dispatch Printing Company, Progressive Medical (now Optum), and COPC — the largest physician-owned primary care group in the nation — and has led two technology services firms as President, including Pillar Technology (now Accenture). He brings Big 5 consulting experience from Arthur Andersen/Andersen Consulting and has held senior roles with Nationwide Insurance and NCR.

Angelo partners with organizations navigating technology transformation, cybersecurity strategy, and the complexity of enterprise leadership. He serves on the boards of the American Heart Association (Central Ohio Chair), the Columbus Chamber of Commerce Innovation Advisory Board, and The Ohio State University Continuing Education Advisory Board, and has co-founded several of Central Ohio’s signature technology leadership communities, including CIO Forum, CIO Tomorrow, and ComSpark Awards. He has developed and taught graduate-level curriculum at Otterbein University and The Ohio State University for more than 25 years.

Carla Morelli brings deep executive leadership experience to ILI’s senior advisory practice. A former ILI Chief Operating Officer, Carla has held major leadership roles at Cognizant and other global professional services firms, with expertise spanning organizational transformation, M&A, and enterprise consulting. Carla advises ILI clients on complex operational and strategic challenges, with a particular focus on fractional C-suite leadership engagements through Innovative Executive Solutions™.

→ Listen to Building the Systems (& People) That Sustain Growth 

Michael Morrow-Fox, Ph.D., is a highly skilled consultant experienced in health care, education, banking, and non-profit management. Michael has over 20 years of experience in leading technology and human resources operations, as well as and several years of full-time university teaching. Michael uses this background to blend his real-world understanding with current theoretical models helping his clients reach goals beyond their current thinking. Having managed a 50 million dollar budget, helping a technology startup company get off the ground, and overseeing a non-profit organization achieve ‘best place to work’ status; Michael’s strengths are not in what area he works, but in how he helps others work. Michael’s project management, process excellence, problem-solving, and human performance management skills help companies form truly innovative strategies.

→ Listen to Growing Up and Out: Development for Modern Leaders 

Dan Mushalko is Executive Producer and a Leadership Facilitator for the Innovative Leadership Institute. With major awards for his media production of science, educational, and drama programs, he brings his extensive skills as writer, producer, and director to the Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future podcast (ranked in the top 0.5% of podcasts worldwide). He is also a leadership course facilitator for Institute clients, and has co-facilitated college-level classes with ILI founder/CEO Maureen Metcalf for James Madison University. He earned several leadership certifications from ILI and is also certified as a VUCA Max Warrior coach, all bolstered by 30 years of direct leadership roles in the private and public sectors.

Stephanie Niswonger, CPA, is a seasoned CFO executive advisor with more than 20 years of experience helping growth‑oriented organizations strengthen financial leadership, governance, and decision‑making. She brings deep expertise in financial strategy, GAAP accounting, internal controls, and operational finance, with a background that includes Big Four public accounting and senior leadership roles in privately held companies.

As a CFO and fractional executive, Stephanie partners closely with CEOs, executive teams, and boards to provide clear financial insight, improve cash flow and working capital management, strengthen controls, and align financial performance with long‑term business objectives. She is known for her disciplined approach, operational rigor, and ability to translate complex financial information into decision‑ready insight.

Stephanie holds an MBA and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Will O’Brien is an executive leader and trusted advisor with more than 30 years of experience guiding organizations through growth, transformation, and operational change. He has held CEO and other senior leadership positions in both industry and consulting. He helps companies improve performance while developing the capabilities needed to sustain long-term success.

As a Partner at True North Growth Partners, Will advises executives on strategy execution, organizational effectiveness, and business transformation. His experience spans retail, consumer products, manufacturing, and distribution environments, where he has helped leaders align people, processes, and technology to achieve meaningful and lasting results. Will is recognized for his practical leadership style and commitment to developing high-performing teams.

→ Listen to Lasting Solutions for Labor Shortages 

Mark Palmer serves as ILI’s Assessment and Talent Optimization Partner, bringing 20+ years of behavioral science expertise to ILI’s leadership development engagements. As co-author of the Innovative Leadership Fieldbook and co-founder of Hire Direction, Mark bridges talent assessment and leadership development—ensuring ILI clients have access to the analytical infrastructure needed to identify, develop, and retain high-performing leaders. Mark remains co-founder and COO of Hire Direction, where he leads talent optimization solutions for local and international clients.

→ Listen to Is Your Organization Designed for the Future? 

James Rores partners with founders, CEOs, and executive teams to design and operationalize scalable revenue engines that drive measurable improvements in topline revenue, gross margin, and EBITDA. Serving as a Fractional Chief Revenue Officer through the Innovative Leadership Institute, he helps organizations move beyond fragmented growth efforts to build disciplined, predictable, and transferable revenue systems.

With 25 years of experience working alongside more than 7,500 business leaders across 100+ industries, James aligns Branding, Marketing, Sales, Customer Experience, and Product-Service teams around shared objectives, operating metrics, and a unified buying journey. He is the creator of the WINS Model™, a buyer-centric system that translates top-performer behaviors into clear, teachable, and scalable revenue practices.

Engagements typically begin with a Revenue Engine Diagnostic that reveals hidden constraints across mindset, skillset, and toolset, giving leadership teams clarity on the levers that drive performance, alignment, and predictable growth. His work is grounded in the belief that sustainable revenue growth comes from helping customers confidently make high‑quality buying decisions—not pressure or persuasion.

Neil Sahota is a United Nations AI Advisor, IBM Master Inventor, and CEO of ACSI Labs, with over two decades of experience driving AI innovation for Fortune 500 companies and startups. He co-founded the UN’s AI for Good initiative, leveraging artificial intelligence to tackle global challenges such as climate change and child protection. As an adjunct professor at UC Irvine, Neil educates future leaders on emerging technologies and ethical AI practices. He is the bestselling author of Own the A.I. Revolution and co-author of Innovative Leadership and Followership in the Age of AI. A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Neil champions responsible AI as a catalyst for social impact and sustainable progress.

→ Listen to Why AI at Work Fails–And What the UN’s AI for Good Advisor Says You Can Do Differently 

Rick Schaeffer is an accomplished hospitality growth executive with more than 36 years of leadership experience creating enterprise value through strategic development, franchise expansion, hotel ownership, investment, and operations. He’s been recognized for building long-term partnerships that accelerate organizational growth while aligning the interests of franchisors, owners, developers, investors, and operating partners.

Rick’s executive perspective is strengthened by firsthand experience as a hotel owner, developer, operator, and investor—a combination reflected in his contribution to the successful development of 350+ hotel projects. This rare vantage point enables him to evaluate growth opportunities from every side of the business, balancing corporate strategy, investment performance, operational excellence, and long-term asset value to create sustainable enterprise growth.

Jim Svagerko, MA PCC, is highly experienced in developing and delivering physician leadership programs. He is a certified coach and has almost 30 years working within the Healthcare industry, first as a clinician and then as a teacher and coach. He has worked with many levels of healthcare associates, including informal leaders, front-line managers, physicians, and executive leadership. Also, Jim has coached in a variety of settings, including legal, manufacturing, and sales. Jim has also designed, developed, and delivered custom leadership academies for different audiences, from programs for the “informal leader” to the C-suite executive. Jim designed and implemented multiple leadership academies, including a Physician Leadership Academy. Jim combines multiple coaching approaches, proven leadership theory and practice, and innovative course design to achieve outstanding results.

Mimi Wang partners with founders and leadership teams navigating growth, transition, and operational complexity. She brings more than two decades of experience building organizations from the inside – aligning people, infrastructure, and strategy as companies scale.

Mimi spent ten years building field talent capacity with Panda Restaurant Group during a period of rapid expansion as the company grew from approximately 600 to over 2,000 locations. She later served as VP of People and Learning at Gosh Enterprises, strengthening executive alignment, rebuilding talent infrastructure, implementing enterprise systems, and guiding the organization through record growth and the operational intensity of COVID. During that time, she worked across every level of the system, from CEO to franchisees to frontline leaders, creating clarity and forward movement in uncertain conditions.

In recent years, Mimi has deepened her work through advanced study in organizational development. She facilitates leadership programs for global audiences and integrates experiential learning, adult development, and appreciative inquiry into her advisory practice.

As a fractional executive and strategic partner, Mimi helps companies scale with intention — building resilient infrastructure, strengthening leadership capacity, and translating vision into operational clarity without losing culture in the process.

Christopher Washington, Ph.D., serves as President of The Innovative Leadership Think-Tank, the Institute’s research and insight engine. In this role, he provides institution‑level leadership for The Think-Tank’s intellectual agenda and has formal responsibility for research fellows, research ethics, peer review, and publication standards. His stewardship ensures that ILI’s research remains academically rigorous, methodologically sound, and relevant to senior leaders, boards, and enterprise sponsors navigating complexity and disruption.

Dr. Washington leads The Think-Tank’s editorial oversight and scholarly governance and represents ILI in academic and research consortia. He actively cultivates research partnerships with universities and collaborates with scholars and practitioners to advance evidence‑based leadership knowledge while preserving The Think-Tank’s independence from commercial delivery activities.

→ Read Christopher’s extended bio

→ Listen to The End of Control–The Leadership Trends of 2026