Peter Gaarn

I absolutely love working with leaders and their organizations. Leadership is both an art and a science, and when a leader steps fully into who they are, they can inspire and unleash passion and creativity throughout their organization.

Areas of Expertise

• Executive Team Alignment
• Culture Renewal & Transformation
• Organizational Strategy & Design
• Strategic Change Management
• Executive and Leadership Development
• Executive Coaching

Professional Background

Peter Gaarn has over 30 years of business experience in planning, designing, implementing and coaching business leaders to effectively execute strategic and organizational change initiatives. What distinguishes Peter in this area is his broad set of competencies and his ability to drive strategic change efforts from concept to results. Peter is uniquely skilled in hi-tech, hyper growth, global and virtual business environments where dynamic change is the norm and strategic alignment, organizational agility and sustainable performance are essential to business success. Peter has a wide range of experience in a variety of industries and domains including high tech, aerospace, research & development, manufacturing, start-ups and education.

Over the past 6 years Peter has also developed deep competency in the educational field, working both at the Community College and University Level. Specific client include, Cabrillo College, Hartnell, College, Pasadena City College, LA Trade Tech and Stanford University. Peter works well in both for-profit and not-for-profit environments. Peter is  a Board member for the Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center, a $20M non-profit multi-service community agency in Santa Cruz County, and an Advisory Board member of Lighthouse Bank, a local community bank.

Education

• B.A., Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
• M.S.W., (Masters in Social Welfare), University of California, Berkeley

Certifications

• Execution Catalyst – supporting leaders in accelerating collaboration and execution
• Cultural Transformation Tools – supporting leaders in building values-driven cultures

Publications/Presentations

Peter has presented on a number of leadership, change and business topics for:

• Hewlett Packard
• PolyFuel, Inc.,
• Community College Leadership Development Institute (CCLDI)
• Various Community Colleges