Brigadier General (Ret.) Tom Kolditz is a leadership thought leader, author, and the founding executive director of the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. He is recognised as a Global Gurus Top 30 Start-Up Coach for 2024 and has been selected as a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach.
Tom is a social psychologist focused on developing leaders. He currently serves as the managing member of Saxon Castle LLC, a consultancy specialising in coaching and leader development. He founded and directed the Ann and John Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University for seven years. Before his tenure at Rice, he was a professor at the Yale School of Management, where he established the Leadership Development Program.
As a retired Brigadier General, Tom led the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point for 12 years and was named Professor Emeritus upon retirement. He spent two years as a leadership and human resources policy analyst at the Pentagon and one year as a concept developer at the Center for Army Leadership. He received the Distinguished Service Medal, the Army’s highest award for service, and in 2017, he was honoured with the Warren Bennis Award for Excellence in Leadership, joining the ranks of notable recipients such as Doris Kearns Goodwin and Howard Schultz.
From 2018 to 2023, he was ranked in various coaching categories by Global Gurus, most recently placing 12th in Start-up Coaching in 2023. In November 2019, he was named the top university coach in the world by Thinkers50 MG100 in London.
Tom has authored over 75 publications, including books, chapters, and articles in academic and leadership journals. He developed the concept of in extremis leadership, a crisis leadership model, during his service in Iraq. His book on this topic, "In Extremis Leadership: Leading as if Your Life Depended On It," is used to train leaders in more than eight service academies across the US, UK, China, Israel, and Japan.
His second book, "Leadership Reckoning: Can Higher Education Develop the Leaders We Need," initiated a national movement aimed at enhancing leader development in higher education.
Want to book Thomas Kolditz for your next event?
Email thomas.kolditz@getapeptalk.com, and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Please note: we can only assist with speaking requests. For anything else, we recommend reaching out to Thomas Kolditz directly.
What topics does Thomas Kolditz specialise in?
Thomas Kolditz specialises in talking about leadership, coaching, crisis leadership and more.
What is Thomas Kolditz's speaking style like?
Thomas delivers impactful, engaging presentations that blend humour with insightful leadership principles. His unique perspective resonates well, making him a favourite among audiences and executives alike. __
Does Thomas Kolditz offer virtual speaking engagements?
Yes, Thomas Kolditz offers virtual speaker bookings for webinars, online conferences, and remote or distributed team engagements.
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