“The values and integrity of leadership shape the relationships of trust and respect that enable collaboration and cooperation in any organization. Character matters!”

Walter C. Wright, Jr., PhD, is a senior fellow at the Max De Pree Center for Leadership in Pasadena, where he served as executive director from 2000-2012. He came to this position after twelve years as president and professor of leadership at Regent College, a graduate school affiliated with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Prior to this he served twenty years on the management team of Fuller Theological Seminary in California.

Building on Max De Pree’s assertion that “belief precedes behavior,” Walt believes passionately that effective organizations should also be lively relational communities. As Walt says, “The values and integrity of leadership shape the relationships of trust and respect that enable collaboration and cooperation in any organization. Character matters!”

He is invited to speak to diverse groups around the world — religious, non-profit and corporate. He was twice invited to be the commencement speaker for the Banff School of Advanced Management and five years presented at the Executive Development Program of the University of Calgary. Most recently he led retreats for the Murdock Charitable Trust, California Freemason lodges and Countryvilla Homes. He is a regular presenter for Leadership Park City and Vistage (formerly TEC), an international association of CEOs, offering over two dozen workshops on CEO values each year.

Walt is the author of four books, Relational Leadership, Mentoring: The Promise of Relational Leadership, Don’t Step on the Rope! Reflections on Leadership, Relationships and Teamwork, and a new study guide on The Third Third of Life: Preparing for your Future to be released in April. He has written many monographs, articles and chapters for edited volumes. His books have been translated and published in Germany, Korea, India and Nigeria.

Walt was invited to California in September 2000 to develop a new leadership center in honor of his long time friend and mentor, Max De Pree, the highly respected former Chairman and CEO of Herman Miller, Inc. Max De Pree, the author of Leadership Jazz, Leadership Is an Art and Leading without Power, wrote the foreword in Walt’s book on Mentoring, and The Third Third of Life. The De Pree Leadership Center serves as a resource to leaders promoting values-driven relational leadership and mentoring as an effective tool for personal renewal and leadership development.

Walt is a highly regarded speaker and frequently addresses executive events and seminars and corporate workshops on topics of Relational Leadership, CEO Values, Organizational Culture, Team Building and Mentoring.