John L. Bennett, PhD, PCC, BCC
John Bennett is president of Lawton Associates, a consulting and executive coaching firm focused on helping individual, teams and organizations prepare for, excel through, and improve from change. John is Associate Professor of Business & Behavioral Science, Director of the Graduate Programs at the McColl School of Business, Queens University of Charlotte. In addition to teaching, he is an executive coach and a frequent speaker and presenter at academic, professional, and client conferences and workshops.
He has nearly 30 years of progressively challenging and successful experience creating, leading and being a part of change in various industries. John was CEO of an American Red Cross biomedical services divisions, where he led pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution operations and the development and delivery of essential human services. John has also led mergers and turnarounds, new product development, marketing and technology system designs and integrations. He served as Senior Vice President and Talent Solutions Director for Lee Hecht Harrison, and was the CEO of the Foundation of Coaching, a project of the Harnisch Family Foundation. He is principal investigator for a five-year program evaluation and research project: “Ordination Preparation Program Evaluation and Congregational Leader Development Study”, is funded by The Duke Endowment and is being conducted in collaboration with the Western NC and NC Conferences of the United Methodist Church.
As an executive coach and consultant, John has helped individuals, teams, and organizations in a variety of industries prepare for and excel through change since 1997. John is author of numerous articles about building organizational resilience to change, coaching, and leadership as well as three books. His latest book is Coaching for Change (Routledge).
His recent consulting and coaching clients include for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and government agencies in: biomedical services, construction, education, defense, financial services, higher education, human services, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and professional services.
John earned a BS degree from Mars Hill College, MPA degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an MA and Ph.D. in human and organizational systems from Fielding Graduate University. He also earned the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and Board Certified Coach (BCC) credential through the Center for Credentialing & Education. He is actively involved in several professional organizations including the Academy of Management, American Psychological Association (APA), ICF, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). John also serves as a past-president of the NCIOP, and the Graduate School Alliance for Educating Coaches (GSAEC). In 2010, he was named a charter Fellow in The Lewin Center and Founding Fellow of the Institute of Coaching, which is affiliated of McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School.