About Doug
Doug is a thought leader, advisor, and CEO coach on strategic planning, leadership, and narrative-led communications. He has over 25 years of advisory and operating experience.
He is a results-oriented leader who helps organizations grow, thrive, and effectively manage disruptions from inside or outside their organizations. His work includes leading scenario planning programs, developing compelling strategic narratives, and executive coaching for teams and individuals. He serves organizations of all sizes: start-ups, publicly traded companies, foundations, and he was previously an advisor to the White House under the Obama Administration. His clients include Bank of America, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Omidyar Network, the Gates Foundation, and dozens of similar organizations.
Doug is the founder and past CEO of Protagonist, the Narrative Analytics company. The Protagonist platform uses natural language processing and artificial intelligence to identify public opinion and to generate compelling narratives on issues ranging from climate change to financial product marketing. Before Protagonist, Doug created and led Monitor 360, a cross-disciplinary consultancy that designed and developed analytic methodologies including the Master Narratives platform. Master Narratives are the deeply entrenched stories that resonate with key audiences. Before that, Doug was a managing partner at Global Business Network and the Monitor Group, the global strategy consultancy.
Doug has lectured at the Wharton School, Stanford University, and National Defense University on strategy, narratives, leadership, decision making, and negotiations. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from the Wharton School. He served as a committee member for the National Academy of Sciences “Understanding Narratives for National Security Purposes” study.
Doug is a board member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and a past board member of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, Bay Area Theater Sports, and the Kitchen SF. He teaches meditation and yoga, and resides in San Francisco with his two teenage children.
