Organizational Leadership - Global Speakers Bureau

Johannes Willms offers coaching for leaders who take their development seriously and don’t want to leave it to chance. He works with senior executives, board members, and high-potential individuals across companies and public institutions, as well as those preparing to step into leadership roles.

His approach focuses on the issues that matter most to you—whether in your leadership, your organization, or your broader life context. He works alongside you to navigate complexity, sharpen your thinking, and make confident decisions in demanding environments.

Johannes believes that successful leaders must continuously evolve. As contexts change, so must leadership. What drove success in the past can become a barrier to future progress. His coaching supports ongoing development, helping you remain adaptable, grounded, and capable of inspiring others.

His work is rooted in a dialogic approach to transformative learning. Through structured dialogue, he creates space for new perspectives and ideas to emerge. Together, you will address real challenges, explore different viewpoints, and develop practical, actionable solutions. This process enhances perception and intuition, bringing clarity to complex situations and high-stakes decisions.

A key part of his coaching involves uncovering the underlying patterns that shape how you think, feel, and act as a leader. By identifying and shifting these patterns, meaningful and lasting development becomes possible—making the next step in your growth more natural and effective.

Johannes also encourages leaders to reflect on the agendas that drive them. His coaching helps you let go of what no longer serves you and focus on what truly matters, both professionally and personally.

He sees personal and professional development as deeply interconnected. Through his coaching, you can strengthen your leadership presence, increase your impact with less effort, and achieve better results while also enhancing your overall sense of fulfillment.

Johannes brings a thoughtful, experienced, and committed approach to every engagement. Coaching sessions can take place in person or virtually, with the scope and intensity tailored to your goals. He is available for an initial, no-obligation conversation to explore how you might work together.

A leader in global banking, a former U.S. Treasury Department official, and a Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA (’67) and PhD (’70), Robert Joss became the eighth dean of the Business School in 1999.He served as dean for 10 years—overseeing the introduction of a new MBA curriculum, the institution of new collaborations between the school and Stanford University, and the construction of a new Business School campus which opened in 2011.

Joss has observed that ideas, capital, and technology move freely across borders around the world, but that there is a significant lack of management skill. As dean he drew on both his academic and business experience to address this issue through education. He has a strong belief in experiential learning, leadership development, and academic research that constantly tests the boundaries of what we know about organizational effectiveness. He continues to teach leadership and management in the school’s MBA curriculum.

Prior to joining the Business School as dean, Joss was chief executive officer of Westpac Banking Corporation, one of Australia’s largest banks, a post he held for six years. At Westpac, he was credited with refocusing the bank strategically, modernizing operations, and building a culture of teamwork, customer focus, open communication, and community support. Bank shareholders also benefited substantially during and after his tenure. Before going to Australia, Joss held a variety of posts at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank between 1971 and 1993, serving from 1986 onward as vice chairman. Prior to Wells Fargo, Joss worked 3 years at the U. S. Treasury, first as a White House Fellow and then as deputy to the assistant secretary for economic policy.

He is currently a director of Bechtel Group, Makena Capital Management, SRI International and CM Capital; was formerly a director of Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co, Westpac Banking Corp, and Shanghai Commercial Bank Ltd; and is active in Australian-American affairs, serving as Co-chair of the Advisory Board for the U.S. Studies Center at Sydney University and is a member of the U.S. Advisory Council for the American Australian Association.

In 2001 he received the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society, and in 2013 was named by the Australian Financial Review as one of the 50 figures who have most shaped the nation’s business landscape over the preceding half century.