Tom Heffner, PCC, MAPP

• Specialize in coaching sales and GTM leaders navigating high-pressure, fast-evolving market environments. • Integrate coaching and consulting practices to align leadership capabilities with business strategy. • Design and deliver global programs focused on mindset agility, resilience, and stakeholder influence. • Use participant feedback and NPS to iterate and continuously improve program outcomes.

• Design and facilitate leadership development and innovation programs for Fortune 500 companies and public sector organizations. • Create custom cohort-based learning programs grounded in adult learning and behavioral science. • Support leaders in navigating strategic pivots, stakeholder complexity, and team transformation using Design Thinking tools and practices.

• Led strategic innovation workshops with cross-functional stakeholders—including product managers, researchers, and designers—to accelerate new product development. • Applied Design Thinking and human-centered design methods to translate customer insights into next-generation product concepts, several of which were featured in SuiteWorld keynotes. • Developed toolkits and scalable innovation frameworks to embed design practices across teams and increase organizational innovation capacity. • Facilitated ideation and co-creation sessions that turned trend, market, and customer data into breakthrough product prototypes. • Collaborated with senior leaders (VP and C-level) to align design-led strategies with business goals and technical feasibility. • Coached GTM and product leaders on integrating design practices into day-to-day product planning and customer experience strategy. • Supported GTM enablement by ensuring new product concepts were tightly aligned with customer value and real-world implementation needs.

Designed and taught several different innovation and leadership courses in the Masters of Engineering in Engineering Management (MEM).

The Next Year Now Podcast is based on the belief that every day, purposeful habits and practices are vital for us to thrive at work and in life. Each week, Tom interviews some of the most successful people to uncover the habits and practices that have helped them achieve success, as well discuss their insights on things like productivity, well-being, personal development, creativity, business, and entrepreneurship.

The Academy uses Design Thinking (DT) and Lean Startup (LS) methods to encourage undergraduate students to be human-centered, prototype-driven, and radically collaborative in their work. . As a facilitator, I taught undergraduate students Design and Innovation methods through unique in-course modules (i.e. modules that are embedded within existing courses).

Led the creation and implementation of the Design Thinking Corps to support rapidly evolving challenges within the Department of Defense (DoD), particularly for Navy sponsors. Applied Human-Centered Design (HCD) to develop innovative products, services, and organizational strategies in highly complex and ambiguous environments. Key initiatives included: • Designed and facilitated enterprise-wide programs that promoted leadership development and inclusive culture change • Launched cross-departmental innovation challenges to surface and fund novel ideas—from $20K pilots to $1.1M+ initiatives • Designed and built multidisciplinary innovation spaces used by 6,000+ staff, equipped for rapid prototyping, simulation, and collaborative problem solving

Led engineering teams and managed multimillion-dollar defense projects focused on protecting U.S. service members in combat zones. Oversaw the development, testing, and deployment of advanced electronic systems used in field operations. Key contributions: • Managed a $2M+ program to design and deliver IED jammer systems for military vehicles, improving safety and survivability for deployed troops • Directed cross-functional engineering teams and ensured technical quality, budget adherence, and schedule performance • Presented findings and recommendations to senior military leadership (Navy Captains, SES, GS-15), as well as internal APL executives • Conducted detailed technical reviews and authored documentation on modeling, simulation, and field test results

Train U.S. Army soldiers in Master Resilience Training (MRT) through large and small group facilitations.

Develop and design 3D Full Wave EM models to design and optimize Photonic Band Gap (PBG) Materials for use in cell phones and other wireless devices. Authored IEEE conference papers based on Photonic Band Gap and 3D model research. Provided mentoring, technical expertise, and technical direction to the undergraduate engineering clinic design teams. Assisted in the organization and setup of the IEEE Topical Conference on Wireless Communication as the host.

Conducted ethnographic field research (Interviews, Observational Interview Techniques), Analysis (structuring and interpreting data), Synthesis (Ideation Activities), and Communication & Strategy Design. Through this design process, our team developed a wearable prototype application improving caregiver experiences at the Chicago Children’s Museum. Presented our design and strategy solutions to the Chicago Children's Museum CEO and program director.