Steve Arneson, Ph.D.
President
“I have a passion for leadership, and for helping leaders on their journey of exploration and discovery. I believe the best leaders are those that are constantly striving to improve - they understand that leading others is a privilege, and they are continuously learning, soliciting feedback and working on their game. I also believe the best companies understand this dynamic – which is why they invest in identifying, developing and coaching their leadership talent. Because without great leaders, you can’t become a great company.”
Steve Arneson founded Arneson Leadership Consulting to provide practical solutions to organizations that want to excel at executive talent management, leadership development, and executive coaching. Dr. Arneson was named one of America's Top 100 thought leaders on leadership in 2008-2009 and one of the country's Top 25 leadership coaches for 2008, 2009, 2010 by Leadership Excellence magazine.
Prior to founding Arneson Leadership Consulting, Steve was Senior Vice President, Executive Talent Management and Development for Capital One. During his tenure, Steve and his team built Capital One University, winning numerous industry awards for innovative learning solutions. In addition, Steve created the nationally-recognized Leadership Development Program (rated a Top 10 large corporate leadership program for three straight years (2005-2007) by Leadership Excellence magazine. Steve also partnered with Capital One’s CEO and Chief People Officer to develop the talent management tools and processes that resulted in Capital One being named by Hewitt and Fortune magazine as a Top 20 Companies for Leaders in 2005-2006, and 2007-2008 (#2 in North America, #5 on the Global list in the 2007 survey).
Before joining Capital One, Steve served as Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness for America Online and as Vice President of People Development for Time Warner Cable. Creating leadership programs and talent management systems in both companies, he partnered with senior executive teams to identify and develop exceptional leaders.
Prior to AOL, Steve worked as Senior Director of People Development for PepsiCo, where he helped create a new principle-based leadership culture during the spin-off of Yum Brands from PepsiCo. Steve started his career as Vice President of Aon Consulting Worldwide, where he ran their Southwest regional office and created a variety of assessment and career progression tools for Fortune 500 clients.
Steve has been an executive coach for 15 years. He is a graduate of the Georgetown Coaching Program, an accredited ICF coaching program. Steve received his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Montana State University and his M.A. in organizational psychology from the University of Kansas, before completing his Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Tulsa. Steve currently serves on the Board of Directors of WAVE, a national non-profit group that provides academic curricula to disadvantaged youth. Steve and his wife Maureen have three children – Becky, Brett and Matt – and live in Leesburg, VA.
