A trustworthy and experienced advisor on AI, editorial presence, and strategic change.

Organizations are humanity's original artificial intelligence systems. Like their digital counterparts, they're programmed by people, run on data, and you can never quite be sure what they're going to do next.

I help leaders navigate the intersection of human, machine, and organizational learning. To do this, I draw on a multifaceted background — organizational learning, Whole Earth, technology, and radical thinking.

My parents were schoolteachers. When I was growing up, I lived on stories. My brother was autistic, and persisted to a self-sufficent adulthood. I knew from an early age what it meant to strive for seemingly impossible goals. 

I wrote my thesis at UC Berkeley’s journalism school about the early internet. I knew it would dramatically change everything about the way people communicated. At the Whole Earth Catalog, I covered the first wave of personal computers and a wide range of other topics.

I have also tried to keep up with the world of community-building. I was a volunteer with the Haight-Ashbury Switchboard and a participant in local environmental and community groups in Ohio and Connecticut.

Working on the Fifth Discipline Fieldbook series taught me that everyone has a significant story to tell—and it takes patience and perspective to develop it. I then developed twin practices: writing about organizations and leaders (The Age of Heretics, Who Really Matters, The Wise Advocate) and developing the unique consulting practice I conduct today. 

I entered the corporate world in 2005 as editor-in-chief of the award-winning business magazine Strategy+Business, which was then published by Booz Allen Hamilton. It was spun off and then acquired by PwC, where i became a managing director, I witnessed firsthand how Fortune 500 companies actually transform—and why most efforts fail.

At S+B, I championed the growing field of neuroscience and leadership. With Jeffrey Schwartz and Josie Thomson, I co-developed insights about the mind-and-brain dynamics underlying transformative strategic thinking.

At New York University, I teach classes on content strategy, responsible AI design, and the future of tech and media. I have followed artificial intelligence for a long time; my first published book was for children, about robots. I joined Juliette Powell in 2020 to research and write the book that became The AI Dilemma. Since then, I’ve followed up with writing and talks on the human impact of AI systems.

My former wife and I raised three daughters, all in their 20s now. Having lived in the suburbs for 25 years, I now live in Manhattan.

In my work and private life, I stay practical, and try to work and live with integrity. We all continually struggle. But as Oscar Wilde pointed out, some of us are looking at the stars.

  • CEO, ReN

    “Art worked with me as an executive coach over the course of a year, while we were developing our innovative language-model-based AI software called Ren. Together, we set goals for me as a leader, he talked with my team and mentors. He combined a steady, thoughtful kind of guidance with valuable insight about our product potential and industry. I’d recommend him to others looking for help developing their leadership capability.” - Af Malhotra

  • Author of a business novel in progress

    “Art was fantastic to with with. His critique of my manuscript from both a business and editorial eye provided me with a new, fresh perspective. He clearly went above and beyond with his feedback and spent all the time needed on a follow up call to clarify and suggest new approaches I highly recommend working with him as I surely will for my next projects or if I need another review of my current one.” - David P

  • Author of Travelling the Consulting road

    “Art preformed a developmental edit on “my near final” I had some feedback that the flow was unclear and the book was too long. He gave me a new outline which is definitely cleaner and will eliminate several pages of section introductions. He also gave me a lot of page by page feedback which will definitely improve the book. I am very happy with his work.” Alan Culler

  • Author of a work in progress on food storage

    “Art has a unique approach which was extremely helpful to me as a new author, but I think it would help anyone. He saw the book as a whole and quickly identified parts that needed to be moved together to improve flow. He took time to teach me and listen to my thoughts as we went through the sections together. He was able to set aside unneeded phrases and even paragraphs without making me feel like a bad author, in fact he was very encouraging all along the way. My books will be much improved because of Art’s professional input.” - Heidi H

After decades in this work—from the Whole Earth Catalog to PwC's executive suite to NYU's classrooms—I've learned that real transformation happens at the edges, where different worlds meet. If you're working at those edges, let's talk.

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