Prior to founding O’Sullivan Wright in 2000, Joan was head of executive leadership development at Wachovia (Wells Fargo). Her broad understanding of individual leadership and organizational development comes from 21 years in Human Resources Management roles with Philip Morris, Citicorp, and GE Capital. Her Masters Degree in Social Work enables her to help leaders understand important self-awareness issues and individual development, while her many key HR roles with leading corporations gives her the necessary business experience for supporting results-oriented organizational change. Her Master Certified Coaching designation combined with being one of an elite group of 59 Kolbe Copper Circle Consultants in the world, Joan brings a level of unmatched leadership insights and skill-building best practices to clients in four continents.

A respected speaker at major global leadership and executive coaches conferences including Linkage and International Coaching Federation, Joan’s articles have been published by the International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, CHOICE magazine for coaching professionals, ASTD trade publications, and The Charlotte Business Journal.  She was featured in the audio series, From the Corporate Front Line: The Impact of Coaching on Today’s Leaders. Her recently released book, UP – Pursuing Significance in Leadership and Life, was nationally acclaimed by Midwest Book Review as a Five-Star citing it to be “…an inspirational book from Joan O. Wright as she advises readers to take up the mantle of importance in their everyday life, and how to apply it to greater success in one’s career, and pursue the summits of their lives. Practical and to the point, “Up” is a fine read that shouldn’t be over- looked by business leadership and self-help collections.”

An avid golfer, yogi and runner, Joan and husband, Tom, have three grown children and enjoy serving their church’s Impact Community, focusing on the reconciliation and pastoral leadership needs in Rwanda and Burundi. Joan was in Africa in September of 2012 for Senai: Climb for a Purpose. She successfully summited Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 19,341 feet, raising money and awareness to enable safe water, orphan care, agricultural production for Africa’s most impoverished communities.