Beyond Consulting: AdvantEdge Partnership Advantage
Are your innovation efforts delivering the impact you expect, or are they falling short, tangled in operational inefficiencies and cultural barriers?
At AdvantEdge Leadership, we recognize that many organizations pour resources into innovation initiatives that fail to meet expectations due to a critical oversight—the human factors essential for success. This realization stems from the personal journey of our founder, Anna Barnhill, who grew up in a system that stifled creative thinking. Her unique experiences have profoundly shaped our approach, emphasizing environments that either foster or hinder innovation.
The AdvantEdge Difference
What distinguishes us is our holistic strategy. We simultaneously develop individual leaders, enhance team dynamics and evolve organizational culture. This multifaceted approach addresses both the immediate performance needs and the broader goals for long-term transformation.
Our customized solutions empower executives to navigate complex decisions with clarity and conviction, streamline operations, and ignite innovations that secure a lasting competitive edge. In today's high-pressure business landscape, mastering these competencies allows organizations to consistently outshine their competitors.
Choosing to partner with AdvantEdge Leadership means securing more than just a consulting service; it means engaging a strategic thinking partner and a trusted advisor dedicated to transforming significant leadership challenges into opportunities for groundbreaking performance. Our approach transforms organizational pressure into a competitive advantage, catalyzing innovation, efficiency and enduring transformation.
We pursue this work with a conviction that most organizations have untapped innovative potential, often stifled by leadership behaviors and cultural norms. By addressing these crucial human dimensions, we unlock this latent creativity, enabling your team to overcome substantial challenges.
This mission is part of our broader vision to create organizations where outstanding performance and human flourishing coexist, enhancing not just business results but also enriching human experiences. We believe that environments encouraging innovation do not merely yield superior business outcomes; they also provide more satisfying human experiences, fostering spaces where individuals are eager to explore their creative potential.
Our exceptional team of executive coaches brings diverse industry experience, advanced certifications and proven expertise to every engagement – meet the transformation catalysts who will guide your leadership journey:
Executive Performance Strategist & Transformation Catalyst
Anna Barnhill (she/her) is a highly regarded Organizational Effectiveness Expert, renowned for her transformational leadership development strategies that empower individuals and organizations to lead with intention and impact. A Master Certified Coach (MCC) with the International Coach Federation, Anna ranks in the top 4% of certified coaches worldwide and the top 1% of MCC coaches under age 40—elite credentials that reflect her exceptional ability to drive remarkable results.
With 15 years of multicultural leadership experience, Anna has been a trusted strategic partner to senior leaders at Google, PayPal, Cigna and numerous other organizations across industries. Her clients consistently report accelerated innovation, improved operational efficiency, and successful cultural transformation.
With a robust educational background, that includes Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, MSc in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from California Southern University and specialized training from Stanford Graduate School of Business, Anna is exceptionally qualified to guide senior leaders through complex challenges. Her role as an IOC Fellow at the McLean/Harvard Medical School further enhances her expertise, ensuring she remains at the cutting edge of the latest research. This unique blend of qualifications and experiences makes Anna an invaluable asset to any executive team seeking strategic guidance and innovative solutions.
Her evidence-based methodologies integrate advanced behavioral frameworks (CBT, ACT, MBSR) with organizational psychology principles to create sustainable transformation with measurable business impact.
What distinguishes Anna's work is her systemic framework that addresses transformation at three critical, interconnected levels:
- Self Leadership: Developing emotionally intelligent leaders who convert tension into strategic advantage
- Team Excellence: Creating high-performing teams that transform diverse perspectives into breakthrough innovation
- Cultural Transformation: Reshaping organizational dynamics to maximize efficiency and competitive advantage
Her thought leadership is recognized across multiple platforms, including Forbes Magazine and the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. As a learning facilitator for MIT's Leadership and Innovation program, she designs transformative experiences that equip executives to lead through increasing complexity and disruption. Named one of the Top 15 Coaches in Phoenix in 2023, Anna continues to influence leadership development practices globally.
Organizations that partner with Anna gain more than leadership development—they secure a strategic advantage in today's high-pressure business environment where comfort cultures can no longer compete with those that master strategic tension.
- Learning Facilitator, MIT Professional Education
- ICF MCC (Master Certified Coach)
- IOC Fellow, McLean/Harvard Medical School
- Organizational Analysis, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- MSc in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, California Southern University
- Official Member of Forbes Coaches Council
- IOC Fellow, McLean/Harvard Medical School
- Official Member, HBR Advisory Council
- Member, Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Marshal Goldsmith Executive Coach (SCC)
- Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Fisher College of Business
- MA in Developmental Psychology and Education, Mariupol State University
- Extensive training in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy), MBSR ( Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), Gottman Method applied in organizational settings
Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Strategist, P&L Magician
Justin Barnhill (he/him) is a seasoned executive coach and strategic leader who transforms organizational challenges into breakthrough performance through strategic leadership and operational excellence. With extensive experience as a CEO and COO for private equity-backed companies, Justin has repeatedly turned struggling businesses into high-performing organizations by driving innovation, maximizing efficiency, and leading transformational change with a proven playbook that delivers exceptional financial results.
Justin's career highlights include a dramatic turnaround at Gopher Resource, where he reversed a $50M annual loss into a $40M EDITBA in under a year. His strategic interventions at Leggett & Platt resulted in a reduction of downtime and a near 300% increase in productivity, yielding an additional $5M in EBITDA. As an Executive Vice President at Ocean Alexander, he spearheaded operations and strategy, propelling the company to $54M in revenue in just three years.
Currently serving as the Managing Director at Amentum, Justin has transformed the commercial business development approach, leading a 300% increase in private sector revenue while expanding the sales pipeline by 1000% to nearly $10B. His expertise in closing complex deals and forming win-win agreements creates sustainable value for both clients and stakeholders.
His profound expertise in P&L management, financial discipline, and budget adherence is complemented by his certifications as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and his advanced degrees in Executive Leadership from Cornell University, MBA from Canterbury University, along with specialized training from Harvard and Wharton.
Justin's approach to executive coaching is deeply informed by his extensive operational experience and his proven track record in business development, customer relationship management and change management.
His coaching methodology integrates three critical elements that drive organizational excellence:
- Strategic clarity that converts complex challenges into actionable innovation
- Operational discipline that maximizes efficiency and financial performance
- Leadership agility that accelerates organizational transformation
Executives who partner with Justin gain more than a coach—they secure a strategic thinking partner who brings a unique combination of P&L responsibility, multi-industry expertise, and private equity discipline to help them navigate high-pressure situations and deliver transformational results.
Peak Performance & Resilience Expert
Kathy Maichel (she/her) is a certified performance coach, leveraging her extensive experience in the performing arts and psychological principles to enhance leadership performance and well-being of her clients. With over 1200 hours of coaching experience, Kathy is accredited as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Drawing from her career as a professional opera performer across the United States, Kathy developed exceptional insight into performance anxiety management and optimal functioning under pressure. She elevated this practical experience with academic rigor, earning a Master's degree in Psychology of Music from The University of Sheffield, UK. This distinctive blend of performance mastery and psychological science allows Kathy to develop innovative approaches that enhance leadership effectiveness in high-stakes environments.
Kathy's impact spans diverse sectors and continents, driving transformation for executives at multinational corporations including Fox Ordering and Ecopetrol, as well as leaders in international NGOs, performing arts organizations, and educational institutions globally. As a coach consultant for the mental health app HOY, she revolutionized their product development, creating over 180 evidence-based activities that enhance mental resilience and performance efficiency for professionals across Colombia.
Her systematic approach to transformation extends to her work on community-led sustainable change initiatives throughout Latin America and Africa, where she designed scalable training programs that build psychological flexibility and performance capacity in diverse cultural contexts.
Kathy's coaching methodology centers on three transformative capabilities:
- Converting performance anxiety into focused energy that drives innovation
- Building psychological flexibility that improves decision-making efficiency
- Developing strategic empathy that accelerates organizational transformation
Clients consistently report that Kathy's unique approach helps them make difficult decisions with greater clarity, lead their teams more effectively through change, and achieve breakthrough performance that delivers measurable business impact.