What Twelve Months of Physical Challenges Taught Two Brothers About Connection, Leadership, and Purpose

 About the Authors

Dr. Stephen Gilliland is a University Professor at Claremont Graduate University where he teaches organizational psychology and is responsible for developing executive education and leadership development programs. Stephen is originally from British Columbia and studied psychology at the University of Alberta and Michigan State University. For 24 years, Stephen was a professor of management at the University of Arizona, where he served in a variety of leadership roles. His research examines the fairness of leadership practices. Through this merging of psychological, social, and managerial issues, he has authored over 50 journal articles and book chapters. He has published eight books in the series Research in Social Issues in Management. He is Fellow in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and received the Early Career Award from the same organization. Stephen has taught numerous courses on leadership, organizational behavior, healthcare and social entrepreneurship, human resource management, and leadership ethics. He has consulted with small and large organizations and conducted leadership training for companies around the world. He has served on the boards of several organizations. Stephen is married to Professor Cindi Gilliland and lives in Southern California. They share a wide variety of hobbies, including surfing, gardening, wine making, and playing music. They spend time traveling to see their two adult children who always find interesting places to live.

Jim Gilliland is President and CEO of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel, one of Canada's largest fully employee-owned investment management firms.  He brought extensive investment experience in Canadian and U.S. investment markets through his time at HSBC Asset Management/M.K. Wong & Associates in Vancouver and Barclays Global Investors (BGI) in San Francisco. Among his achievements were building out and managing a team of professionals covering interest rate strategies, corporate credit, securitized credit, and emerging markets; launching and managing a successful fixed income hedge fund; developing platforms to manage risk; and developing customized client solutions and liability driven solutions. Jim is a graduate of University of British Columbia (B.Comm with honours). After his work at HSBC, Jim earned his Master’s degree in Financial Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.  Jim lives on a horse farm with his family in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia and volunteers his time at a variety of educational and professional not for profits.