Bill Fournet

Bill Fournet has spent more than 30 years helping leaders navigate uncertainty with clarity and conviction. As founder of The Persimmon Group, a global management consulting firm, he has advised executive teams across industries—from engineering and financial services to healthcare and energy—helping them cut through complexity and focus on what matters most. His insights on leadership, strategy, and organizational performance have been shared with executives, boards, and leadership teams around the world.

His leadership philosophy is simple: Change is constant. Chaos is a choice.

Bill’s work centers on helping leaders align strategy, people, and execution in environments where plans rarely survive first contact with reality. Through his consulting, writing, and speaking, he equips teams with practical tools to lead through disruption while staying grounded in clear intent, disciplined thinking, and strong teams. He is a multi-time nominee for “Most Admired CEO” in Oklahoma.

Bill Fournet’s book, The Map vs. the Terrain: A Leader’s Field Guide to Navigating Uncertainty, published by Wiley, will be released in fall 2026.

Much of Bill’s leadership philosophy was shaped outside the boardroom. An Eagle Scout and lifelong outdoorsman, he continues to lead youth and adult teams on backpacking and high-adventure expeditions across North America and beyond. On the trail—where weather shifts, terrain surprises, and plans fall apart—leadership is revealed in real time. Those experiences inspired the central metaphor of his book: the difference between the map we plan from and the terrain we must actually navigate.

Bill holds degrees from Vanderbilt University and Oklahoma State University. He splits his time between Colorado and Oklahoma, where he enjoys backpacking, skiing, and exploring the outdoors with his family.