Integrating Academic Rigor, Executive Experience, and Coaching Expertise
"Leadership requires harmonizing the tasks of delivering outcomes with the people who make those results possible—all while maintaining a clear vision for what's next."
- Andy Cohen
Hello! I’m Andy…
I bring a unique "three-legged stool" approach to executive leadership—integrating nearly four decades of scholarly exploration, hands-on C-suite experience, and specialized coaching expertise to help senior leaders navigate complex organizational transformation.
My perspective combines the practical challenge of leading teams and driving results as an executive with the research-based insights I've developed as a professor. Armed with a PhD from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, I've held faculty positions at Georgetown, George Washington, and American Universities, and currently serve as Professor of the Practice at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, where my research has been published in Organization Science, Harvard Business Review, and other leading journals.
This academic rigor is grounded in real-world executive experience as a Divisional CEO at Capital One and Partner at Oliver Wyman, the global strategy consulting firm.
Through my firm August Third Leadership, I partner with leaders facing substantial organizational shifts who recognize that their capacity must evolve alongside their changing organizations.
The Executive Counsel Partnership
This isn't about trendy leadership models (though we'll use proven frameworks) or one-size-fits-all solutions (though we'll follow structured processes). It's about developing your unique capacity to navigate complexity through both methodical guidance and real-time counsel.
Through structured dialogue and evidence-based methods, I establish an environment for you to:
Master the four essential tasks: vision/strategy, culture, resource alignment, and mobilization
Drive outcomes in tandem with team development
Reframe tensions between competing priorities as opportunities
Enhance your capacity alongside your evolving organization
Acknowledge yourself as a person, beyond your title and role
The resources and frameworks we explore together address both the immediate challenges you face and the longer arc of your career.
As one client reflected: "Andy's ability to translate complex academic concepts into practical methods has been transformative. His frameworks became part of how our entire leadership team thinks about our business."
Our work together establishes room for conversation that addresses both immediate business challenges and leadership growth.
My Commitment
I'm dedicated to providing an environment where you can step back from daily demands to gain perspective on broader patterns and possibilities. This intentional reflection becomes a powerful catalyst for both personal growth and organizational effectiveness.
Our work focuses on helping you reconcile delivering outcomes with developing people, all while maintaining your own sense of purpose and authenticity. I believe in acknowledging both the structured methodology of professional coaching and the genuine empathy for leaders as complete human beings.
Together, we'll enhance your capacity to think strategically, act decisively, and lead with presence in every context.
A Personal Perspective
I wear many hats—professor, teacher, dad, partner, son, brother, coach, consultant, skier, cyclist (sometimes), runner, and what I like to call the "leadership development guy." What I do best is integrate and problem-solve across a wide range of topics, frameworks, and datasets in pursuit of creating clarity, often serving as both the voice of balance and the one who weaves various perspectives into something even more coherent.
I've had many turning points throughout my career, but one particularly significant moment was during the pandemic when I woke up and realized I could follow my dreams. I found the courage to move to Denver to build something new. So here I am, integrating these pieces of who I am into something that feels authentically mine.
Personally, I'm most proud of my kids—though every parent says that. I'm blessed with two beautiful, talented children in their twenties who live on the East Coast, but are ready to jump on an airplane to join me on the slopes. My son is a business analyst in financial services, and my daughter is in medical school. I couldn't be more proud of them, and as is the case with most kids, they keep me grounded and call me on my BS.
I'm also blessed to have both my parents alive and engaged at 85 and 93. Though they live in the Northeast (who moves 2000 miles away from their parents when they're in their eighties?), I see them frequently and am grateful for their steady upbringing and anchoring force to this day.
After moving to Denver, I was blessed to meet my fiancée, Laura. We share many interests and a similar story—and similar professions, which makes for scintillating conversation at home. She's become an integral part of my story, and I love her with all my heart.
Beyond family, I'm proud that I'm constantly learning and growing. There's something liberating about embracing that you're still becoming who you're meant to be, even in your fifties and beyond. Professionally, it's the impact I have with coaching clients that fills me up. And I love teaching—those moments when I see people's eyes light up with recognition are incredibly satisfying.
In my free time, you'll find me hiking, skiing, sailing, occasionally biking or running, reading, and increasingly in the kitchen cooking.
