S

Sean Barnes

CEO

Houston, Texas, United States22 yrs experience

Key Highlights

  • Led 48 acquisitions and 2 IPOs.
  • Expert in executive coaching and leadership development.
  • Keynote speaker with over 5 million lifetime impressions.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic advisor in leadership development and executive coaching across various industries.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Executive CoachingLeadership DevelopmentKeynote SpeakingOrganizational AlignmentProject ManagementIt Management

Other Skills

Executive AdvisoryLeadership Team DevelopmentExecutive Presentation CoursePodcast HostingLeadership Decision-MakingExecutive PresenceConference StrategyContent DevelopmentSpeaker SelectionExecutive ProgrammingPeer Dialogue FacilitationContent AdvisoryDiscussion FacilitationCross-Functional AlignmentOperational Effectiveness

About

My career started in IT, hiding behind a keyboard with the lights off and the door closed. Then I got bored, pitched my CEO on letting me run HR (with zero HR experience), got shot down, came back with a better pitch, and got the job. That became the pattern. IT to HR to ESG to Project Management to Safety to Leadership Development. Six functions, 48 acquisitions, two IPOs. Every time: find the ceiling, figure out what it takes to break through, do the work. For sitting C-suite executives, that experience means something different than a credential ever could. It means having a thinking partner who has carried the weight of those decisions and understands what it costs. Not frameworks. Real talk. For senior leaders navigating what comes next, whether that is a bigger seat, a harder mandate, or a more complex organization, the gap is rarely about capability. It is about how you lead, how you communicate, and how you show up when the stakes are highest. That is exactly what I help my clients work through. No hand-holding. No empty validation. If you want honest, direct partnership, let's talk.

Experience

22 yrs
Total Experience
--
Average Tenure
--
Current Experience

Energy conference network

Advisory Council Member

Aug 2025 โ€“ Present ยท 10 mos

  • As a member of ๐„๐‚๐โ€™๐ฌ ๐€๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐œ๐ข๐ฅ, I collaborate with senior energy leaders to shape conference strategy, content, and speaker selection. Together, we focus on advancing leadership, innovation, and operational excellence across the energy sector.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • I provide insight on emerging trends and industry challenges to ensure ECN events deliver relevant, actionable value for executives and decision-makers.
Conference StrategyContent DevelopmentSpeaker SelectionLeadership DevelopmentOrganizational Alignment

Wolf executives

CEO

Nov 2023 โ€“ Present ยท 2 yrs 7 mos ยท The Woodlands, TX

  • Most executives don't need another framework. They need someone who's been in the room when the call had to be made.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • I work with senior leaders and executive teams who are technically strong and quietly stuck. The strategy looks fine on paper. The team looks competent on the org chart. But execution is dragging, communication is fraying, and the people at the top feel more isolated than they'll admit out loud.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • That's the gap Wolf Executives was built for.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • We speak as operators, not observers. People who've actually run things, made the calls, taken the hits, and built the teams that delivered. No frameworks borrowed from books. No models lifted off a slide. Just the hard-won instincts you only get from doing the work.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ž ๐๐จ:โฃ
  • Executive Advisory. One on one work with CEOs and senior leaders who are stuck, scaling, or about to make the call of their career. Built around your business, not a curriculum.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • Leadership Team Development. Multi-month engagements that sharpen decision-making, strengthen alignment, and rebuild trust at the top. We don't run team-building exercises. We run pressure tests.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • Executive Presentation Course. Two full days. Two full rooms. The presentation training executives actually need when the stakes are high and the room matters.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • Organizational Alignment. When the strategy is right but execution keeps stalling, the problem usually isn't strategy. We find where leadership friction is costing you and fix it.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ž ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ข๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ :โฃ
  • โฃ
  • Leaders make sharper calls under pressure. Executive teams stop talking past each other. Strategy starts translating into execution instead of slides. Preventable turnover at the top stops being preventable. The people running your company feel less alone.
Executive AdvisoryLeadership Team DevelopmentExecutive Presentation CourseOrganizational AlignmentExecutive CoachingLeadership Development

The way of the wolf

Founder, Host & Keynote Speaker

Jan 2021 โ€“ Present ยท 5 yrs 5 mos ยท The Woodlands, TX

  • Wolf Executives is the work behind closed doors. The Way of the Wolf is the stage and the microphone. This is where the work goes public.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • ๐Ÿ“๐Œ+ ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ+ ๐ฉ๐จ๐๐œ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ž๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ž๐ฌ. ๐€๐ฎ๐๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐œ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”.๐’. ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐›๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ. ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ญ ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ญ ๐š ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐๐œ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ: I host The Way of the Wolf, where leadership meets action. No theory. No guru advice. Just direct conversations with operators, executives, and builders about how leadership actually works when there's something on the line. Three hundred episodes in, the audience keeps growing because these conversations don't sound like the rest of the leadership space.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • ๐Š๐ž๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ: I deliver keynotes for C-suite audiences, leadership offsites, and industry conferences. The brief is always the same. No recycled frameworks. No airport-bookstore wisdom. Stories from the room where the call was made, lessons hard-won enough to actually stick, and points sharp enough that executives walk out thinking differently than they walked in.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • Past stages include the Gartner C-Level Communities, CyberRisk Alliance CISO events, Energy Conference Network, Inspired Leaders Year-End, and a range of C-level audiences across industries.โฃ
  • โฃ
  • ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ˆ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐ค ๐จ๐ง:โฃ
  • Executive decision-making under pressureโฃ
  • Building leadership teams that hold under loadโฃ
  • Executive presence in high-stakes roomsโฃ
  • Leading through change without losing the roomโฃ
  • The difference between operators and observers, and why most leadership advice misses itโฃ
  • โฃ
  • If you're booking a keynote that's actually going to move the room, or you want to sponsor or appear on the podcast, message me directly.
Keynote SpeakingPodcast HostingLeadership Decision-MakingExecutive PresenceExecutive Coaching

Evanta, a gartner company

2 roles

Co-Chair - Houston CIO Community

Jan 2021 โ€“ Dec 2023 ยท 2 yrs 11 mos ยท Houston, Texas, United States ยท Remote

  • Served as Co-Chair for the Houston CIO Community, helping shape executive-level conversations among senior technology leaders across industries. Partnered with Evanta leadership to guide programming, identify relevant topics, and foster meaningful peer dialogue around leadership, technology strategy, and organizational impact.
  • Contributed perspective grounded in real-world executive experience, with a focus on the intersection of people, technology, and business execution.
Executive ProgrammingPeer Dialogue FacilitationLeadership DevelopmentExecutive Coaching

Governing Body Member - Houston CHRO Community

Jan 2021 โ€“ Dec 2023 ยท 2 yrs 11 mos ยท Houston, Texas, United States ยท Remote

  • Served on the Governing Body for the Houston CHRO Community, advising on content and discussion themes relevant to senior HR leaders navigating organizational change, leadership development, and workforce strategy.
  • The role focused on peer-level insight, facilitating thoughtful dialogue, and helping ensure community discussions addressed the real challenges facing executives responsible for people, culture, and performance.
Content AdvisoryDiscussion FacilitationLeadership DevelopmentExecutive Coaching

Nine energy service

3 roles

VP, Corporate Operations

Promoted

Aug 2019 โ€“ Oct 2023 ยท 4 yrs 2 mos

  • Led enterprise-wide operations and cross-functional alignment across technology, people, and execution functions in a complex, high-growth environment. Oversaw and integrated leadership across IT, HR, Leadership Development, ESG, HSE, Transportation, and Project Management to improve operational effectiveness and execution consistency.
  • Partnered closely with the executive team to translate strategy into action, reduce friction across functions, and strengthen leadership accountability at scale. The role required navigating competing priorities, leading through change, and building alignment across diverse teams and stakeholders.
  • This experience shaped my perspective on executive decision-making, organizational alignment, and the real challenges leaders face when scaling teams and operations.
Cross-Functional AlignmentOperational EffectivenessProject ManagementLeadership Development

VP, IT and HR

Promoted

Jul 2017 โ€“ Aug 2019 ยท 2 yrs 1 mo

  • Built and led integrated IT and HR functions, aligning technology, data, and people strategy to support operational performance and leadership effectiveness.
IT and HR IntegrationOperational PerformanceProject ManagementLeadership Development

Director of IT

May 2013 โ€“ Jul 2017 ยท 4 yrs 2 mos

  • Established and scaled enterprise IT capabilities during periods of rapid growth and acquisition-driven complexity.
Enterprise IT CapabilitiesGrowth ManagementProject ManagementIT Management

Adp

Executive Client Advisory Board Member

Jul 2019 โ€“ Sep 2023 ยท 4 yrs 2 mos

  • Served on ADPโ€™s Executive Client Advisory Board, providing executive-level perspective and feedback to ADP leadership on client experience, service delivery, and enterprise needs.
  • The role focused on representing the voice of senior leaders, advising on priorities that impact large organizations, and contributing insight to help ADP better serve complex, enterprise-scale clients.
Technical OperationsService DeliveryIT Management

Empact it

IT Operations Manager

Nov 2012 โ€“ May 2013 ยท 6 mos ยท Houston, Texas Area

  • Led technical operations teams supporting multiple client environments, building early leadership experience in team management, service delivery, and operational accountability.
Client AdvisoryService Delivery FeedbackExecutive Coaching

Forum energy technologies

3 roles

IT Operations Manager - Global Infrastructure

Jun 2011 โ€“ Nov 2012 ยท 1 yr 5 mos

  • Led global IT infrastructure operations across a geographically distributed organization, supporting business continuity and growth through periods of expansion and increasing operational complexity.
  • The role required managing scale, standardizing systems across regions, and leading teams responsible for enterprise reliability and service delivery in a global environment.
Technical Operations ManagementService DeliveryIT Management

Manager, IT Infrastructure Service and Support

Feb 2009 โ€“ Jun 2011 ยท 2 yrs 4 mos

  • Managed enterprise infrastructure and support functions across multiple locations, building leadership experience in global operations and cross-site coordination.
Global IT Infrastructure ManagementOperational ReliabilityIT Management

IT Manager

Jan 2008 โ€“ Feb 2009 ยท 1 yr 1 mo

  • Early leadership role responsible for managing IT infrastructure across multiple U.S. locations, establishing a foundation in operational leadership and accountability.
Infrastructure ManagementCross-Site CoordinationIT Management

Gmac/residential capital corporation

Systems Administrator

Mar 2006 โ€“ Feb 2008 ยท 1 yr 11 mos ยท Houston, Texas Area

  • Managed IT systems and infrastructure for a regional office, supporting business operations and remote users while building early experience in operational reliability and accountability.
IT Infrastructure ManagementIT Management

Woodforest national bank

Field Service Technician

Jun 2004 โ€“ Mar 2006 ยท 1 yr 9 mos

  • Supported technology deployments for new branch openings across multiple states, gaining early exposure to large-scale operational environments and service delivery.
IT Systems ManagementOperational SupportIT Management

Education

Sam Houston State University

Texas State Technical College

Stackforce found 100+ more professionals with Executive Coaching & Leadership Development

Explore similar profiles based on matching skills and experience