Paul G. Stoltz

Dr. Paul G. Stoltz is considered the world’s leading authority on the integration and application of grit and resilience. He is the author of five international bestselling books on the subject—printed in 17 languages—including the top-selling business book in China, and was voted by HR Magazine as "One of the Top 10 most influential global thinkers," and by Executive Excellence as "One of the 100 Most Influential Thinkers of Our Time." In his newest book, "GRIT—The New Science of What it Takes to Persevere, Flourish, Succeed," he pioneers the first validated construct and method in existence for growing both the quantity and quality of one’s GRIT.

Dr. Stoltz has served as faculty for MIT’s acclaimed entrepreneurship program and for Carnegie Mellon’s distinguished Global Leaders Program, where his AQ and GRIT-related methods and assessments have been used to equip tomorrow’s leaders and entrepreneurs. He also serves on various boards, including the advisory board for DocuSign, and several companies focused on earth rejuvenating technologies. Harvard Business Review selected Stoltz to be a member of their prestigious Board of Business Mentors. Harvard Business School has selected and incorporated Stoltz’s Adversity Quotient® tools and methods into its top-rated MBA and Executive Education programs and is featuring Stoltz’s newest work on GRIT in a new video series for Harvard Business Review. Stoltz has also been a member of Stanford University’s Distinguished Leaders Lecture Series, was selected as the Millennial Thinker for Singapore, “Thought Leader of the Year” in Hong Kong, and is a top-rated international faculty member for the Young Presidents’ Organization. He has guest lectured for Princeton, INSEAD, and Cornell, and has been a featured blogger and author for both the Harvard Business Review and Psychology Today.

Dr. Stoltz has been the founder and CEO of PEAK Learning, Inc., a global research and consulting firm, since 1987, through which he coaches, consults, teaches, and collaborates with top leaders, thinkers, and influencers within a broad range of organizations from start-ups and NGOs to the Fortune 500 on six continents. He is also the founder and managing director of the GRIT Institute and Global Resilience Institute, both worldwide research collaboratives for exploring and advancing the frontiers of human endeavor. Today, GRIT and AQ are the most widely adopted methods of their kind in the world for measurably enhancing one’s resilience, agility, and GRIT—currently in use by industry-leading companies, top institutions, and many governments in 137 countries across six continents. Stoltz is frequently featured in the world’s top media. Examples include major news shows CNN, CNBC, ABC, Sky News, Business News Network, NBC Nightly News, PBS, as well as the biggest daytime shows such as the Today Show, and multiple appearances on Oprah. You will also find Stoltz quoted in the major press, worldwide, including Wall Street Journal, Harvard Management Update, Investor’s Business Daily, Yahoo! Finance, Asia 21, Inc., Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Singapore Straits Times, The Australian Financial Review, Success Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Boss Magazine, The Drucker Foundation’s prestigious Leader to Leader, and other publications. Stoltz coaches the U.S. Olympic Team, has served as faculty for MIT’s acclaimed entrepreneurship program and for Carnegie Mellon’s distinguished Global Leaders Program, where his AQ and GRIT-related methods and assessments have been used to equip tomorrow’s leaders and entrepreneurs.

Dr. Stoltz received his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication and Economics from the University of California, as well as his business, leadership, and social sciences interdisciplinary master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. PEAK Learning’s international headquarters is situated in the coastal mountains of San Luis Obispo, California, where Stoltz resides with his family, who were honored by USA Today as "America’s Most Creative Family."