About Us

Bob Whipple is CEO of Leadergrow Incorporated, an organization dedicated to development of leaders. He speaks on leadership topics and the development of trust in numerous venues. He also has taught leadership and business classes at graduate universities. As a leadership coach and business consultant, he works with individual clients as well as large organizations such as government agencies, corporations, and The Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. A highly successful leader at a Fortune 500 company for over 30 years, Mr. Whipple accomplished revolutionary change while leading a division of over 2000 people through the application of outstanding “people” skills.

Mr. Whipple is a student of the leadership process and has developed unique approaches to achieving excellent results through full engagement of people.

Bob Whipple is author of four leadership books:

  • The Trust Factor: Advanced Leadership for Professionals (Productivity Publications, 2003),
  • Understanding E-Body Language: Building Trust Online (Productivity Publications, 2006),
  • Leading with Trust is Like Sailing Downwind (Executive Excellence, 2009)
  • Trust in Transition: Navigating Organizational Change (Association for Talent Development, formerly American Society for Training and Development, 2014)

In addition, Mr. Whipple has contributed to the following books:

  • Group Dynamics and Team Interventions by Dr. Timothy Franz (Wiley Blackwell, 2012)
  • Trust, Inc.: Strategies for Building Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset, edited by Barbara Brooks Kimmel (Next Decade, 2013)
  • Trust Inc.: A Guide for Boards and C-Suites, edited by Barbara Brooks Kimmel (Next Decade, 2014)
  • Trust Inc.: 52 Weeks of Activities and Inspirations for Building Workplace Trust, edited by Barbara Brooks Kimmel (Next Decade, 2014)

Entertaining and Motivational

His ability to communicate pragmatic approaches to building Trust in an entertaining and motivational format has won him top ranking wherever he speaks. Audiences relate to his material enthusiastically because it is simple, yet profound. He is known around the world as “The TRUST Ambassador.”

Thought Leader

The Trust Across America: Trust Around the World organization named Mr. Whipple one of the top 100 Thought Leaders on Trustworthy Business for five years and he has been awarded their Lifetime Achievement Award for Trust Leadership.  Mr. Whipple received the 2011 BEST Consultant for Learning and Performance Award in the Central New York region of ATD.

He won the Making an Impact Award from NHRA in 2018. He achieved the Lifetime Achievement Award from ATD in 2019 and the Consultant’s Consultant award from RPCN in 2020.

Mr. Whipple has been published in Leadership and Training journals including Leadership Excellence MagazineHR MagazineSales and Service Excellence, and T+D Training + Development Journal. He is a frequent contributor to The Rochester Business Journal and is an active blogger. He was named one of the top 15 thought leaders on the topic of leadership development by Leadership Excellence Magazine. His articles and information about Leadergrow can be downloaded from the corporate website.  Inc. Magazine named Whipple to its 100 Great Leadership Speakers List in 2014.

Education

Mr. Whipple holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Union College, a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University, and a Masters of Business Administration from The Simon School at The University of Rochester.  He is a Management Quality “Black Belt” and has achieved a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) certification from the Association for Talent Development (ATD, formerly American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), re-certified in 2014 and 2020.

Professional Organizations

He is the past Chair of the National Leadership Development Team of the former American Society for Training and Development, now ATD. He is past president of the local chapter of ASTD and served on the National Advisors for Chapters Team for ASTD. He is a founding member of the OD SIG in Rochester. He is also a member of the Rochester Professional Consultants Network (RPCN) and National Human Resource Association (NHRA). He has done volunteer work through SCORE and the United Way. He is now Chairman of the Board of Directors of Elevate Rochester, (formerly the Rochester Area Business Ethics Foundation, RABEF) and  is a Charter Member of the Rochester chapter of Conscious Capitalism.

Mr. Whipple is a member of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Small Business Council. He is a member of the National Speakers Association, a certified Vistage Speaker, and a member of The Global Speakers Federation.

Bob lives with his wife/business partner, Kay, in Hilton, New York, a small town outside Rochester where he has a “gentleman’s farm.” He enjoys doing landscaping and gardening, stained glass art, and woodworking.

Favorite quote:  “The highest calling for any leader is to grow other leaders.”

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