Michael Ventura

Michael is a creative executive, advisor, author, and facilitator whose work explores how people and organizations understand themselves and one another, and how that understanding informs action.

He is the author of Applied Empathy (Simon & Schuster, 2018), which makes the case for empathy as a rigorous and teachable practice. His second book, Constellation Thinking (Authors Equity), publishes in 2027 and challenges the idea of a single North Star, proposing instead that purpose emerges from many points held in relationship.

As founder and CEO of Sub Rosa, an award-winning strategy and design firm, Michael advised organizations ranging from the ACLU, LVMH, and General Electric to the United Nations and the Obama-Biden administration. He has taught at Princeton, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Esalen, and West Point. In a 2025 New York Times op-ed, he examined the limits of empathy, arguing that without accountability it can undermine the trust it is meant to build.

Michael maintains a private practice shaped by his study of Indigenous healing traditions, and serves as board president of the Tribal Link Foundation, which supports Indigenous leaders and their communities worldwide.

Across his work runs a single through-line: bringing intuitive judgment and operational rigor to the moments when people and institutions must confront what is real, take ownership, and move forward with clarity.