About me

A purposeful new chapter

I'm Whitfield Fowler. In May of 2025 I turned in my 2-week notice and walked away from my role as Sr. Director of Operations at a rapidly-growing hardware startup. This was my leap towards a life where I have the freedom to spend time with my wife and daughters, while generating the income needed to pay the bills in the Bay Area. As a coach, I now invest attention in people actively crafting meaningful lives. My coaching practice is born from a commitment to leverage my unique journey to help you navigate yours with greater clarity, purpose, and fulfillment.

My journey from techdev to human development

For years, I've been a "startup guy" at heart and in practice. Since 2010, I’ve navigated the exhilarating and often chaotic terrain of early-stage companies, holding Director-level positions in both Engineering and Operations across four distinct startups: Driptech, Smitten Ice Cream, Resharp, and Olyns. In each case I reported directly to the founders and CEOs, and I understand the burdens they carry. My roles required me to find balance: individual contribution with team leadership, strategizing for the future while battling daily fires, brainstorming new technical concepts and then selecting which had to be cut, and functionality vs operating cost vs time to deliver. At each of these startups, I've had the blessing of using the electromechanical equipment we designed in order to operate the business.

My path has also been shaped by a rigorous academic foundation. At Stanford University, I earned my PhD and MS in the Design Division of Mechanical Engineering. There, I delved into systematic methods for new product introduction. My grad school advisor and mentor was Kosuke Ishii, and my focus was Design for Manufacturability, however, I also had the chance to study Design Thinking in the early days of the d.school, Decision Analysis from the Management Science & Engineering department, Operations at the Graduate School of Business, and a year's worth of mechatronics. It became clear to me that these powerful frameworks for innovation and problem-solving aren't limited to technical challenges – they can be incredibly effective when applied to designing a more intentional and impactful personal and professional life. 

I've also been fortunate to gain broader perspectives from around the world, deepening my belief in our shared humanity: studying sociology and history in the Middle East (Turkiye, Morocco, Egypt, Jerusalem), delivering graduate-level lectures in design at the Graduate School for System Design and Management at Keio University in Yokohama, Japan, presenting research to companies such as Toshiba and Ebara in Japan, and setting up pilot production lines in Pune, India, and Shenzhen, China.

My passion for sharing knowledge also led me to co-create and teach a design methods course with Jonathan Edelman at Stanford in 2023 and 2024. In that course, we began to explore how we might apply the 'technical' frameworks to our personal growth.

These combined experiences have crystallized my core beliefs.

My coaching philosophy

1. Relationships matter more than transactions. In my experience, this holds true in both personal and professional domains.

2. Curiosity is nearly a superpower in today's rapidly changing AI-augmented polarized world.

3. Since our lives are limited, our time and attention become our fundamental currencies, deserving our care-full investment.

4. Given that our experience of the world is perceived through our bodily senses, our physical health is a primary driver of our mental health.

Based on these beliefs, I have a set of affirmations I repeat to myself each morning while doing some light stretching:

• I value my life, health, time and attention.

• I reach out to my family, friends, and colleagues with love, curiosity and acceptance.

• I learn and grow in mind, body, and spirit.

• I create and tend in order to provide for my family, and improve people's lives.

• I play, have fun, and enjoy the present moment and surroundings.

• I face my fears, and take steps to replace my limiting beliefs and behaviours.

This daily personal work reinforces my approach as your coach: to be genuinely curious about you, to value our partnership, and to find deep satisfaction in supporting you as you grow, improve, and craft a life aligned with your own definition of purpose and performance.

What This Means For You

I believe I can help you in your efforts to seek meaning and craft a purposeful successful life. Whether your a startup leader, a manager in an established organization, a person rediscovering themselves in a time of transition, I'll bring real-world understanding, unique systematic frameworks, and authentic curiosity to help you discover a meaningful destination, and navigate your path.

Let's explore how we can work together. Please consider reaching out to me via LinkedIn or booking a Free intro to introduce yourself and discuss how we can begin this journey.

Books and Resources

I love to listen to books. Here's a long list of books that have influenced how I think and experience the world, including some that are just for fun.