A gold and silver logo for vanguard xxi

The Vanguard XXI Mission

Vanguard XXI empowers organizations to assess, develop, promote, and retain high performance leaders of character and build high performance cultures by creating climates of personal, professional, and industry growth through leadership development and professional coaching.

Vanguard XXI Leadership Team

Dr. Anthony Randall

President & Founder Vanguard XXI

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)

  • Dr. Anthony Randall loves to serve people and teams. He transforms leaders and forges organizational excellence through leadership development and executive coaching as Vanguard XXI’s President/Founder. He has taught, trained, and coached over 15,000 professionals across the US Army, Special Operations Units, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division 1 sports, Fortune 100 and 500 companies, health care, higher education, law enforcement, and the church.

    He's spent 27 years practicing high-performance leadership as a Leadership Development Executive, Executive Coach, Army Combat Arms Officer, Army Ranger, Army Chaplain, Ethics Instructor and Curriculum Developer, Senior and Executive Pastor. 


    His leadership coaching courses are credentialed through the International Coaching Federation. He holds seven coaching certifications as an ICF Professional Credentialed Coach (PCC).


    He specializes in confidential executive coaching focused on character, culture, leadership, operations, performance, strategy, and transition. His courses integrate character development, moral, ethical, and strategic decision making, and emotional intelligence.  


    He is a sought after keynote speaker and author of three books and multiple professional journal publications.


    A 1996 United States Military Academy graduate and retired Lieutenant Colonel, he has six combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan with conventional and elite Special Operations units. 


    He holds two master’s degrees (Divinity & Theology) from Denver Seminary and Emory University, and a Doctor of Ministry (Leadership) from Fuller Seminary. He has published two books, multiple professional journal articles, and is a US Army Simons Center Fellow, and Order of St. Maurice (Legionnaire) recipient.  


    A 30+ year martial artist, he holds a Japanese Jujitsu 3rd Degree and Tae Kwon Do 1st Degree Black Belt, Judo Black Belt, and Brazilian Jujitsu Brown Belt. Anthony actively serves in Boy Scouts, and Rotary.  He is a board member for FCA Georgia Wrestling, and Skull Games, a counter human trafficking organization.  He and his wife have been married for 27 years and three children in college, high school, and middle school. 

    Books & Keynotes
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Mike Wall

Senior Vice President of Business Development

Vanguard XXI Leadership Coach

  • Mike Wall is a strong advocate for authentic servant leadership, and he genuinely cares about people. He is passionate about developing competent, highly functioning, and cohesive teams that take pride in their collective accomplishments. Mike is a visionary business development leader and retired Lieutenant Colonel with 28 years of combined military and defense industry experience.

    He spent over half of his Army career within the Special Operations and Interagency communities conducting Ground, Cyber, and Human Intelligence operations. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Mike deployed to various locations including Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa with conventional and elite Special Mission Units. 


    Using strong interpersonal and communication skills, Mike brings an established track record for working effectively with people of all backgrounds, numerous U.S. Government agencies, many different companies, and foreign entities possessing distinct cultural differences. Mike enjoys the business development process, and he understands the importance of forging strong professional relationships, establishing and maintaining trust, and helping customers optimize organizational performance. He is a certified leadership coach as well and currently pursuing his ICF ACC Coaching Credential. 


    In addition to his work with Vanguard XXI, Mike actively supports Samaritan’s Purse (a global non-profit organization) as a member of their international Disaster Assistance Response Team. Mike also serves on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor, and he volunteers as a life group leader for Woodside Bible Church. In his personal time, he enjoys fitness, traveling, watching hockey, and spending quality time with family and friends. Mike has been happily married to his high school soulmate, Heather, for 28 years. They are blessed to be the parents of two grown children, Olivia and Seth. 

Dr. Phil McKinney II

Senior Vice President of Operations

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)

Mentor Coach
Director of Professional Chaplaincy

  • Phil McKinney II has spent over 30 years in ministry, higher education, and leadership, working in discipleship, family ministry, coaching, leadership development, spiritual direction, and pastoral counseling. He is a professional ICF-certified (PCC) life, leadership, executive, and mentor coach and is a certified practitioner of DISC, Motivators, EIQ, and Prepare/Enrich assessment tools.

    He holds four degrees (BA, MA, MACS, and PhD) and has a graduate certificate in Spiritual Direction. He is also a graduate of the Shalem Institute of Spiritual Formation in Leading Contemplative Spiritual Groups and Retreats. 


    He has published articles in the "Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership" and the "Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry." He authored a chapter in the book "Practical Family Ministry" from Randall House, and his book "D2: Becoming a Devoted Follower of Christ" was released in the Spring of 2019. 


    Phil has been married to his wife Angie for over 29 years, and they have three beautiful daughters: Kaylee, Taylor, and Rylie

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Megan Head

Vanguard XXI Executive Assistant

Director of Business and Finance

  • Megan Head serves as the Executive Assistant and Director of Business and Finance at Vanguard XXI, where she excels in fostering team collaboration, optimizing processes, and creating professional environments that drive excellence. With a robust background in administrative support for senior executives at military hospitals, Megan brings a wealth of experience and dedication to her role.

    Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Columbus State University. Her professional journey is further distinguished by her service as a combat veteran and her role as a supportive military spouse. Beyond her professional commitments, Megan is a dedicated mother to her two children, Darius and Janelle. She finds joy in reading, camping, and exploring the outdoors with her family, who currently reside in western New York.

Vanguard XXI Team Members

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Rick Mattson 

Vanguard XXI Director of Corporate & Higher Education

ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC)

  • Rick develops leaders and enables them to transform organizations. He has spent 25+ years leading high-performing teams and co-founded a foreign start-up in Belfast, Northern Ireland for a Fortune 500 company. He is an ICF-trained coach and instructor of coaching for the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership program at Columbus State University. Rick’s corporate expertise is in Strategy Management, Organizational Effectiveness, and Portfolio/Program Management. He is a recipient of the CIO Top 100 Award for delivering large-scale business and technology solutions.

    Rick specializes in confidential executive coaching, leadership and character development, and utilizes the latest coaching research combined with leading coach disciplines in a high-trust, faith-affirming practice.


    Rick earned a master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Georgia and is completing a doctorate degree in Learning and Leadership from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Pastoral Institute and is a men’s small group leader for Church of the Highlands. When he is not serving leaders and his community, he enjoys strength training and competitive swimming. Rick is a husband to Cheri for 23 years, and father to Hannah (21), Renae (19), and Holly (17).

Javier Lopez

Vanguard XXI Coach & Course Facilitator

ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC)

  • Javier is a proven and strategic leader with extensive experience and a comprehensive background in leader development and organizational dynamics. He has spent over two decades leading and developing individuals and high-performance organizations as an Executive Coach, Senior Leadership Instructor, Senior Director, and curriculum developer. Javier served in the US Army on active duty for over 25 years and had distinguished himself as a battalion commander.

     He deployed numerous times and has had considerable experience leading complex organizations in combat and Security Force Assistance missions around the world. Javier achieved a Master of Science in Administration – Organizational Leadership and is a guest instructor at the NATO Security Force Assistance Center of Excellence. Javier has trained and mentored thousands of people and coached hundreds at the executive level. He embraces the talents of the individual to maximize the effectiveness of the organization. His philosophy on leadership is rooted in emotional awareness and ethical and moral decision-making. His strength is in confidential one-on-one coaching relationships.  




    Javier is married to Sue, and they have two daughters: Madison, a recent Kansas State University graduate and elementary school teacher, and Gabi, who is attending Texas Tech University. He enjoys fitness, triathlons, and working on cars.

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Damien Mason

Vanguard XXI Leadership Coach

  • Damien Mason is a dynamic leader, coach, and exceptional communicator who has successfully empowered numerous individuals and organizations to reach new heights of achievement. With 26 years of experience in the United States Army, including 10+ years with elite Special Operations units, Damien has honed his skills in the most challenging environments.

    In 2023, Damien retired from the Army following his role as the Deputy Commandant of the Army Infantry School. Amongst his achievements he implemented all aspects of talent management for Infantry officers to include assessing, selecting, and defining their critical performance tasks. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he is also a certified leadership coach, holding a 61-hour leadership coaching certification, and currently pursuing his ICF ACC Coaching Credentials.


    Known for his ability to maximize individuals' strengths, foster diversity, promote equal opportunity, and inspire teams to achieve success, Damien is a sought-after communicator and thought leader. His expertise in coaching and leadership development has helped organizations and individuals alike to surpass their goals.


    In his spare time, Damien enjoys cycling and is a licensed (non-current) private pilot. He and his family currently reside in Georgia, where they enjoy exploring the community and spending quality time together.

Dr. Art Finch

Director of Executive Selection Program

Operational & Clinical Psychologist

Executive Coach

  • Art Finch, Ph.D., is a highly experienced Consulting Psychologist and Executive Coach. He is recognized as an expert in executive assessment and selection and development of empirically driven selection and training programs as well as team composition, training and performance optimization, leadership development and executive coaching. Art is frequently invited to speak to national and international audiences on personality and wellness, organizational culture, assessment and selection, high performance teams, training development, generational differences, and family and group dynamics.

    Art retired as a Colonel after 23 years of Active-Duty Army service, providing leadership consultation and assessment and selection support for the military’s most elite Special Operations units and other Federal agencies. Art has over twenty combat deployments and is a graduate of the US Army Ranger School.  

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Dr. Nate Zinsser

Human Performance Expert

  • Dr. Nate Zinsser is an expert in the psychology of human performance who consults to individuals and organizations seeking a competitive edge. From 1992 to 2022 Dr Zinsser directed a cutting edge applied sport psychology program at the United States Military Academy’s Center for Enhanced Performance, personally conducting over seventeen thousand individual training sessions and seven hundred team training sessions for cadets seeking the mental edge for athletic, academic, and military performance. This program has been adopted by the U.S. Army for training new recruits, drill sergeants, and tactical units preparing for deployment at twenty-five posts across the US, in Germany, and in Korea.

    Dr Zinsser has been at the forefront of applied sport psychology for over thirty years. He has published scholarly research in The Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, The Canadian Journal of Psychology and in five editions of the widely used textbook, Applied Sport Psychology: Personal Growth to Peak Performance. Dr Zinsser’s latest book, The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide for Unshakable Performance, was released in January 2022. This book has been endorsed by two-time Super Bowl Champion and MVP Eli Manning, bestselling authors Jon Krakauer and Steven Pressfield,  US Olympic Bobsled Head Coach Mike Kohn, and Olympic Champion and Hall of Fame Wrestling Coach Dan Gable.

Vanguard XXI Mentor Coaching Team

Court Whitman

Director of Mentor Coaching

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)

  • Court is a Professional Leadership Coach credentialed by the International Coaching Federation with over 2,000 hours of one-on-one Coaching experience. Court thrives in situations where he is called upon to coach people and organizations that are complex, have challenging problems to solve, and passionately pursue meaning, fulfillment, and results.

    Prior to service as a Professional Leadership Coach, Court served as an Account Executive and as the Manager for Organizational Performance for Teamworks Innovations Incorporated (a B2B SaaS Tech Company) in Durham, North Carolina where he created, funded, directed and served as principal Coach for a corporate well-being & Coaching program self-titled Optimum comprised of 5 distinct lines of effort to enable wholistic employee fulfillment and high performance.  Those lines of effort are: Emotional Fitness, Mental Fitness, Physical Fitness, Financial Fitness and Spiritual Fitness. 




         Court holds a bachelor's degree in International Studies from the Virginia Military Institute, a diploma in Organizational Leadership from the U.S Army Command & General Staff College, an Executive & Professional Certificate in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Well-being from George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-being and is a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret having served multiple assignments overseas as a Manager for highly trained and capable teams ranging in size from 2-180 and during wartime operations. 

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Dr. Kim Zovak

Mentor Coach

ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC)

  • Kim Zovak is an experienced coach, trainer, and leadership consultant working globally with non-profit leaders and organizations. Her passion is helping leaders multiply their impact by reproducing more effective leaders, and supporting organizations to build strong leadership development cultures that better achieve their goals. She is enthusiastic about coaching because she believes it is the best tool she knows to help grow, to develop disciples, and to multiply leaders.

    Those who know Kim describe her as inspiring, enthusiastic and encouraging. After serving as an ordained pastor in the US, she lived abroad for 14 years (in Australia and China). She and her husband Dave currently split time between Los Angeles and Washington DC, as they had adult children on both coasts. She holds an MCC credential with the International Coaching Federation, and is a credentialing assessor, mentor coach and coaching supervisor. She also has 3500+ coaching hours, working with leaders from around the world.

Mike Rauhut

Mentor Coach

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)

  • Mike thrives when serving leaders and teams focused on development and growth. His organizational, executive, and life-transition coaching experience includes for- and non-profit chief executives, business owners, senior executives and their teams, and military leaders. A published author, storyteller, and teacher, Mike speaks professionally and recently concluded creating a coaching program and adjunct teaching at the Army War College.

    A first-generation American and 1989 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mike commissioned as an Infantry officer and subsequently commanded at the platoon-, company-, battalion-, and brigade-level. His 30-year uniformed service includes combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, followed by advising cabinet-level and senior defense, diplomatic, and civilian officials in New York City, Washington, D.C., and overseas.


    Mike holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the International Coaching Federation and is a Halftime® and International Coach Academy® Professional Certified Coach. He also serves as an advisor and board member for non-profits, is a life-member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and holds a Master of Science in Operations Research and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies with highest distinction from the Naval Postgraduate School and Naval War College, respectively.


    Sandy, his best friend and wife of 32 years, and their adult children daily inspire Mike to live out his values: Faith; Family; Integrity; Loyalty; and Service.

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Schedule an introductory call to explore enrolling as a coaching client, or in one of our professional development courses.

I grew more this week as a leader, professional, and coach than I ever thought possible.

Transitioning Army Colonel & Coaching Certification Student

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