Who we are...

Todd Cherches
Co-Founder & CEO

*Please visit my brand new personal website! www.toddcherches.com 

*Check out my TEDx talk: "The Power of Visual Thinking."

*And please click here for my book, VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life (Post Hill Press/Simon & Schuster, May 2020)

Todd’s specialty is what he calls, VisuaLeadership.^(R)

Drawing on his unique and diverse background (which features many years of experience in the media and entertainment industries with such leading companies as Ogilvy & Mather, Columbia Pictures, Disney, CBS, and others), Todd is known for his innovative approach to management training, leadership development, teambuilding, presentation skills, and executive coaching which leverages the power of visual thinking and visual communication.

Using a variety of creative techniques involving the use of visual imagery, mental models, metaphor/analogy, and leadership storytelling, Todd has become a thoughtleader in the field of leadership development with a lengthy track record of success in helping business professionals at all levels to maximize their performance, their productivity, and their potential. 

Additionally, Todd is a two-time award-winning Adjunct Professor of leadership at NYU in their School of Professional Studies/Division of Programs in Business where he teaches the top-rated graduate course, "Leadership & Teambuilding” in their Human Capital Management master's degree program. For his track record of outstanding performance and contributions, Todd has been the recipient of a prestigious NYU "Teaching Excellence Award" (2016), as well as an NYU Center for Excellence and Support (CAES) "Impact Award" (2018).

Todd is also a faculty member at Columbia University, where he is a Lecturer on leadership in a number of their graduate programs including the Executive M.S. in Strategic Communication program ("The Practice of Leadership"), and their MFA Theater Program ("Leadership for Stage Managers").

And he is also proud to have been recently certified as a Vistage Speaker.

Prior to co-founding BigBlueGumball, Todd spent three years as the head of the Liquidnet Leadership Institute for industry-leading financial services firm, Liquidnet, where he was responsible for overseeing and facilitating all of their global leadership, management, and innovation training initiatives, as well as creating and overseeing their internal executive coaching program.

Todd's background also includes associations with such top-tier training organizations as the American Management Association (AMA Management Course); Dale Carnegie Training (Leadership Training for Managers); and the London-based Centre for High Performance Development (Executive Development Centre & Leadership Development Centre).

Over the course of his career, Todd has trained and coached thousands of senior-level executives and managers at hundreds of companies in a variety of industries worldwide. Key clients have included 1010data, American Express, Bayer Healthcare, Execu-Search, GlaxoSmithKline, HP, Nikon, the NBA, Siemens, Slice, Spear Physical Therapy, StructureTone, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and many others (please see our full client list).

Todd graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication from the State University of New York at Albany’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

He has been a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), the Organizational Development Network (ODN), the Association for Talent Development (ATD), and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).  

 *Click here for a few brief video samples of Todd in action.

 *Click here to connect with Todd on LinkedIn.

Steve Cherches
Co-Founder & COO

Steve brings with him more than 20 years of business consulting experience from a wide variety of industries ranging from entertainment, publishing and new media to fashion and finance. He works with companies and individuals to maximize their effectiveness as communicators, presenters, influencers, and leaders.

Steve designs and delivers workshops on various aspects of professional development including leadership and management skills, communications and presentation skills, presentation design, innovative and creative thinking, change management, strategic influencing, diversity & inclusion, conflict management, and teambuilding – as well as numerous other management and leadership related topics. Whether working to develop individuals, teams, departments, or companies the basic goals remain the same: to help people maximize their performance, be more effective, more productive, more confident, and more successful.

Steve is also a champion of the “visual thinking and communication” movement, and is the lead organizer, host, and guest speaker for VizThink NYC. Steve is admittedly a Twitterholic and social media enthusiast.

Steve has had the opportunity to work with such industry-leading organizations as Goldman Sachs, American Express, Hearst Entertainment, Viacom Enterprises, Deutsche Bank, RBS, Pfizer, Liquidnet, Mediavest, DialogueDirect, NASFT, and many others.

At the heart of Steve’s approach to training, coaching, speaking, and facilitating, is the idea that learning and growth should be innovative, interactive, experiential, and fun.

Steve has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Binghamton University's Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, and is a member of the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) and the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Steve is frequently a guest lecturer at several educational institutions including NYU's School of Professional Studies (SPS) as well as various graduate programs for Fordham University, where he speaks on the topics of visual thinking and communication, presentation skills, and transformational leadership.