First Team
Denise Nelsen
I’m not here to play it safe—I’m here to help people and businesses grow into their best possible selves. I lead with heart, guts, and a sharp eye for what’s possible (even when things look messy). Whether I’m guiding leaders through tough decisions, helping teams reset their culture, or a brand through big, bold transformation—I bring clarity, calm, and a little fire to the table.
I’ve spent 20+ years leading at the highest levels—most recently as CEO of Smashburger, where I helped reignite the brand and build a powerhouse team. Before that, I spent nearly two decades at Starbucks leading billion-dollar businesses, navigating crises (hello, pandemic), building inclusive cultures, and mentoring leaders at every level. If you want someone who knows how to scale, steady the ship, or flip the script—I’ve been there. I’ve done it.
But here’s what really drives me: I’m obsessed with unlocking potential—in people, teams, and brands. I believe leadership is human, culture is everything, trust is integral, and the best strategy in the world means nothing without people who believe in it. I work with founders, executives, and companies who are ready to grow on purpose—not just for the bottom line, but for the long haul.
Also, I’m a certified yoga teacher, which means I bring as much presence and breath as I do business acumen. I’ve been called a “calm force in the chaos,” a “real one,” and once—my favorite—“the exec I’d most want in a foxhole.”
If you’re looking for a straight-shooting, big-hearted partner to help you grow, evolve, or just figure out what’s next, I’m your person.
Co-Architect
Executive Whisperer, Culture Shifter,
Growth Junkie
Jen Randle
Jen is a strategist, systems thinker, and cultural architect whose work makes one truth clear: trust is the business multiplier.
As a Co-Architect of SGNL, Jen partners with organizations navigating crucible moments—when trust is fractured, alignment is unclear, and the next chapter demands more than a surface fix. She activates Brand Trust Networks: strategic, cultural, and behavioral systems that allow organizations to move with integrity and coherence—inside and out.
Her perspective is simple but profound: strategy stalls without trust. Culture fractures without trust. Capital erodes without trust. Jen’s work builds the conditions where trust doesn’t just hold, it compounds—turning bold ambition into enterprise value.
Her portfolio includes transformative work with companies like Nike, Pinterest, Virgin Brands, Juul Labs, WeWork, and Starbucks. Notably, in 2018, she guided Starbucks’ response to a racially charged incident in Philadelphia, shaping an unconscious bias conversation for 175,000 employees across 8,000 stores. A system-wide intervention to begin repairing trust.
Beyond organizational systems, Jen is the creator of Intrinsic Wayfinding. A practice that helps individuals realign with their internal compass. This work is uniquely personal: a space for clarity, wholeness, and alignment that doesn’t have to translate into an org chart or a shareholder report. It belongs to the individual.
Her organizational work, by contrast, is both systemic and human—rooted in the belief that lasting change only takes hold when trust is present: between leaders and employees, companies and customers, investors and markets.
A native Californian, Jen now lives on the coast with her two pups, where ocean air, nature, and community are her sanctuary.
Co-Architect
Strategic advisor, systems thinker, and cultural architect focused on aligning identity, leadership, and trust—at scale and in self.
