About Us
Why Illumin8 Advisors Exists
Illumin8 Advisors was formed around a pattern we kept seeing with capable, committed leaders as their roles grew in scope and responsibility.
The work itself had changed. Their responsibility expanded, stakes had increased, and decisions carried more complexity and consequences than before.
In those moments, effort alone stopped being enough. Not because leaders lacked skill or commitment, but because the context had shifted.
What we saw was how often leaders sensed that something was off before they could clearly name what it was or why it mattered.
Illumin8 exists to create space for leaders to slow down their thinking, make sense of what’s changed, and regain clarity about how they are leading in the role they’re in now, not the one they held before.
This work starts with conversation, not answers, and with understanding, not prescription.
The Founders
Illumin8 Advisors is led by Kevin Ballard and Ryan Petterson. We came to this work through different professional paths, but with a shared understanding of how leadership changes as responsibility grows.
We worked with capable leaders who were not struggling because of lack of effort or commitment, but because the scope of their work had widened and the questions they needed to ask had changed.
Our work begins by helping leaders recognize those shifts, make sense of their situation, and learn new ways of thinking and acting that fit the role they’re in now.
Kevin Ballard
Kevin’s experience spans software engineering, product development, and senior organizational leadership in complex, regulated environments. Much of his work has focused on how leaders create clarity as systems scale, teams grow, and decisions carry broader consequences.
Kevin observed that many leadership challenges emerge when familiar patterns are applied to situations that now require different questions, wider perspective, and greater judgment. He often notices where leaders are relying on approaches that once worked well but no longer fit the scope of their role.
In his work with leaders, Kevin helps create the space needed to slow down thinking, examine assumptions, and learn new ways of making sense of complex situations. His approach emphasizes understanding context first, then developing the skills and practices that allow new insights to translate into more effective leadership.
Ryan Petterson
Ryan’s background includes leading large, distributed teams, building organizations from the ground up, and operating in high-stakes, highly regulated settings. His work consistently required balancing accountability, performance, and human dynamics as responsibility expanded.
Ryan noticed how often leaders were expected to operate at a higher level without being given the opportunity to learn what that level actually demanded. As scope increased, conversations changed, decisions became less direct, and influence depended more on how leaders showed up than on what they knew.
In conversations with leaders, Ryan focuses on helping them see their situation more clearly, understand how their actions are landing, and develop the skills needed to lead effectively at scale. His work emphasizes learning through reflection, application, and practice, so new ways of leading become natural rather than forced.
How We Work Together
We work with leaders by asking thoughtful questions and providing tools that help them make sense of their situation. Those tools are not prescriptions, but ways of seeing, thinking, and learning that leaders can apply in their own context.
As leaders develop these skills, they are better equipped to navigate conversations, make decisions, and choose how to act in ways that fit the scope and responsibility they carry.
Our work is informed by years spent leading teams, building organizations, and operating inside complex environments where decisions carry real consequences.
We have worked across engineering, operations, product, growth, and executive leadership roles, and alongside leaders in regulated, high-stakes, and rapidly changing contexts. These experiences shape how we approach conversations today, grounding our work in practical understanding rather than theory alone.
Affiliations and Experience
Closing Invitation
If you’re navigating a leadership role that feels heavier than it once did, a conversation can help bring clarity.
You do not need to have a specific problem defined, or a clear outcome in mind. Often, the most useful starting point is simply making sense of what has changed and how that shift is affecting the way you lead.
If a conversation feels useful, you are welcome to reach out.