NEW YORK, NY, February 16, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Julie E. Gilbert, CPA, NACD, NY Private Directors NYC, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

A native of Draper, South Dakota, Ms. Gilbert has built a distinguished, multi-decade career as a transformative growth founder and architect, board leader, and enterprise strategist. For more than 30 years, she has founded, scaled, and advised disruptive businesses across industries—pairing strategic vision with operational execution and disciplined governance. Known for aligning heart, integrity, and inclusion with high-performance growth design and strong operational execution leadership, she partners with CEOs and Boards to unlock sustainable enterprise value.

Ms. Gilbert's introduction to business was rooted in her parents entrepreneurial ventures in South Dakota. When Interstate 90 was constructed through her hometown, her parents undertook the ambitious to extend their B2B oil and gas distribution business to B2C with the launch of a large gas station, restaurant and service operation, among additional and entrance in real estate/construction, and various other product launches. She actively participated in the enterprise alongside her two brothers. This early experience provided her with hands-on exposure to strategic decision-making, risk management, operational execution and talent development, laying the foundation for her future global career building businesses in 5 continents.

Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Full Throttle Growth & Capital

Since 2024, Ms. Gilbert has served as Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Full Throttle Growth & Capital, advising public and private companies on differentiated growth strategy, enterprise value acceleration, and risk-mitigated scale. Drawing on her experience as a Fortune 500 senior executive, serial founder, McKinsey partner, and Deloitte senior manager, she works directly with CEOs and Boards to:

• Design enterprise growth strategies that protect and amplify core assets

• Increase short- and long-term valuation and shareholder performance

• De-risk scaling initiatives and global go-to-market expansion

• Coach leadership teams through execution with operational precision

She is particularly sought after for complex growth environments requiring disciplined governance, strategic reinvention, and bold yet responsible expansion.

Board & Governance Leadership

Ms. Gilbert has deep experience partnering with public and private company boards and CEO's and their teams. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Telestream (since 2025) and holds advisory roles with Roz.AI (since 2024) and Amateras AEA (since 2022). She was named a Top 2025 Private Board Director by Private Company Director and is a regular contributor to their publication.

Her board and advisory work spans:

• Technology, AI, and national advanced technology for threat detection & critical asset security

• Consumer, services, hospitality, luxury, sports and entertainment, media gaming, and creative industries

• Financial services, banking, compliance, and regulated markets

• Healthcare, wellness, and life-adjacent products and services

• Energy, infrastructure, utilities, data centers, and industrial sectors

• Supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture

Ms. Gilbert previously served two terms (including Vice Chair) on the Board of Asbury Communities, chairing the Strategy & Growth Committee and leading Governance. She also served two terms as Trustee of the University of Minnesota and member of its Human Resources & Talent Committee. At the request of Best Buy Founder Dick Schulze, she served seven years on the Board of the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.

From 2020 to 2024, she chaired the Global Women's Connect Board at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, designing and launching the first Women's Executive Speaker Series in partnership with Fortune 500 companies and building the Senior Executive Women's Global Connect Board of Advisors. For this leadership, she received the University of Minnesota Alumni Award of the Year (2023).

She also served on the Board of the Child Neurology Foundation (2016–2023), including leadership on finance and development committees.

She is a Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute (since 2015), recognized for values-based leadership and national impact.

McKinsey & Company

From 2020 to 2024, Ms. Gilbert served as Partner at McKinsey & Company, where she helped stand up and scale the firm's global business-building and growth division. Bringing founder, CEO, and Fortune 500 operator experience, she advised on more than 500 business builds across industries in four years.

She was a global speaker within the firm and launched The Lighthouse podcast to spotlight diverse founders, builders, and investors, as well as hosting The Founder's Club.

Founder & Fortune 500 Operator

Prior to McKinsey, Ms. Gilbert founded and served as CEO and Chair of PreciouStatus.AI (2010–2019), creating a first-of-its-kind encrypted SaaS communications platform serving healthcare, education, and military sectors. The company scaled to users in 178 countries prior to exit.

Earlier, as Senior Vice President of Enterprise Growth at Best Buy (2000–2009), she founded and scaled five industry-defining businesses, including:

• Virgin Mobile USA — first "prepaid phone" product "burner phone" launched with Richard Branson and Sprint, debuting on the New York Stock Exchange

• Magnolia Home Theater — pioneering the "store-within-a-store" retail model for the high end customer

• A wholly owned national high-end design and installation business scaling to 365+ locations globally

• WOLF (Women's Leadership Forum) — the first Fortune 500 global customer-led enterprise reinvention platform

Under her leadership, WOLF generated over $4.4 billion in incremental female revenue in five years and catalyzed enterprise-wide cultural transformation advancing women into leadership roles.

She also led enterprise-wide sales training redesign for 1,850 General Managers and held leadership roles in strategy, international expansion, alliances, and business development.
Her career began at Deloitte, where she was a Senior Manager in Corporate Taxation and M&A, designing innovative restructuring solutions and building new service offerings.

She also served as Chief Growth Officer at Polaris Inc. (2018).

Recognition & Thought Leadership

Ms. Gilbert's growth and transformation leadership has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Time Magazine, and many periodicals, global case studies including IMD Switzerland, and has been referenced in more than 25 leadership books.
She is a three-time TEDx speaker and frequent keynote presenter for Fortune 500 companies (Selected Keynotes: Verizon, Microsoft, Amazon, EXL, PNC Financial, Women in Tech Network) and global board and technology forums.

Selected honors include:

• Top Private Directors to Watch

• Top Women in Business

• Top Fifty Business Leaders

• Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship

• Entrepreneur of the Year recognitions

• Multiple Chairman's Leadership Honors

She is the author of the recent Private Company Director article "Guardrails to Growth" and "How Directors Can Support CEOs Amid Macroeconomic Uncertainty"

She also designed and hosts The Authentic Force Multiplier and previously designed and hosted The Lighthouse while a Partner at McKinsey showcasing the top entrepreneurs and investors globally.

Education & Credentials

Ms. Gilbert earned a MBA in Strategy and Finance and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. She completed advanced coursework in the University's Masters in Business Taxation program: specifically corporate taxation, mergers, and restructuring.

She is an active Certified Public Accountant (Minnesota) and NACD-certified board director.

Civic Engagement

Since 2009, she has partnered with senior military professionals transitioning to civilian leadership through Wolf Inspires Foundation, providing executive coaching, strategic guidance, and professional placement support.

Personal
Ms. Gilbert is the proud mother of an entrepreneurial son. In her personal time, she enjoys regular fitness, music, travel, sports—particularly college and professional football and basketball—cooking, dance, and skiing. A passionate automotive enthusiast, she regularly attends international premier global racing championships and appreciates the precision and performance the sport and the cars represent. She values time outdoors, connection with family and friends, and is a dedicated student of elevating consciousness and lifelong growth.

Looking Ahead

Ms. Gilbert remains committed to building companies that generate sustainable profit while advancing meaningful human impact. She continues to collaborate with leaders who value disciplined growth, innovation, and principled governance—aiming to leave a legacy of financial freedom, responsible technology, and opportunity for future generations.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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