The whiteboard in Brad Hettenhausen’s office tells a story. It’s filled with diagrams, half-erased ideas and scribbled questions—not declarations. That’s because for Hettenhausen, Chief Executive Officer of GadellNet Consulting Services, leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating the conditions where others can ask better questions.
GadellNet Consulting Services, a premier IT provider based in Greenwood Village, has experienced a surge of transformation over the past three years. Under Hettenhausen’s direction, the firm sharpened its identity, enhanced its cybersecurity services and tripled its Colorado-based staff. But ask him about milestones, and he’ll speak instead about mindset: the internal drive to either “Grow or Die”—a GadellNet Consulting Services core value that fuels everything from culture to client relationships.
A Second-Year Titan 100 Honoree, Hettenhausen leads with purpose and momentum. His approach is grounded in curiosity. He studies people, patterns and systems—not to control them, but to understand what makes them thrive. In an industry defined by rapid change, that mindset allows GadellNet Consulting Services to remain nimble and future-ready without losing sight of the people powering it.
In fact, when the company’s trajectory called for a strategic leap, Hettenhausen didn’t just ask what’s next. He asked who needs to be ready. That question led to the development of internal leadership cohorts and a mentorship model that reaches across all levels of the organization. His belief is simple: when people grow, business follows.
One of his most significant accomplishments this year wasn’t just launching a new service or hitting a financial target—it was leading the organization through a phase of rapid scaling while maintaining a near-zero turnover rate. In an era where retention is a major challenge across the tech sector, that speaks volumes about his culture-first approach.
His leadership lesson of the year? Trust over perfection. Hettenhausen has learned that decisive action, taken in alignment with values, often outperforms overanalysis. He encourages his team to move fast, learn quickly and iterate with intention. That environment fosters ownership, not fear.
When it comes to his own motivation, Hettenhausen doesn’t rely on routine. He surrounds himself with passionate people, then makes space to reflect on the deeper impact of the work. He celebrates the small wins, pushes through the tough ones and sees every challenge as a runway, not a roadblock.
Hettenhausen’s dedication to future Titans goes beyond his company walls. He serves as an active mentor and community builder, co-founding peer groups and advising emerging leaders who are charting their own paths. He believes the best measurement of leadership is not what you build, but who builds after you.
The Titan 100 platform, to him, represents more than recognition—it’s a community of doers who inspire progress. He draws from their experiences, shares his own and contributes to a shared ethos of resilience, accountability and bold thinking.
On the surface, Hettenhausen is a chief executive officer. But in practice, he’s a facilitator, an architect of culture and a catalyst for growth. His whiteboard may always be a work in progress—but so is great leadership.
