CEO, 5 STAR BDM | Executive & Personal Brand Strategist | Agentic AI-Powered Thought Leadership + Visibility Systems | Host, Follow The Brand™ | BRAVE Blueprint™ | Board + C-Suite Positioning

░▒▓█ GRANT MCGAUGH █▓▒░
I build leaders who are brave enough to be followed—and strategic enough to monetize their authority.

If you’re an executive, founder, or consultant who is highly capable but under-recognized, the issue is rarely talent. It’s positioning, visibility, and a personal brand that doesn’t match your impact.

I’m Grant McGaugh (FHIMSS), CEO of 5 STAR BDM, creator of the BRAVE Blueprint™, and host of Follow The Brand™. Before 5 STAR BDM, I spent 20+ years as an award-winning Business Development Executive in telecom, IT, and healthcare, earning Presidents Club, Gold Sales Champion, and multiple top-performer awards while selling complex cloud and data center solutions.

Today I use that same revenue-focused discipline to help leaders turn expertise into executive presence, market authority, and inbound opportunities through a blend of personal brand strategy, business development thinking, and AI-powered visibility systems.

WHO I WORK WITH
• Executives seeking promotion, board readiness, and C-suite visibility
• Founders and consultants who are still the best-kept secret and want premium positioning
• Healthcare and technology organizations that need a stronger executive story and market presence

WHAT WE ACHIEVE
• Clear, differentiated positioning your market instantly understands
• A recognizable personal brand and narrative that opens doors
• Consistent thought leadership aligned with revenue and opportunity
• More inbound: speaking, podcasts, partnerships, and right-fit clients

HOW WE DO IT – BRAVE BLUEPRINT™
Boldness – own a point of view that makes you the signal, not the noise.
Resilience – turn lived experience into strategic advantage.
Authenticity – originals convert; copycats compete on price.
Vision – lead the market conversation instead of chasing trends.
Execution – build repeatable systems for content, visibility, and relationships that compound over time.

PROOF
• 20+ years as a top-performing Business Development Executive in telecom, IT, and healthcare
• Grew books of business and territories by double and triple digits while closing multi-million-dollar solutions
• Helped leaders go from almost invisible online to daily inbound opportunities, speaking invitations, and 5–10x growth in content reach

WAYS TO WORK WITH ME
• Private Brand Strategy Intensive
• AI-Powered Visibility & Growth Program
• Executive Coaching for Promotion / Board Positioning

Next step: Message me “BRAVE” with your role + goal (promotion, board seat, 7-figure scaling, or authority build).

Or connect with a short note to stay in touch.

Excited to welcome a true mentor and thought leader in healthcare technology and personal branding. This individual has been a guiding force in my journey into podcasting and social media.

With a successful podcast and social media program, plus a role as CEO of 5 STAR BDM, their insights are invaluable. Honored to have this award-winning author and co-moderator as a guest.

Welcome, Grant McGaugh! #HealthcareTechnology #PersonalBranding #ThoughtLeadership #Mentorship #SocialMedia Christopher Kunney, FHIMSS, eFACHDM, MSMOT


Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS

Last March, I left Miami and came home to Omaha.

After 30 years building healthcare technology solutions across the country, I could have stayed in the sun. But when I saw what was happening in North and South Omaha—communities with massive entrepreneurial potential but limited access to the AI tools reshaping every industry—I knew exactly where I needed to be.

The same system failures that took my father's life taught me something critical: real change doesn't happen from a distance. It happens when you show up.

That's why I'm building the Omaha AI Business Accelerator, launching Spring 2026 in partnership with BizHack Academy and the City of Omaha. Our first pilot is sponsored by the Omaha 100 Inc—a powerful statement that local leaders believe in local transformation.

This isn't another "tech for tech's sake" program. It's designed specifically for underserved small businesses—the corner stores, service providers, and entrepreneurs who've been locked out of the AI revolution while watching it transform everyone else's industries.

If you're a small business owner in Omaha, a corporate partner interested in sponsorship, or a community leader who wants to help shape this—let's talk.

This accelerator will prove that AI adoption isn't a coastal luxury. It's an Omaha imperative.

And it starts where I started: at home.

Proud moment for 5 STAR BDM.

Our HQ is now rooted in Omaha’s Enterprise Center—a city quietly becoming a serious force in innovation, finance, and applied AI.

This isn’t just an office.
It’s infrastructure.

From here, we’re building a future-facing AI Business Accelerator for operators, founders, and enterprise leaders who are done experimenting—and ready to operationalize AI for real growth.

Omaha has the talent.
The Midwest has the grit.
AI is the lever.

We’re not watching this shift—we’re building the foundation for it.

If you’re serious about AI as a growth strategy, pay attention.

How the Crucian Christmas Festival showed us the future of cultural media—and why most networks are getting it backwards.

Tempo Networks Anthony Weeks

How the Crucian Christmas Festival showed us the future of cultural media—and why most networks are getting it backwards I just got back from St. Croi

Open article: What Happens When You Stop Broadcasting at People and Start Broadcasting With Them by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 9 min read

What Happens When You Stop Broadcasting at People and Start Broadcasting With Them

A Fortune 500 healthcare executive was 15 minutes from a $2 million HIPAA violation last month—not because her AI failed, but because her compliance team almost stopped thinking.

A conversation I'll never forget by Grant McGaugh | 5 STAR BDM Three weeks ago, I interviewed a Fortune 500 healthcare executive on my podcast. Brilli

Open article: The Three Skills That Will Separate Leaders from Spectators in the AI Era by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 8 min read

The Three Skills That Will Separate Leaders from Spectators in the AI Era

Agentic AI isn’t a trend—it’s a workflow advantage when it’s deployed with controls, metrics, and accountability. Here’s the board-ready framework I use to separate real deployments from hype. - Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS

Agentic Ai Beyond the Hype

AI just stopped being your assistant.

It’s becoming an actor—planning, deciding, and executing at machine speed.

This Tuesday, January 27 at 12:00 PM ET, I’m going live on Follow the Brand TV (LinkedIn Live) with Dr. Djamila Amimer (CEO, Mind Senses Global) to break down what Agentic AI really means for leaders responsible for revenue, risk, and operating performance.

Click Here to View:  https://lnkd.in/gmdus288

If you’re a CEO, COO, CIO/CTO, Head of Ops, or Transformation leader, this isn’t a “future of AI” conversation. It’s a how-to-lead-now conversation.

We’ll cover:

The 3 shifts most leaders are missing (and why 2026 is different)

Where autonomy is safe vs. where it becomes a liability

How to govern machine-speed decisions without killing the speed advantage

The hidden cost nobody budgets for: purpose displacement (and how to redesign work before culture breaks)

Set a reminder and join us live Tuesday at Noon ET.

#AgenticAI #AILeadership #DigitalTransformation #CIO #COO #EnterpriseAI #Governance #FutureOfWork #FollowTheBrand

AI's impact isn't a standalone event; failures occur when responsibility blurs.

As AI adoption accelerates, leaders face pressure to innovate rapidly, often outpacing their grasp of legal, ethical, and strategic implications. This lack of foresight creates real risks. The challenge lies in AI's pervasive influence on decisions, strategies, and interactions.

Governance clarity and strategic thinking are now paramount. #AIGovernance #Leadership #Innovation #Ethics #Strategy

"It took 140 years for the surname 'McGaugh' to mean the same thing for both the white lineage and the Black lineage—that's four generations of brand equity inequality under the same name. Turns out, the most powerful differentiator in business isn't what you build—it's what you're brave enough to remember." - Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS

A Black History Month reflection on leadership, legacy, and the truths we inherit In 1905, my great-grandfather needed witnesses to claim his land. He

Open article: The Dream That Split a Name by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 7 min read

Most companies are piloting AI. Few are scaling it.
Here's why

5starbdm.com

Agentic AI  The NEW OS for Work

"Most people are studying AI. A smaller group is quietly building leverage, assets, and authority—and that gap is about to decide who stays relevant."

Kellen Coleman

How Two Unconventional Strategists Are Building While Everyone Else Is Studying A conversation between Grant McGaugh and Kellen Coleman that nobody as

Open article: AI Won’t Replace You — But Someone Using AI Will by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 5 min read

AI Won’t Replace You — But Someone Using AI Will

Google yourself in ChatGPT. If it can't explain why you're the obvious choice for your next opportunity, you don't exist in the AI era.

When AI answer engines decide who gets discovered, authenticity becomes algorithm currency. Grant McGaugh’s rise from healthcare technology veteran to

Open article: The BRAVE Framework: How Grant McGaugh Built the #1 Personal Branding Podcast and Pioneered Authority in the AI Discovery Era by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 13 min read

The BRAVE Framework: How Grant McGaugh Built the #1 Personal Branding Podcast and Pioneered Authority in the AI Discovery Era

Your brand was built on promises to customers; it will be destroyed by AI decisions you can't explain to the board.

Daniel Ikem Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS #FollowtheBrand

A Follow the Brand conversation that reframes what AI leadership actually demands From the Follow the Brand Podcast with Grant McGaugh, featuring Dani

Open article: When Responsibility Becomes
Unclear: The Hidden Crisis in AI
Governance
 by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 14 min read

When Responsibility Becomes
Unclear: The Hidden Crisis in AI
Governance

Every year, when the trade winds soften and the Caribbean sun hangs just a little lower in the sky, St. Croix awakens to something timeless.

Blair Jackson, PharmD., MSHI, Deonne Francis, MHA and 12 other attendees

Crucian Christmas Festival - A Cultural Experience

Capital Access is the Civil Rights issue of our time - Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS

Governor Albert Bryan Jr. Anthony Weeks

Why the U.S. Virgin Islands Belong in the Black American Story—and Are Emerging as a New Frontier for Trade, Culture, and Opportunity When Black Ameri

Open article: Black History in Motion
 by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 7 min read

Tears of joy are the best kind. It's an incredible feeling when all the hard work pays off and a dream is realized.

Success requires dedication, perseverance, and time. It's also important to prioritize mental health because without a healthy mind, it's difficult to thrive or support others. Uplifting ourselves is the first step in uplifting our community. #Success #MentalHealth #Motivation #Community #SelfCare

The $21 billion gap between companies deploying AI and companies discussing it just became unbridgeable

Inside Amazon's $12.6 Billion Bet on the Future of Intelligence By Grant McGaugh CEO, 5 STAR BDM Picture this: A warehouse robot navigates through fiv

Open article: The AI Trinity: When Machines Learn to See, Think, and Create by Grant McGaugh, FHIMSS • 10 min read

The AI Trinity: When Machines Learn to See, Think, and Create

Agentic AI is transforming AI from a passive assistant to an active planner and decision-maker. This shift changes everything, impacting operating models, risk exposure, governance, and competitive landscapes.

Leaders need to understand how to leverage the benefits—speed, smarter decisions, and efficiency—while mitigating the risks of automation and compliance.

What strategic guidance are executives seeking as AI evolves from simple assistance to proactive action? #AgenticAI #AIStrategy #Leadership #Automation #Innovation

The Daily Habits That Shape Health, Wealth & Relationships”

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Dr. Omega W. Wilson, Dr. Martin Pratt, Ph.D.(Hon) and 8 other attendees

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