Sutton Turner
Sutton brings more than 30 years of executive leadership experience across business, nonprofit, and church contexts, with a particular passion for helping leaders navigate complexity, conflict, and growth with clarity and care.
Sutton served as CEO of 5 organizations across the United States, Qatar, and the UAE. His work spanned real estate, investment, development, operations, and organizational turnaround—often stepping into environments experiencing strain, misalignment, or rapid growth and helping teams rebuild healthy systems, trust, and direction.
One consistent thread throughout Sutton’s career has been leading in moments of tension. He has helped organizations clarify roles, align leadership teams, rebuild culture, and move forward when things felt stuck or strained.
Sutton served as Executive Pastor at two churches during his career: in 2006 at Celebration Church in Georgetown, Texas, and in 2011 at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. He was also a Board Member of Acts29 Church Network. In 2018, Sutton served over 100 of churches and pastors as COO of Vanderbloemen.
Sutton has gained firsthand experience navigating the realities of church governance, elder dynamics, leadership pressure, and organizational health. Those years shaped his deep commitment to helping churches build healthy cultures led by strong, humble, and caring leaders.
Today, Sutton works closely with pastors, elders, and executive leaders as a coach and advisor, with strength in mediation, governance clarity, organizational design, and leadership alignment. His approach is practical, relational, and grounded in real-world experience—not theory.
Sutton is a Certified Professional Coach for LeadingSmart, where he supports churches in need of a reliable guide—particularly during times of tension, transition, or leadership challenges. He helps teams take a step back, listen thoughtfully, and move forward together in healthier ways.
Sutton and his wife, Marci, have been married almost 30 years and have three children: Grace, Faye, and JoJo. They live in College Station, Texas. Sutton serves as a guest lecturer (left picture) several times per semester at Texas A&M's Mays Business School.
Sutton leds Aggie Century Tree, Inc., a nonprofit organization that cultivates seedlings and nursery trees from the historic Century Tree on the Texas A&M campus. All net proceeds from this initiative support Aggie scholarships and student aid.