Dr. Joseph Lestrange is the CEO and Founder of VTP Leadership Solutions, a globally oriented consultancy committed to two core missions: helping law enforcement, public safety and national security organizations transform their stated values into consistent, real-world daily practices; and developing leaders at every stage — from emerging supervisors to seasoned executives — through education in value-based and adaptive leadership skills that are essential for navigating the complexities of 21st-century public service.
Previously, Dr. Lestrange served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for METIS Intelligence, North America where he led the development of AI-driven intelligence solutions for law enforcement, public safety, and security agencies. In this role, he also launched METIS Academy to demystify artificial intelligence to decision makers and provide a practical roadmap for responsibly integrating AI into daily operations.
Dr. Lestrange is also a founding Research Fellow at the Future Policing Institute’s Center on Policing and Artificial Intelligence (COP-AI) and serves as a Board Advisor to Crime Stoppers Global Solutions and a member of the Corporation Counsel for the National Police Athletic / Activities League.
Dr. Joseph J. Lestrange served over three decades as a commissioned federal law enforcement officer in multiple international, national, regional, and local leadership roles. In his last year of government service, Dr. Lestrange was appointed as Senior Agency Official to the U.S. Council on Transnational Organized Crime - Strategic Division, created by the President of the United States via Executive Order to develop “whole of government” solutions to complex public safety and national security challenges.
He retired from federal service in June 2022 as the Division Chief of the Public Safety & National Security Division at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Headquarters, where he provided executive oversight for strategic planning, budget formulation, stakeholder engagement, and resource development. In this role, he led multiple law enforcement intelligence, interdiction, and investigation units; oversaw agency programs, federal task forces, multi-agency operational centers; and directed case coordination initiatives across the globe.
To prepare future leaders, Dr. Lestrange is also a Course Developer and Adjunct Professor in Criminal Justice Management, Leadership Studies, Organizational Assessment and Design for Tiffin University’s doctoral programs in Criminal Justice, Global Leadership and Change Management; and an Adjunct Professor at Indiana Institute of Technology’s, College of Business and Continuing Professional Studies for MBA and undergraduate courses in Strategy, Sustainability, Homeland Security, and Emergency Management. He has also supervised doctoral level research and PhD dissertations in the areas of Police Recruitment & Retention, Adaptive Leadership, and Leading Multi-generational work forces.
Passionate about the continued advancement of policing, he is a contributing author to Lexipol: Police 1, authored a blueprint titled “The Way Forward: A Bedrock (25-Point) Plan for Public Safety, Community Investment, and Criminal Justice Reform,” and will soon release a non-fiction book titled “The Next Watch: Four Guiding Leadership Principles for the Future of Policing.”
