Executive leaders face two daunting challenges: the first is solving complex problems for the organization. The second is managing the emotional stress and pressure caused by the first challenge.
Max has over a decade of experience across startups and businesses where his background was in growth strategy, operations, and talent development. To date, Max has coached hundreds of startup founders and CEOs. Max has worn many, many hats and blends his background as an accelerator director, business owner, and executive coach to help leaders unlock their potential through focused coaching and strategy frameworks that scale. Max is based out of Pittsburgh, PA. Outside of work you can find him in his garage shop woodworking, reading through his mountain of books, or bringing people together to host a gathering with cocktails crafted by Max himself.
Max believes that leaders are one of two things for their organization:
Max coaches leaders who aspire to be multipliers.
While Max is an exceptional coach in all areas, he further specializes in:
Alex, is among a rare and special breed of performance consultants whose impact and success are truly battle tested. Upon earning her Master’s in Performance Psychology from Springfield College, Alex provided cognitive training to Special Operation Forces within the U.S. Military — including the U.S. Army Sniper School, Air Force Special Operations and fighter pilots. Additionally, she has worked with some of the nation’s top NCAA Division I athletes, many of whom now
showcase their talents in the professional leagues. This unique background has translated seamlessly into the corporate world where she works with high-performers who confront complex challenges, strategic planning, tactical execution, difficult decision-making, and all of it under pressure to win.
A New Hampshire native, Alex now calls Colorado Springs home, where she enjoys the outdoors and the comforts of home with her husband Raz, twin boys Luca and Nico, and their pup Max.
Alex specializes in:
Shawn is recognized globally as one of the premier executive coaches for scaling performance. His success guiding executives and teams includes companies such as Facebook, Deloitte, American Express, Macy’s, Warner Bros, Chevron and more. What gains Shawn his notoriety is his ability to challenge and push high-performing executives to find additional gears and multiply their impact. The speed and sophistication at which these leaders see results, operate from a higher position and amplify their growth is truly remarkable. Shawn’s methods are steeped in both performance science and first-hand experience. His advanced degrees in psychology allow him to better understand the mindsets, behaviors and struggles of high-performers. And, his years of hands-on management experience, developing teams and expanding practices allow him to do better than just providing theories. Shawn serves as our Director of Coaching where he ensures all of our performance experts demonstrate this same exceptional level of skill, precision and professional knack for pushing top performers and teams to the next level. Shawn lives in Pittsburgh, and beyond work, he enjoys outdoor recreation with his wife, Amanda, as well as coaching various sports for their two boys, Isaac and Reuben.
Shawn specializes in:
Aki Jamal Durham’s uncanny ability to decipher and provide insightful direction to executive management teams that are struggling to navigate growing pains makes him a game changer. The challenge so many organizations face when trying to scale — or go through a succession — is tension among their own people and teams. It’s very similar to in-fighting within a family. This is where Aki’s extensive background in executive coaching, business, counseling and family therapy make a huge impact. Aki’s career has been built on being able to recognize what’s holding back an organization, why a team is struggling to push forward and what “elephants” are not being addressed in the room that will hurt and haunt the organization’s ability to scale with speed. A trained therapist from Liberty University — and steeped in business management (Hampton University) — Aki transforms organizations that are struggling to transform. His 25 years of experience span the globe and range across various industries. Outside of his professional life, Aki enjoys spending time with his family, engaging in sports, and creative endeavors that include writing and acting. He also contributes his time to many community-based volunteer activities.
Aki specializes in:
Internationally recognized among the top 1% of performance consultants, Chris leads our organization to push, scale and accelerate clients through growing pains, so they won’t have to accept the pains and frustrations of not growing. The success of his vision to drive businesses forward spans across the United States and across industries. For two decades, Chris has delivered results and exponential growth for companies that don’t want to become stuck or comfortable in their current positions. This charge has expanded from a single consultant’s mission to building a renowned firm of the most skilled, respected and sought-after performance coaches in the country.
Interestingly, Performance Science, Organizational Psychology and Management Consulting was not Chris’s intended path. A younger version of our founder and CEO graduated Summa Cum Laude from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Fast forwarding to today, his unique background includes the Fox News Channel (NYC & DC), Dale Carnegie, Psycho-Metric Analysis, Positive Psychology under the guidance of world-renowned professors at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania as well as Negotiation Science from M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management.
Although extremely skilled and well educated, it’s Chris’s ability to connect with clients that wins the day. In fact, he ensures this unique dynamic of expertise and engagement translates into everything we do. As Chris says, “From our experts to the client experience — you can expect a personalized process, fueled by science and proven in practice that will scale and transform your enterprise into the organization you need it to become. That’s what we do!”
Chris’s early success came from working with Fortune 500 companies, professional athletes and family-owned businesses. As the firm grew, he noticed mid-cap companies are where growing pains are felt the strongest and the rate of stagnation happens the most. So, today, our firm’s focus is among these mid-cap organizations that have seen success, are primed to grow, fueling for the future but need help to… perform, transform and blast-off.
Holly Lewis, a US Navy Veteran and Performance Coach, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, an MBA in Technology Management, and boasts 30+ years of executive experience — namely with the McKesson Corporation (Fortune 100). With a track record of launching three successful nationwide commercial software packages and leading numerous high-performing teams, her reputation as a corporate intrapreneur is well established. With a career built on driving and delivering results on a deadline, Holly not only knows how to accelerate an organization forward, she also knows the importance of executive health. With numerous advanced certifications under her belt, she is skilled in providing practical solutions that help leaders avoid and overcome executive burnout while transforming their businesses. In her free time, she actively supports The American Legion’s advocacy for veterans, enjoys family time, vegetable gardening, and exploring historic West Virginia with her husband.
Holly specializes in:
Chelsea has worked with organizations like NASA and the Missile Defense Agency, where she has optimized individual strengths, built high-performing teams, and empowered leaders to excel in strategic planning, execution, and decision-making under pressure. Chelsea’s approach focuses on values-driven leadership, fostering cohesive teams that deliver sustainable results.
She specializes in Organizational Leadership and Design Thinking, integrating these methods to drive sustainable growth and development. Outside of her professional work, Chelsea lives in Pittsburgh and enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, daughter, son, and their spirited Great Dane. She’s passionate about skiing, traveling the world, and enthusiastically cheering on her kids from the sidelines.
While Chelsea excels in all areas of leadership development, she further specializes in:
An Air Force veteran with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and extensive operational management experience in a variety of key sectors, Jen has led numerous high-profile projects across the globe. She’s worked closely with executives and business leaders in both the construction and agricultural industries, as well as leading special IT operations within active, international military combat zones. Her diverse background has set her up to excel as the Director of Operations and Finance.
As a key decision-maker for the business and responsible for running the day-to-day operations, Jen will ensure all your needs are met. Guaranteed.
Jen and her husband live in Ohio. They love to spend time with their four children and three grandchildren.
Above all, Shelley has a strong voice for common sense and clarity of purpose. Something all need to be reminded of, particularly Chris.
She’s made stops in the Midwest and Rocky Mountains and now resides in Wintersville, Ohio, where she manages operations for New Image Remodeling and Repair, a company she and her husband own. The couple has two sons.
A native of Southwestern Pa., Betsy completed her undergrad at Washington & Jefferson College and achieved her graduate degree at West Chester University of Pa. She also pursued a certificate in health coaching from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City.
Betsy and her husband are raising their two daughters, and poodle, in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa.
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