CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Engagement Manager
Alessa Natale is an Engagement Manager at CLA, where she leverages her expertise in industrial-organizational psychology to empower leaders to transform themselves, their teams, and their organizations' culture and employee experience. Prior to CLA, Alessa worked in Talent Management at Johnson & Johnson with a particular focus on Assessment, as well as in Pfizer's Learning & Development practice. Alessa has experience coaching at a variety of levels, with a particular focus on leveraging assessments, interviews, and science-backed practices. She has taught courses in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Psychology of Career Development and Planning at Baruch College.
Alessa holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, where she focused on the integration points between positive psychology, leadership, development, and DEI. Alessa is a certified team coach and active contributor to industry conferences and has taught academic courses in industrial-organizational psychology and the psychology of career development.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Consultant
- Senior Consultant at Contemporary Leadership Advisors
Andrew Munts is a Senior Consultant at Contemporary Leadership Advisors. Andrew has over 25 years experience helping executives get the best out of their teams and organizations, advising and working with them through the full-cycle of strategy, organization design and change leadership to deliver exceptional results. He has worked extensively in the health, technology and services sectors, from start-ups through Fortune 500 companies. Previously, he was with Mercer Delta Consulting (later Oliver Wyman Delta) focusing on strategic organizational design and change. He also held leadership roles at SMS (Heath Information Systems), including Organizational Effectiveness Practice Manager and Decision Support National Sales Manager. Andrew holds an MA with honors in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and a BA with honors in Economics from Brown University. He also received certificate degrees from the Université de Grenoble for his French studies.
Anika Gakovic is a trusted coach and business psychologist who helps leaders and their teams to achieve results for their organizations. Through advising leaders, building team capabilities, and advancing talent management, Anika has been enabling organizations achieve their mission, and their leaders and teams better serve their customers. Distinctive ability to problem-solve and deliver learning and change solutions that create impact based on client priorities. Highly regarded for building long-term relationships, navigating stakeholder complexity, and adapting to ambiguity to deliver results.
Anika has twenty years of experience building skills and creating change in high-performing enterprises. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Anika modernized learning and enabled the people side of digital transformation for the organization. Previously at JPMorgan Chase Leadership Edge, Anika designed and delivered global management programs to drive culture. At OppenheimerFunds and New York Life Insurance Company, she enabled strategic alignment through coaching executive leaders and high potentials, salesforce transformation, and facilitating senior team offsites. At HSBC Private Bank and UBS Wealth Management, Anika created and implemented professional development, employee engagement and change solutions. Anika served on the Board of Directors for New York HR Planning Society (NYHRPS) and participated as a coach for the Entrepreneurs Challenge Competition at New York University Stern School of Business.
Ann is an executive coach and business psychologist specializing in selecting C-suite leaders, executive transition, succession planning, team development, and cultivating long-term leader success. Previously, she was a Principal with Green Peak Partners, focusing on organizational effectiveness and leadership selection for the private equity industry. Earlier in her career, she was the Managing Director at TalentQuest's Atlanta, where she led the consulting practice. Ann holds a PsyD in Clinical Psychology and an MBA, both from Widener University and a BA from the University of Michigan. Ann is a licensed psychologist and serves as a Board member for the Society for Consulting Psychology and the Alexcel Group. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, the Society for Military Psychology, and the Society for Sport, Exercise, and Human Performance Psychology. Ann is an Ironman athlete and brings her endurance mindset, focus, and energy to her work.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Executive Assistant
Ashli Brown is a highly organized experienced assistant with a decade of success in professional office executive assistant positions. With a track record of strong performance in high-volume, high-pressure environments, Ashli skillfully manages administrative duties and client relations for the CLA Partners. Coupled with being a team player, she believes in the bigger picture; "When One Succeeds, We All Succeed." As an Executive Assistant, she ensures the smooth operation of the firm with her robust "can - do" approach and efficient handling of client inquiries, meetings, and timely access to the partners as required. Ashli also provides support to the firm in fulfilling their need for a design specialist and offering assistance for seminar presentations.
Benett Gigl is Principal at CLA where he leverages his expertise in organizational effectiveness and psychology to help executives, teams, and organizations increase their leadership impact during periods of change and growth. Using a consultative and data-driven approach, Benett has designed and implemented large scale interventions focused on learning and development, performance management, and leadership development. He is also a key member of CLA's executive assessment practice. Prior to joining CLA, Benett worked for Slalom Consulting in their Organizational Effectiveness practice and YSC. Benett holds a MBA in Organizational Effectiveness/I-O Psychology from CUNY's Baruch College.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Business Strategist and Partner
Bill is a business strategist and Partner at CLA. He combines the experience and skills of a business executive with management psychology best practices to achieve significant, lasting operating improvement for clients. In addition to his work with CLA, Bill is a Partner with the Windale Group, a retained executive search firm, and with Gallup Hill, LLC, a strategic advisory firm. Among his roles prior to joining CLA, Bill was: Adjunct Consulting Expert with AlixPartners' Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness Practice; Partner with Fisher Rock Consulting; CEO and Chairman of RadioWave, Inc., a media software firm that spun out of Motorola; Operating Affiliate at McCown DeLeeuw, a leading private equity firm; CFO and co-CEO of Broadcasting Partners, Inc., a publicly held major market radio company; and Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Co. Bill is a member of the National Council of Corporate Directors and serves on Boards of: 1105 Media; Young Audiences, Inc.; the National Council for the Traditional Arts; City Lore, Inc.; The Osborn, Inc.; and The Rye Nature Center. He is the author of multiple books and articles and was a guest lecturer at Harvard University for 5 years. He received his MBA with highest honors from Columbia University and his MA in Music with highest honors from Wesleyan University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Consultant
Christine Fernandez is a Senior Consultant at CLA, specializing in executive leadership assessment and development, as well as organizational development (OD), and talent measurement. She also has extensive experience in competency modeling, 360-degree feedback, engagement surveys, linkage research, customer loyalty, ROI studies, executive coaching, and succession planning. Prior to joining CLA, Dr. Fernandez was the Head of Organization Culture and Effectiveness at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, as well as the founder her own boutique human capital consulting firm. Dr. Fernandez is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and past president of The Metropolitan New York Associate for Applied Psychology (METRO).
Cybelle Lyon is a Senior Advisor at CLA, specializing in leadership assessment and development and executive coaching. In addition to her coaching expertise, she is also highly experienced in broader solutions such as competency modeling, and developing selection, leadership development, change management, and succession planning systems. Prior to joining CLA's faculty, Dr. Lyon worked for specialized firms, large global companies, and for a private equity firm where she was responsible for the assessment of CEOs and other C-Suite executive. Cybelle holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Portland State University. She has presented on topics such as ROI of leadership development, succession planning, personality assessment, 360-degree feedback, and leadership derailment. Dr. Lyon is also a member of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Dan is a consulting psychologist and Managing Partner at CLA, where he serves as trusted advisor to C-Suite executives, boards, and investors. Dan has extensive experience assessing executives for both selection and development. In addition, he works with senior leadership teams to optimize team performance and align companies around vision, mission, and strategy. Prior to co-founding CLA, Dan was a founding member of AlixPartners' Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness practice, where he served on the Senior Leadership Team and led the team development practice, and was co-founder and Managing Partner at Fisher Rock Consulting. Dan completed postdoctoral studies and was a faculty member at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of California, San Diego. In addition to being a past board president of the Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology, Dan is an active member in the American Psychological Association's Society of Consulting Psychology and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences.
Dana is a Senior Advisor at CLA. Since 2006, she has led HR and other functions for publicly traded companies (CapitalSource, American Capital, Hannon Armstrong), focusing on advancing culture, strategy, and organizational development. Additionally, she led human resources at subsidiaries of Constellation Energy and Sylvan Learning Systems and worked in various positions domestically and overseas for Citicorp earlier in her career.
Dana has developed Board members and executives to manage change, improve organizational performance, and increase profitability. Her extensive corporate experience and empathy provide her with multiple lenses to appreciate and support her clients' aspirations. She helps leaders sharpen their own resilience and agility by bringing her deep listening skills and rich business background to the coaching relationship.
Dana holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in Organizational Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Engagement Manager
Dan Flowers is an Engagement Manager at CLA, where he brings his expertise in organizational effectiveness and talent development to bear to help leaders, teams, and organizations maximize their people power. Dan applies a consultative approach and systems thinking to help design large-scale interventions focusing on leadership development, talent management, and culture and engagement. Prior to joining CLA, Dan wore a number of different hats at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, with a majority of his time embedded in the Organizational Effectiveness team. Dan holds a Masters of Science in Social Work from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Consultant
- Operations and Technology Executive, Board Member and Advisor
Dave is a seasoned operations and technology executive, board member and advisor with broad experience in transforming the performance of companies to achieve significant growth and profitability. Dave is know for leading teams to scale companies for growth through talent selection and development, process engineering and automation. He has many experiences in improving underperforming assets and addressing service and quality performance issues. He has worked to move companies in digital transformation by enhancing data acquisition and analytics capabilities and introducing new workforce models.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Consultant
DeMarcus is a Senior Consultant and Faculty Member at Contemporary Leadership Advisors (CLA) where he consults with Fortune 100 organizations around strategy, business culture, and leadership. With over a decade of advanced training and applied experience in the field of organizational development, DeMarcus is a skilled research-practitioner, trusted advisor, and effective collaborator with a genuine passion for talent and leadership development as well as efforts geared towards diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Devoted to the development and ultimate transformation of his clients, DeMarcus helps individuals, teams and organizations learn and develop so they can more readily identify, pursue, and achieve the positive and sustainable changes they desire.
Before joining CLA, DeMarcus served as a strategic thought partner and trusted advisor to frontline-, mid- and senior-level leaders at numerous organizations across the technology, higher education, government, consumer products and retail, not-for-profit, pharmaceutical, and financial services industries. Most notably, he has had the distinct privilege of supporting leaders at reputable organizations such as AbbVie, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), athenahealth, Bayer, Cisco, Columbia University in the City of New York, Danone, Discovery Inc., the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Nike, Tiffany & Co., the United Nations, KPMG, the US Department of Labor, GlaxoSmithKline, OppenheimerFunds Inc., UCB, and the City University of New York (CUNY).
DeMarcus earned an undergraduate degree in psychology with honors from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and a Ph.D. in social-organizational psychology from Columbia University in the City of New York. In addition to his various consulting and coaching engagements, DeMarcus also devotes a significant portion of his time supporting and nurturing the next generation of leadership and team coaches through his work as an Adjunct Professor in the Social-Organizational Psychology Program at Columbia University in the City of New York.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Consultant
Don is a Senior Consultant and Faculty Member at Contemporary Leadership Advisors (CLA) where consults with Fortune 100 organizations around strategy, business culture, and leadership. In addition, he conducts executive assessment designed for selection, fit-for-role, and professional development. His most recent book, ‘The Phoenix Factor: how to be an indispensable contributor in a post-pandemic business world', focuses on how individuals can advance their careers and contribute to their organizations by leveraging their talent and optimizing their luck.
Before joining CLA, Don was the founder of a national consulting business (Interpersonal Skills Laboratory) with specific focus on: high-performance team and organization behavior, building effective management and supervisory skills, and change management processes. More recently he was a managing consultant for an international business consultancy practice based in New York and London, working with global clients across oil and gas, financial, high-tech, and pharmaceutical industries.
Don earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from Rice University, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Texas. He completed post-doctoral training in organization development at the NTL Institute. He has been adjunct professor in MBA programs at Rice University, University of Houston at Clear Lake and Texas State University and is a licensed psychologist. When he is not at work, Don collects antiques, art and vintage books. He plans to open a vintage book and vinyl shop in the small Texas hill country town where he lives.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Business Psychologist and Senior Advisor
- Member of the Society of Consulting Psychology
Dr. Harry Dellane is a Business Psychologist and Senior Advisor at CLA with over twenty-five years of experience in executive development, human resources, and consulting roles. Harry's work focuses on executive assessment, coaching, and integration; senior team effectiveness; and organizational development. Harry works with complex, multisite, global organizations at different organizational levels and across functional disciplines, with extensive experience in financial services, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, education, insurance, and technology. His clients include Fortune 500 businesses, non-profits, and educational institutions.
Harry received a doctoral degree in Organizational Psychology from Rutgers University, an MS in Human Resource Management and Organizational Development from the New School for Social Research, and a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Delaware. He served in the United States Army for five years, attaining the rank of Captain. His assignments included postings in the United States and Frankfurt, Germany.
Harry is a member of the Society of Consulting Psychology; the Society for Human Resource Management; the New York Center for the Study of Groups, Organizations and Social Systems; the NY Association for Psychological Type; and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Job Titles:
- Organizational Psychologist
- Senior Advisor
Dr. Jonathan Levine is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist and human resource (HR) professional with over 20 years of experience in nearly all areas of HR. Dr. Levine has worked internally for organizations, such as British Petroleum (BP), on high profile projects such as the company's global competency management and assessment program intended to increase safety, develop leaders, and ensure a reliably operational workforce. Jonathan has deep expertise in assessment, selection, leadership development, competency modeling, performance management, and career exploration. Past clients include Peterbilt, Bloomin' Brands, Google, the Human Resource Management Center, the US Navy, the City of Nashville, and Monster.com. Jonathan received his PhD and MS degrees, both in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, from North Carolina State University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Consultant
Ed Betof Ed.D. is a Senior Consultant at CLA, where he specializes in talent and organization development, leadership development and executive coaching, with particularly deep expertise in the life sciences sector. Ed is currently serving a several year term as a guest member of the Management Committee at The Conference Board (TCB) as well as Program Director for TCB's Executive Council on Talent and Organization Development. For several years, Ed was the coach/facilitator for TCB's Global Executive Council. Ed also served as a Senior Fellow, Human Capital for four years at The Conference Board. He was a co-developer of the pioneering TCB/NASA leadership experience based upon NASA's Apollo program. Ed is also an adjunct executive and team coach for the Center for Creative Leadership and teaches for Penn State's Executive Programs. He has been a faculty member with the Institute for Management Studies since 2008 and was a founding Senior Fellow and an Academic Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Chief Learning Officer doctoral program. Previously, Ed spent 40 years in corporate and educational leadership work, having retired in 2007 from BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) a global medical technology and life science company, where he was the Worldwide Vice President of Talent Management and Chief Learning Officer. Prior to BD, he held senior roles at Hoffmann-LaRoche Pharmaceuticals and the Reliance Insurance Companies. From 2004 to 2007, Ed was an ASTD Board member and chaired the executive committee of The Conference Board's Council on Learning, Development and Organizational Performance. From 2008 to 2015, he served on Pennsylvania State University's Outreach Advisory Board. Ed has authored or co-authored several dozen articles, manuals and guides, including Leaders as Teachers: Unlock the Teaching Potential of Your Company's Best and Brightest (2009) and Just Promoted: A 12 Month Roadmap for Success in Your New Leadership Role (1992, 2010). He holds a doctorate from Temple University.
Erik is a Principal at CLA, where he works with Fortune 500 enterprises and PE-backed portfolio companies to enhance organizational effectiveness and improve the performance of senior leadership teams. In 2021 Erik's consulting work with Verizon was awarded the only Brandon Hall Gold Award for Executive Education. Prior to joining CLA, Erik worked for Sandra Hartog & Associates/Fenestra (now BTS) and taught classes in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Social Psychology at Baruch College. Erik earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. His doctoral research applied intervention strategies to cultivate healthier communication norms and a greater degree of trust between members of newly formed virtual teams.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Consultant
Glory is a senior consultant at CLA, where she brings more than 30 years of experience working with business and Human Resources executives and their teams. She has extensive experience in change management and organizational design. She also has led global human capital strategy and execution for companies during periods of growth and transformation. Previously, Glory was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase, holding key HR leadership roles in Investment Banking and Corporate HR functions. While there, she led major HR integration efforts for global capital markets divisions following the mergers of Manufacturers Hanover/Chemical banks, Chemical/Chase and Chase/JP Morgan banks, as well as HR policy integration company wide following the merger of JP Morgan Chase and BankOne in 2004. More recently, she served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for E*TRADE Financial Corporation and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., where she led change initiatives across HR, optimizing HR operational performance and impact with the business. In these capacities, she has successfully partnered with senior leaders to address management and organizational challenges, helping them maximize team performance and develop their bench strength. Glory is known for her ability to assist leaders in devising and implementing strategies that improve operating results and enhance cultures. Glory holds an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Douglass College of Rutgers University and an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Greg is an executive coach and consultant who accelerates and improves the effectiveness of leaders, teams and organizations. Previously, Greg served as VP of HR & Executive Development at Johnson Controls, lead the Leadership & Talent Practice at Hay Group (now Korn Ferry), and was a senor consultant at RHR International. Greg holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from The University of North Carolina and a BA in Psychology from Harvard University. Greg is an active member of the American Psychological Association and past President of the Society of Consulting Psychology.
Guillermo Borda is a Senior Advisor at CLA, where he counsels the team on private equity, venture capital and capital formation strategies. Guillermo is an experienced venture capital and private equity professional having spent most of his career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in California and Texas. Prior to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Guillermo started his career with Citigroup in New York City. Guillermo has held a variety of venture capital and private equity roles, including managing capital via large fund-of-funds for the four largest public pension funds in the US. Guillermo's expertise centers on raising institutional capital, investing in venture and private equity funds and directly in portfolio companies, as well as coaching and supporting CEOs, company builders, and management teams in creating valuable enterprises. He has been a board member of various venture and private equity funds. Guillermo holds an MBA and B.S. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin. Guillermo is also a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute in Atlanta, Business Valuation Executive Program at Rice University and is an Advisory Board Member of Claremont Graduate University Peter F. Drucker's Financial Engineering Program in Claremont, California.
Gwen has always focused on "people side of business" - as a clandestine CIA HUMINT (human intelligence) officer, in the private sector as a change consultant supporting leaders through M&As, then as a leadership growth consultant, strategist and executive/team coach. She helps executives navigate the complex intersections of relationships, global perspectives, and results.
With her expertise in elicitation and intelligence gathering, adult learning and growth, organizational change, global cultures, and strategy, she specializes in developing leaders and teams who can navigate leadership complexity and decision making. Gwen has over 25 years of international and cross-industry experience (Chevron, Capgemini, Dropbox, IDEO U, Kone, Meta, NASA, Ovintiv, Southern California Edison) and internally (PwC, Stantec and the CIA). Gwen provides solutions including, but not limited to, executive and team coaching, team effectiveness, strategy, innovation, culture enhancement.
Gwen holds the International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification, advanced certifications in team psychological safety, and the Leadership Circle 360 feedback tool. Gwen is trained to conduct adult development assessments that help executives identify how to expand and deepen their perspectives and problem solving approaches. She is also certified in the recently released personality assessment from Ray Dalio and Adam Grant, PrinciplesYou. Gwen holds M.A. degrees in both Adult Development and Human & Organizational Systems.
Gwen has traveled to over 55 countries, from Armenia to Zimbabwe, and lived in seven. She provides pro bono services in her community to Refugee & Immigrant Transitions (RIT), and Purplestride, the walk to fight pancreatic cancer. When Kabul fell to the Taliban in August of 2021, Gwen volunteered as the US-based intel liaison, managing the messaging and morale among the special ops ground team, the US-based support team, those being rescued and their families stateside. Seven people were successfully evacuated, including an Afghan friend and her family members.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Advisor With
Haris is a Senior Advisor with CLA and specializes across strategy, organizational change, and leadership effectiveness. He has over 25 years of consulting experience in advising global organizations on their transformation journeys. He is well versed in operating globally and culturally sensitive in how he approaches client engagements. He has successfully partnered with companies of different sizes, geographies, industries, and stages of evolution. Haris has coached over 100 leaders and has assisted many leadership teams on their journey to become high performing. He has deep sector experience in pharmaceuticals, financial services, and professional services. Haris enjoys long-tenure advisory relationships with several CEOs, C-suite, and Business Unit leaders.
He founded Pragmatium Consulting Group, a global boutique advisory firm based in Chicago in 2009 where he currently serves as CEO. He has served as an Adjunct Consulting Expert with Alix Partners' Organization and Leadership practice. Prior to establishing Pragmatium, Haris was a Principal with Oliver Wyman, a Senior Consultant with Aon Hewitt, a Consultant for Towers Watson in their Organization Effectiveness practice and for PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Management Consulting practice.
Haris' clients have included: Abbot Laboratories, AlixPartners, Allstate Corporation, Astellas Pharmaceuticals, Booz Allen Hamilton, City of Chicago, Inland Real Estate Group, Independence Blue Cross, Internal Revenue Service, Johnson & Johnson, MGM International, Motorola, Pitney Bowes, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Unilever, and United Airlines.
Haris has an MBA (cum laude) from the University of Notre Dame with a focus on strategy and leadership and a BA in economics and international relations from New York University (NYU). He has completed advanced leadership certifications including Executive Integral Leadership (EIL) and Vital Leadership Advantage (VLA). He is an active member of Organization Design Forum (ODF) and serves on a couple of not-for-profit Boards.
Jack is a senior advisor at CLA specializing in team effectiveness, talent management, leadership development, organizational assessment and change management. He has led key organizational development functions at both the enterprise and business/function levels for a wide range of Fortune 500 organizations, primarily in financial services.
Prior to transitioning to consulting, Jack was a Senior Vice President at Citizens Bank, initially leading their firmwide organizational development and assessment practice during Citizens' 2014 IPO before taking on a role leading OD for corporate functions including technology, risk management, finance, legal, and audit. Before joining Citizens he led the talent management/leadership development practice at UBS for the Wealth Management Business and subsequently at the enterprise level. Prior to that he worked for 10 years at JPMorgan Chase, leading HR integration committees during two mergers - JPMorgan/Chase and JPMC/Bank One. In addition to the merger work at JPMC, he designed and facilitated numerous senior leadership team offsites focused on strategic alignment and team effectiveness in his role as head of talent management and leadership development for a large corporate banking division. Through the earlier part of his career he also held various leadership roles at Prudential, Booz-Allen & Hamilton, MetLife, and Citigroup.
Jack has a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Ohio State University and a B.A. in Psychology from City College of New York.
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant
- Senior Consultant at Contemporary Leadership Advisors
Jaymee Frole is a Senior Consultant at Contemporary Leadership Advisors (CLA). Before joining CLA, she worked with nonprofit and social service agencies in crisis management and development. Jaymee holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Fayetteville State University. She earned her M.B.A. from Western Carolina University, where she received the 2021-2022 M.B.A. Outstanding Graduate Award from the College of Business and was selected as the Fall 2021 commencement speaker.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- International Coaching Federation Certified Coach
- Senior Advisor at Contemporary Leadership Advisors
Jeff is a Senior Advisor at Contemporary Leadership Advisors, as well as the founder of CoreChoice, a leadership development company. For over 35 years Jeff has been helping individuals, teams and organizations achieve their objectives. Through his coaching practice Jeff works with teams and executives (from the C-suite and down), managers and professionals in a range of disciplines and industries, including life sciences, health care, financial services, energy, real estate, entertainment, professional services and government to achieve breakthroughs in their development and performance.
From a philosophy standpoint, Jeff understands that everyone of his clients is unique but that success starts with (1) caring about them as people and their aspirations and (2) building the trust that allows them to explore their challenges and develop the strategies to move forward. His clients appreciate his rigor, passion, goal orientation, candor and humor; and that he helps them deepen their insight, connect to their values, shift their perspectives and sharpen their resolve. His coaching and leadership skills are informed by his extensive corporate and professional experience, including leading legal and other corporate functions at significant public companies and serving on the Boards of both public and non profit organizations. In addition, Jeff keeps his coaching skills sharp by instructing in the coaching certification programs run by Rutgers and Amercian Universities and his work in the Buccino Leadership Institute at Seton Hall University. Jeff has also coached in the Executive MBA program at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Management.
While Jeff's clients require him to keep their names confidential, he works for some of the largest companies and professional service firms in the U.S. His engagements include helping the C-suite, including the CEO, of a health care system elevate their leadership of their respective teams: numerous engagements with a Fortune 50 pharmaceutical company in R&D, manufacturing, strategy, public policy, medical affairs, finance, legal and other areas; several Group Presidents of a Fortune 10 company increase their enterprise leadership; the President of an S&P 500 energy company increase his impact with the Board and optimize his team's performance; the General Counsel of a well respected publicly traded consumer products company elevate the leadership of his team and followership; the COO of of a joint venture energy company increase his focus and strategic impact; and multiple assignments with partners of a very large consulting firm improve their team leadership and followership.
Jeff is an International Coaching Federation certified coach. Prior to forming CoreChoice, he was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation and Covance Inc. (a spin out from Corning Inc. that he co-led). He also led the Life Science practice of the Princeton office of Wilmer Hale (formerly Hale and Dorr) and was previously a Vice President and General Counsel of the pharmaceutical service group of Corning Inc. He started his career at the Wall Street law firm Shearman & Sterling. Jeff is also extensively involved in philanthropic organizations, including his Chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's New Jersey Chapter, his service on the All Stars Project's New Jersey Board, which works with disadvantaged youth, and his association with the Climate Reality Project, which is dedicated to education and advocacy about climate change. Jeff graduated magna cum laude with a B.A from the University at Albany and manga cum laude with a J.D from the Boston University School of Law, where he published several articles.
Laura is an executive coach and Senior Advisor at CLA, where she empowers purpose driven leaders to build exceptional teams. She joined CLA's Faculty after a successful 15 year career at Genentech where she held multiple leadership roles in Global and US Marketing and Transformation Coaching. Laura's reputation for success with people and strategy made her a sought-after founding member of a team of Transformation Coaches tasked with driving significant organizational change across 4,000 people at Genentech. Her coaching efforts resulted in a redesigned, more customer centric field organization and helped teams embed effective work practices that permeated throughout the organization. This hands-on involvement provided her with profound insights into the pivotal connection between exceptional leadership, team dynamics, and tangible business outcomes.
Laura earned her MBA from Duke in Health Sector Management where she proudly served as a Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics (COLE) Leadership Fellow. Her ability to listen deeply, think analytically and identify system and team level barriers helps her solve complex problems and increase organizational performance and impact.
Lexi Greenbaum, a Consultant at CLA, focuses primarily on leadership and organizational effectiveness, learning and development, cultural transformation, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. She holds a Master's degree in Social Work from Columbia University, where she specialized in Leadership, Management, and Entrepreneurship within the World of Work. Lexi brings her training in systems thinking and human services management along with prior experiences conducting research at Weil Cornell Medicine, spearheading career development and resilience programs, and providing personalized counseling to diverse clients and cohorts. She has worked in both non-profit and for-profit settings and is currently a member of Row New York's Associate Board. Lexi's journey with CLA began as an intern when she was a student at The Ohio State University, where she earned her B.A. in Psychology and double minored in Organizational Communications and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant
- ABD Senior Consultant
Liz Weglarz is a Senior Consultant at CLA and is currently completing her doctorate in industry-organizational psychology at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. Her research focuses on leadership, emotions, and motivation. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, Liz worked in various human resources roles in HR consulting and technology organizations including Compass Workforce Solutions, Yext, Inc. and Koios Medical. In addition, she currently teaches a motivation and learning course at Baruch College. Liz completed her B.A. and M.B.A. at Stony Brook University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Member at Contemporary Leadership Advisors
- Senior Consultant & Faculty
Luis A. Marrero is a Senior Consultant and Faculty Member at Contemporary Leadership Advisors. Luis has over 40 years of experience in senior leadership Human Resource and Organization Development roles. He has worked for prestigious global brands such as The Walt Disney Company as Senior Organization Development (O.D.) Consultant. He provides O.D. consulting, training, coaching, and psychological and leadership assessment services to C-Suite executives of multinational companies in Spanish and English. He also trains and certifies aspiring Meaningful Purpose Practitioners. Luis authored The Path to a Meaningful Purpose: Psychological Foundations of Logoteleology and the soon-to-be-published, Meaningful Purpose: A Primer in Logoteleology. Luis is the pioneer of Meaningful Purpose Psychology (Logoteleology) and Second Wave Organization Development (OD 2.0). His passion is to help individuals and organizations succeed in their meaningful purpose. Luis is the founder of the Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose and co-founder of the International Positive Psychology Association's Work and Organization Division. He holds a B.A. in History from Siena Heights University and an M.A. in Human Resource Management from the University of Puerto Rico. Luis did his graduate thesis work in Psychology and post-graduate studies in Organization Development through the NTL and Gestalt Institutes. As adjunct faculty at NTL Institute, Luis taught Tavistock, Human Interaction Laboratories, and Diagnosing Organizations for Impact.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- VP Finance and Operations
Luke is a finance and operations specialist in the field of professional services. Prior to joining CLA, he was Senior Director of Finance at Philosophy IB, where he guided the firm's revenues, returns, and relationships. While there, he helped the organization grow from start up to an acquisition target, then through a transition to Heidrick & Struggles. Luke holds an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Certified Change Management Expert
Martina is a Senior Advisor at CLA and has over twenty-five years in leadership roles and consulting in organizational effectiveness for a wide range of Fortune 500 clients, Canadian crown corporations, the broader public sector, and small to medium sized enterprises. Her work focuses on creating and delivering integrated talent management solutions to help clients become more effective in the areas of strategy execution, leadership development, personal and organizational change, culture transformation, and organization design.
Martina is a certified Change Management expert and an Adler School of Professional Coaching trained leadership coach. She holds a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and is a Certified Human Resources Leader through the Human Resources Professionals Association. Martina is fluent in English, French and German, with working knowledge in Spanish and in Portuguese. Martina is located in Ottawa.
Michael is an intern at Contemporary Leadership Advisors. He recently completed his undergraduate studies at San Jose State University, majoring in Psychology with a focus on Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Mike's research focus is on organizational health, leadership, and team dynamics. He is currently working in various HR roles at a leading hospitality company in Los Angeles, as well as co-leading an distributorship of a leading personality assessment.