WE'RE NOT
CONSULTANTS.

WE'RE CEOS

With the battle scars, boardroom wins, and experience to prove it.

let's talk

We work with active CEOs

When the decisions are complex, the stakes are high, and the consequences matter. We build your advisory panel from high-performing, former CEOs with relevant, hard-earned experience. We move quickly, offer clear insights and perspective, and step back when the job is done.

No theory. No up-sell. Just lived experience and practical insights when it matters most.

LEAP Strategy Partners connects today’s CEOs with tailored panels of high-performing, former CEOs who’ve led through exactly what they’re facing—offering discreet, actionable insights at the highest level for your most critical decisions.

The Problem


CEOs often face moments they can’t fully share with their executive team, board, coach, or investors. The stakes are high, the weight is theirs alone, and there’s no playbook that truly fits.

The Insight


Real leadership perspective doesn’t come from books or theory—it comes from those who’ve sat in the chair, made the calls, and faced the consequences.

The Solution


LEAP assembles confidential advisory panels of former CEOs—hand-picked for relevance to your challenge, your industry, and your stage of growth. You don’t get generic advice or recycled frameworks. You get the kind of hard-earned perspective only those who’ve been in the job can offer.

Led by Experience, Not Theory
Your panel is composed of current and former CEOs who’ve actually lived it—not consultants or advisors.
Built for Urgent, Real-world Challenges
Designed for times when coaching or peer groups aren’t enough—succession, crisis, M&A, governance tension.
Confidential, High-Stakes Expertise
A private, discreet space to process critical decisions—outside the view of shareholders, employees, or competitors.
Clarity, Not Complexity
We give you what you need to move—fast. No binders. No buzzwords. No dependency.
Tailored to You—Every Time
No two panels are the same. Each panel is uniquely selected for your business, your challenge, and your leadership style every time.
We’re Not Consultants. We’re CEOs.
This is our core truth. We bring the weight of leadership experience, not opinions from the sidelines.
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YOU ARE

A CEO facing a high-stakes decision.

You need clarity — not more noise.

You want perspective outside of your board, your team, or your coach.

You need a solution, not a complicated engagement.

WE ARE

Former CEOs who’ve made the tough call.

We bring proven experience across industries, challenges, and geographies.

We work confidentially, move fast, and speak your language.

We help you get to the right decision—then get out of your way.

HOW IT WORKS

We start with a confidential discovery conversation and then match you with three former CEOs who’ve led through your exact decision or situation. Sessions are facilitated, focused, and entirely discreet. The result? Clarity and confidence—not complexity.

Why It’s Different

Proven CEO expertise in making the decisions that matter.
No recycled frameworks. No strategy without experience.
No PowerPoint. No up-sell.

One flat fee. No ticking clock.
Designed to be fast, focused, and temporary—not another indefinite engagement.

The Promise

Executive clarity. Strategic alignment. Real-world experience—from CEOs, not consultants.

CLIENT EXPERIENCE

“I’ve used consultants for decades, and I was cynical about LEAP; but this is extremely different. Hard-hitting advice from people who had sat in the chair.”

No Two Panels Are the Same. Every One Is Built for Impact.

We create situation-specific panels of former CEOs who’ve faced what you’re facing. Each brings a different lens: strategic, operational, and contextual.

Whether you’re preparing for growth, navigating a transition, or managing through uncertainty—your LEAP Panel is designed for your unique challenge. 

Here are some ways we can help.

Advisory Partners who’ve raised capital, managed investor relationships, executed acquisitions or exits, or prepared companies for sale or IPO.

Led corporate mergers, acquisitions, exits and IPOs. Managed volatile, complex investor relations and dynamics. Identified and evaluated M&A opportunities in dynamic healthcare markets (Insception Lifebank Cord Blood Program).

Geralyn Ochab
Former CEO, Board Member
Imagia Canexia
HealthParent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation

Large-scale capital raises ($1B in syndicated financing, IPOs (LSE, NASDAQ, TSX)), investor relations, both buy-side and sell-side advisor and investor of 30-plus M&A transactions ($1M to $1B). Expertise in preparing companies for public offerings, navigating regulatory requirements, and engaging with investors.

Lewis Rose
Former CEO
President & Chair
CryptoLogic
Maple Leaf Foods
Alliance Atlantis Com.

Capital raises and securing funding from diverse sources, investor management during crises (governance disagreements and shareholder control disputes).Expertise with IPOs and managing angel, VC, and institutional investors.

Peter Suma
Former CEO
Applied Brain Research
Mirsee Robotics
PCAs, PharmaTrust
SRG Software

Advisory Partners who’ve led large, complex organizations—public companies, multi-nationals, or $500M+ in revenue.

Led Mercer’s U.S. and Canada regions with over 5,000 employees and revenues of $2.5B to $3B. CEO of Foresters Financial (Canada, U.S., UK). Expertise in managing cross-border complexities, scale, and industry ranges in consulting and financial services. Extensive multinational leadership experience with large teams.

Louis Gagnon
Former CEO
Mercer
Foresters Financial

Expert in global mega-projects and public-private strategic delivery at extreme scale (budgets exceeding $500M). Multi-national initiatives, government-backed across various sectors, including sports, culture, and economic development. High public visibility, regulatory layers, and stakeholder complexities.

Jason Harborow
Former CEO, Director
Tamkeen (Abu Dhabi)
PA Consulting Group
The Royal Commission for AIUIa

CEO of a major publicly traded financial institution, is as significant and complex as it gets in terms of governance, scrutiny, and shareholder engagement. Led strategic transformation. Strong insight into board dynamics and regulatory frameworks.

Tom Teahen
Former CEO
WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board)

Deep operational leaders who’ve spent decades growing and evolving the same business, often through multiple economic cycles.

Over 25 years, took a niche mutual to over $1B in assets; led it through multiple downturns and difficult cycles, created new business lines, and reshaped the organization's relevance to its members. A serious long-game operator; scaling with integrity and foresight.

Robert Underwood
Former CEO
AFBS (Actra Fraternal Benefit Society)

3x founder with over 20 years of active operational leadership in the same industry. Not a hired gun—built real systems, evolved the model, and led through multiple cycles. Achieved explosive growth and national recognition (PROFIT 500) while owning strategy, execution, and operations. Focused on long-term value creation and successful founder exits.

Ryan Atkinson
Former CEO
CORE
Direqlink
Redwood Global

Operational growth architect with over fifteen years of experience as a real estate service innovator. Rebuilding operational infrastructure, undertaking large-scale efforts, and strategically transforming the market and business model. Navigating through multiple economic cycles and crises.

Dan Steward
Former CEO
Pillar to Post

Advisory Partners with experience navigating rapid growth, entering new markets, securing funding, or scaling infrastructure.

A serial scaler with extensive retail transformation and significant funding experience. Led Duane Reade’s growth and sale to Walgreens for $1.1B, launched new formats at Walgreens, and expanded RadioShack internationally. Oversaw franchise scaling at Massage Envy and directed Shoppers Drug Mart’s IPO.

Joseph Magnacca
Former CEO, President,
Board Member
Duane Reade/Walgreens
RadioShack, Massage Envy
American Apparel

As CEO of Laurentian Bank, Rania digitized operations, drove growth, expanded the bank’s footprint beyond Quebec, and demonstrated strong leadership in a highly regulated industry—showing both strategic agility and operational discipline.

Rania Llewellyn
Former CEO, President,
Board Member
Laurentian Bank
Scotiabank (Roynat Capital)
Plan International

Co-founded Panasas (secured $10.5M funding) and, as CEO of the Vector Institute, significantly scaled a cutting-edge AI research organization from 20 employees to over 150, raising $292M. Possesses expertise in startup fundraising and large-scale infrastructure growth.

Garth Gibson
Former CEO, President, Co-founder
Vector Institute
Panasas Inc.

Advisory Partners with global market experience - from navigating international trade and regulations to building cross-border operations and supply chains.

Expertise licensing products in over 14 countries-regulatory hurdles and local market adaptation both legal and cultural. Cross-border expansion, navigating IP laws, supply chains and operations in ethical landscapes.

Marc Dorval
Former CEO, Director
ProServeIT
Shore Consulting Group

International background: UK, Europe, and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar). Expertise in emerging markets, navigating international regulatory compliance (public and private sectors), building cross-border operations, infrastructure, and relationships.

Jason Harborow
Former CEO & Director
Tamkeen (Abu Dhabi)
PA Consulting Grp.
The Royal Commission for AIUa

Operated in 48 countries (Pharma and Telcom), leading cross-border licensing, joint ventures, and equity deals. Possesses deep knowledge of trade compliance, global supply chains, international investment, complex regulatory layers, and building subsidiaries worldwide. Demonstrates strong strategic experience in international M&As.

Paul Kirkconnell
Former CEO, President & Chair
Aventis Capital
Sanofi Pasteur
Dri Capital

Advisory Partners with experience operating under PE ownership, managing investor expectations, or leading post-acquisition transformation.

Extensive expertise in post-merger integrations (PMI) and transformation efforts, large-scale M&A integrations (TELUS, Williams Communications), and driving the turnaround at Dundee 360, Sotheby’s International, and CBRE. A strong record of restructuring, PMI, and delivering ROI—skills that are highly valued for private equity growth.

Brad Henderson
Former CEO
Sotheby’s International Realty
Dundee 360 Real Estate Corp.

High-level strategic and narrative positioning expertise to prepare CEOs for PE outcomes. Strength in investor alignment, deal readiness, and understanding the acquirer’s mindset. Think of John as a strategic transaction whisperer rather than a transformation operator—he provides insights into the organizational and human factors that cause deals to succeed or fail.

John Prunier
Co-Founder & Partner
Petsky Prunier
Canaccord Genuity
Winterberry Group

Multiple direct private equity roles, including a “buy & build” partnership at Harvey & Company. Successfully turned around and sold Coinamatic Group to a PE‐backed buyer. Led transformations at PE- or investor‐controlled companies (Nova Capital Mgt., Fairfax). Proven track record as a CEO under PE ownership and in meeting investor targets.

Sean Smith
CEO, President, Board Member
Provident Energy Mgt.
Pethealth Inc.
National Concrete Association
Coinomatic Group

Advisory Partners who’ve led public companies or served on public boards, with experience in governance, compliance, and shareholder engagement.

David navigated Sherritt through a period of financial turbulence by eliminating approximately $3.5 billion in debt obligations, which included resolving the company's involvement in the Ambatovy Joint Venture. Sherritt shifted its focus to core operations, particularly the Moa Joint Venture in Cuba.

David Pathe
Former CEO
Sherritt International Corp.

CEO of a major publicly traded financial institution, is as significant and complex as it gets in terms of governance, scrutiny, and shareholder engagement. Led strategic transformation. Strong insight into board dynamics and regulatory frameworks.

Rania Llewellyn
Former CEO, President,
Board Member
Laurentian Bank
Scotiabank (Roynat Capital)
Plan International

Extensive leadership experience in public companies across multiple sectors. Deep involvement in governance, including audit, compensation, and governance committees, as well as compliance, shareholder relations, and financial reporting. Multiple appointments to public boards.

Lewis Rose
Former CEO, President, Chair
CryptoLogic
Maple Leaf Foods
Alliance Atlantis Communications

Advisory Partners who’ve led companies through economic downturns, restructurings, or crisis recovery with decisive action and clarity.

Proven track record (Xerox) of taking over troubled, underperforming divisions and delivering performance across global regions and industries. Operated successfully through near-bankruptcy, HR crises, macroeconomic disruptions, and currency collapses.

Al Varney
Former CEO, President
Xerox Canada
Alexa Translations
PowerON Energy Solutions

The breadth, depth, and frequency of crisis leadership in high-profile brands distinguish Joe from other leaders. He led major retail brands through high-stakes transformations, including bankruptcy, strategic pivots, and full business overhauls.

Joseph Magnacca
Former CEO, President,
Board Member
Duane Reade/Walgreens
RadioShack, Massage Envy
American Apparel

Operational crisis navigator. Took over the helm months before General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy—a seismic event for any automotive-related business. Navigating communications breakdowns, employee morale and operational logistics. Working closely with shareholders and executives to stabilize and emerge stronger post-crisis.

Greg Campbell
Former CEO
Jim Peplinski Leasing Inc.
The Humberview Group

Advisory Partners who’ve built the systems, teams, and financial controls to support scale, either organically or through acquisition.

Has led complex infrastructure projects that involve AI, HPC systems, and academic expansion. Possesses strong cross-sector experience in technology, academia, and research operations, along with deep architectural and leadership expertise. Rapidly scaled the Vector Institute and Panasas, which includes petabytes of installed distributed storage along with a significant GPU cluster comprising over 1000 GPUs.

Garth Gibson
Former CEO, President, Co-founder
Vector Institute
Panasas Inc

Achieved 30% CAGR in consecutive companies. Scaled one from $8M to $120M in just over 6 years, and another from start-up to 1500 employees. Expertise in combined organic and acquisition-based growth. Deep understanding of teams, leadership, and the CFO/HR structure necessary to manage rapid growth.

Kerry Shapansky
Former CEO, President,
Board Member
Pareto
Maritz
Blue North Strategies.

Proven ability to build or refresh operational systems for scalability. Successfully grew, restructured, and transformed Duane Reade (new store programs), Walgreens (front-end profitability, loyalty initiatives), and contributed to the expansion of Massage Envy through a combination of organic growth and private equity–supported acquisitions.

Joseph Magnacca
Former CEO, President,
Board Member
Duane Reade/Walgreens
RadioShack, Massage Envy
American Apparel

Advisory Partners with deep industry experience (e.g., CPG, Financial Services, Healthcare, etc.).

Extensive industry knowledge in Food & Beverage, Retail, and CPG within high-growth, consumer-facing environments (Starbucks, lululemon, Smart Sweets). Mastery of end-to-end operational scaling (procurement, team and culture, real estate, and product). Expertise in emerging brand growth and food innovation in modern consumer markets.

Cindy Bokitch
President, GM, Board Member,
Investor
Smart Sweets
Mid-Day Squares
Vitruvi
lululemon

Automotive financing expertise at the highest level. Led Daimler, Mercedes-Benz, and Chrysler financial services across international markets, including Germany, Mexico, Canada, the US, and Australia. Overseeing portfolios ranging from $300M to $6B while navigating complex international business and economic environments.

Juergen Rocher
Former CEO, President
Mercedes-Benz AG
Daimler Chrysler Financial

Deep insurance and risk management sector expertise. Lynn successfully navigates between hard and soft markets, financial crisis and complex regulatory regimes. Insurance Business Canada’s CEO of the Year. Serves on industry and non-profit boards, including the Global Risk Institute.

Lynn Oldfield
Former CEO, Board Member
AIG

Advisory Partners with experience establishing leadership pipelines, orchestrating seamless transitions, and safeguarding long-term organizational continuity.

Scaled and succession-planned a 5,000-person, multi-country business; rotates through roles (CEO Canada → President US & Canada) while maintaining a fresh bench of strong leaders. Offers a global, process-driven perspective on keeping pipelines full.

Louis Gagnon
Former CEO
Mercer
Foresters Financial

Demonstrated “day one” decisiveness—installed four new C-suite leaders in a single month, maintains a living Rolodex of inside and outside successors, and ties pipeline planning to future skills mapping. Provides a playbook every CEO can borrow for rapid, low-risk renewal.

Rania Llewellyn
Former CEO, President,
Board Member
Laurentian Bank
Scotiabank (Roynat Capital)
Plan International

Ran a 25-year growth story and still orchestrated his own successful exit: mentored his CFO for a decade, backfilled every retiring department lead ahead of time, and wasn’t afraid to “hire for jobs that don’t exist yet.” A masterclass in long-horizon continuity.

Robert Underwood
Former CEO
AFBS (Actra Fraternal Benefit Society)

Expertise integrating emerging technologies, implementing AI-driven solutions, and igniting transformative innovation to future-proof organizations.

Co-founder and Executive Chair of Applied Brain Research, a world leader in neuromorphic computing. Founder of SRG Software, a leading technology consulting firm partnering with FP 100 companies in banking, insurance, technology, and telecommunications. Developing and creating AI products before other companies even knew what they were.

Peter Suma
Former CEO
Applied Brain Research
Mirsee Robotics
PCAs, PharmaTrust
SRG Software

A healthcare-tech CEO who has merged two genomics/AI health tech firms, built an enterprise SaaS diagnostics platform, and serves as an AI 2030 advisor. She combines depth in life sciences with proven M&A execution, transforming oncology diagnostics through AI platforms, CRMs, ERPs, and fintech APIs.

Geralyn Ochab
Former CEO, Board Member
Imagia Canexia
Health Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation

As CEO of the Vector Institute—Canada’s flagship AI research hub—he has personally guided over 200 enterprises in AI adoption. His decades of groundbreaking work in distributed systems and storage make him a deep-tech and AI operator who speaks both board-level strategy and PhD-level architecture.

Garth Gibson
Former CEO, President, Co-founder
Vector Institute
Panasas Inc.

“Understanding why smart people see the answer differently is of tremendous value, and that’s why we use a Panel approach.”

Mark Robson, Co-founder, LEAP Strategy Partners