Recognized Succession Planning Leaders 2025

Jennifer Doherty, MIRHR, is CEO of ProvenHR, where she helps organizations align people strategy with business goals. With over two decades of HR leadership across legal, media, IT, and regulatory sectors, Jennifer brings a pragmatic, business-focused approach to complex workplace challenges. She developed the HR Excellence Matrix, a framework that helps founders and executives manage people-related risk and results with the same rigour as financial metrics.

I’m a FINMA-licensed financial advisor based in Switzerland, specializing in retirement and pension planning for individuals and companies. Through Invexa, I help clients build clear, sustainable long-term financial strategies that integrate both investment and insurance components. My approach combines personalized wealth planning with regulated insurance brokerage services to deliver practical, compliant, and goal-oriented solutions for every stage of life.

How can organizations adapt to create new growth paths and manage risk in rapidly changing markets? This is the focus of my strategy and risk advisory work. I leverage my extensive track record in high-performance team building and operations leadership to help clients solve challenging problems at the nexus of risk, strategy, and innovation. I have over a decade of strategy consulting and executive leadership experience across multiple industries. I was the Director of Strategy for a Top 50 Foodservice Distributor, helping lead the company through its acquisition by a Top 5 Distributor. After that, I became CEO and led the turnaround of a produce merchandising and distribution company. My educational background includes a Master of Divinity from Denver Seminary, an MBA from Texas A&M University, and a PhD in religion from the University of Birmingham (UK).

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With 35+years of hands on experience and R12Million in invesment into research and expertise, Tony is an expert in optimising People, Teams, Leadership and Culture to thrive in tough Times. Developer of the REVOLUTIONARY WORKPLACE High Performance Teams system, The Success Ensurance Self Mastery System, and author of SWIFT SUCCESS Mindset, AdaptAgility and REVOLUTIONARY WORKPLACE CLEARx framework. Tony guides people and teams to unleash more of thier amazing potential.

As EVP of M&A, Joe leads PRITCHETT's M&A integration practice which has consulted on acquisitions valued in total over $350 billion. He is the architect of PRITCHETT’s M&A integration methodology, an approach that has been used successfully by thousands of acquirers. Joe also conceived of and brought to market the Merger Integration Certification Workshop, the most successful M&A integration training program in the world. Plus, he created MergerIntegration.com which is now the most visited web site on M&A integration. MergerIntegration.com provides step-by step instruction on how to run integration projects and is populated with over 500 deliverables from PRITCHETT consulting engagements. Joe is the author of the books, Street Smart Moves for Selling your Business and What’s Next? He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Natalie Michael is a trusted advisor to CEOs navigating what's next—whether preparing for their own transition, developing key talent, or designing a purposeful next chapter. As Managing Partner of CEO Next Chapter, she combines over 20 years of experience in executive development with a unique focus on succession strategy, peer learning & leadership reinvention. A Master Certified CEO Peer Group Leader with Mackay CEO Forums and Chair of Tiger 21 Vancouver 3, Natalie works closely with business leaders stewarding enterprises ranging from $10M to $6B. She holds a Master’s in Organizational Leadership, numerous coaching certifications, and has authored two books on CEO development. Natalie also serves on the boards of Foundations for Social Change and Wavefront Centre for Accessibility. Her favorite book is Dr Hawkins Map of Consciousness.

Prior to founding AdaptiveERP, Sara spent over 20 years in institutional financial services — spanning trading, analytics and GRC consulting, — environments where precision and accountability are non-negotiable, enabling her to bring enterprise-grade discipline to cross-industry SaaS solutions. That experience shaped a mindset where controls, clarity and operational flow are designed as one continuous system. With an MSc in Computer Science from Imperial College — the UK's MIT, she now leads a cross-industry SaaS ERP platform that bridges enterprise risk and technical architecture, by embedding systemic security into core architecture and operations. She conceived and integrated every component of the methodology — spanning finance, operations, GRC, internal controls and cyber — into a unified system. Her rare ability to merge business strategy with technical execution ensures robust, scalable systems—minimizing risk and miscommunication from day one. She also served as Vice-President and Director of The Hedge Fund Association. Today, those same principles guide our approach: strategy and technology built together, so each strengthens the other, while mitigating systemic risk.

15 + years of experience in Payroll Business Operations, 4+ years helping EOR, PEO, & Staffing companies for Business Operations w/ purpose-built workforce management & invoicing automation platform.

Sascha Drache is CEO of Ratgeber Stiftung and one of Germany’s most experienced advisors in the field of foundations, asset protection, and long-term wealth structuring. With more than 17 years of practical experience and involvement in the establishment and management of over 700 foundations, he combines legal, fiscal, and entrepreneurial perspectives into holistic solutions for entrepreneurs, professionals, and family-owned businesses. His work focuses on using foundations as strategic instruments for asset protection, tax optimization, succession planning, and sustainable corporate governance. Unlike purely theoretical approaches, Sascha Drache emphasizes practical implementation, long-term viability, and clear structures that can be integrated into everyday business life. He is a frequent expert contributor to leading German media outlets and regularly speaks on the strategic use of foundations for medium-sized companies and private wealth planning. His advisory approach is characterized by clarity, independence, and a strong focus on safeguarding assets across generations.

Will Lane is a seasoned financial expert with over 20 years of experience across the financial sectors of banking, investments and insurance. He leads educational workshops across the country focused on helping Black families build, protect, and pass down generational wealth. Specializing in retirement planning, estate planning strategies and life insurance, Will is known for his ability to make complex financial concepts practical, relatable, and easy to understand. His work centers on empowering families with the knowledge needed to move from short-term financial planning to long-term financial security. Will has been featured in national publications such as Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and American Business Stars, where he shares insights on the importance of financial literacy, legacy planning, and closing the racial wealth gap. A key aspect of his approach is helping individuals identify and overcome self-sabotaging financial patterns so they can make confident decisions about protecting their families, preparing for retirement, and leaving a lasting legacy. Through his education-first approach and no-nonsense delivery, Will has become a trusted voice for podcasts, panels, and publications focused on financial education, wealth building, and economic empowerment within the Black community.

With over 20 years of executive leadership experience in the nonprofit sector, I am passionate about creating positive social impact and system change through collaboration, strategy, and innovation. As the CEO of HealthForce Partners California, I lead a cross-sector, multi-regional, non-profit partnership that connects healthcare, education, and workforce development to mitigate workforce shortages and build career opportunities in the regions we serve.

A seasoned Manager with a strong background in Finance and Operations. Proven track record in developing and executing successful strategies including operational optimization and implementing streamlined processes and workflows across departments to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve overall productivity. Managed budgeting, forecasting and cash flow to drive strong profitability. Transformed business processes to manage international regulations and compliance. Actively spearheaded mergers and acquisitions, conducted due diligence, and maintained robust cyber security measures to protect sensitive client data.

ABOUT SARA: Sara Gallagher is President of The Persimmon Group and a recognized expert in PMO leadership, project portfolio management, and strategy execution. Sara helps organizations transform their Project Management Offices into high-impact engines for business value, drawing on more than 15 years of experience advising executives and leading enterprise projects. A frequent speaker, author, and instructor, Sara has contributed to PMI’s global standards, taught thousands of professionals through her Udemy courses, and delivered keynotes on PMO transformation and the future of project leadership. She is known for making complex project management concepts clear, actionable, and engaging. Based in Tulsa and a graduate of Emory University, Sara is also the creator of the “Big Dumb Questions” newsletter on LinkedIn. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND EXPERTISE Sara’s work blends the disciplines of project management and organizational effectiveness, with a focus on: - Strategy Execution - PMO Design and Evolution - Leading Organizational Change - Executive Coaching - Building Cultures of Accountability and Trust Sara’s consulting portfolio spans a wide range of industries—including energy, finance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and technology—where she partners with both Fortune 500 powerhouses and fast-moving startups. Her experience cuts across project types, from industrial mega-projects and enterprise software rollouts to HR and people transformation initiatives. Whether the challenge is scale, speed, or stakeholder complexity, Sara brings a strategic, systems-minded approach that helps organizations turn complexity into clarity—and ambitious ideas into measurable progress.

I'm an innovative, curious, and passionate People Ops leader trying to connect employers and their people. Super powers include focused, engaging and effective communications, grace under pressure, and maintaining attention to detail while scoping big picture results. I focus on clarity, inclusion, accountability, respect, and trust - which means I operate with those values at the core of what I do and how I treat others. I lean into tough conversations with leaders at all levels, and help advocate for employees while prioritizing the interests of the organization.

We train & consult on Strategy, Finance, Succession & Leadership. A successful consulting engagement for us is where the client’s measurable improvement is a multiple of our fee so that we become an investment in their future rather than a cost of doing business. * Assisted major service provider in identifying operational problems while devising strategies & tactics to improve profits through quality & performance which were achieved within 6 months * Assisted 80+ year old garment company with corporate restructure which regained profitability within 120 days * Developed a strategic business plan for a start-up consumer products firm that facilitated their securing equity financing and then profitability within first year.

A well-known, commercially focussed, technology executive, renowned for driving results by developing high performing teams who deliver business opportunities and value through technology investments. An inspirational leader, who creates clarity of vision and purpose for people and organisations, while driving a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and learning. Passionate about developing people to their full potential and seeing them make extraordinary things happen.