Our series profiling CVCA’s new members continues, providing insight into the organizations in our community.
We’re thrilled to profile a new CVCA member, PowerUp Leadership!
Tell Us About PowerUp Leadership.
PowerUp Leadership partners with private equity–backed, high-growth companies to drive leadership development, talent transformation, and de-risk human resources during critical inflection points—such as acquisition, rapid scale, or exit planning. Our team includes facilitators and International Coaching Federation certified coaches across North America. Our team uniquely combine executive coaching, leadership training, and HR strategy to align people with aggressive growth targets. Our integrated approach ensures that leadership capability, culture, and structure scale in step with business objectives—while reducing organizational and compliance risk.
What is PowerUp Leadership's Focus?
PowerUp Leadership acts as an extension of your leadership team—helping drive performance, engagement, and enterprise value in fast-paced, high-stakes environments. Our main solutions include:
- Leadership Development: Targeted coaching and training for executives and people leaders to build the mindset and behaviors needed for scale.
- Talent Transformation: Succession planning, organizational design, and competency frameworks to ensure the right talent is in place for the next stage of growth.
- De-risking HR: Fractional HR leadership that strengthens compliance, improves retention, and professionalizes people operations post-acquisition.
Who Are the Key People at PowerUp Leadership?
Susan Power — Founder & CEO
Susan Power is the founder of PowerUp Leadership (also known as Power HR Inc.), established in 2018 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. With over 20 years of leadership and HR experience—including consulting roles at Accenture, founding and selling a prior leadership firm (Higher Talent), and serving as Executive HR Director for JD Irving—Susan now leads the company as its CEO and Professional Certified Coach (PCC). Her credentials include an MBA from University of Calgary and HR certifications (CHRL, CPHR). She oversees executive coaching, leadership strategy, and talent development across the organization.
Core Team
While Susan Power is the principal senior leader, PowerUp Leadership is supported by a growing team:
- Barika Syeda — Talent Transformation Specialist
- Layan Jasser — Executive Assistant
- Grant Flinn — HR Coordinator
Extended Coaching Network
PowerUp Leadership also engages a network of 40 external partner facilitators across North America. All are credentialed through the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and bring diverse industry expertise to deliver coaching, facilitation, and leadership development tailored to client needs.
What Is PowerUp Leadership Excited About?
Our team at PowerUp Leadership is most excited about our plans to grow through acquisition across Canada to increase our presence across the country. We’re also energized by the rapid growth of our private equity–backed client base. These portfolio firms are increasingly seeking our support to professionalize their HR function and provide executive coaching to their leadership teams—an area where we continue to deliver strong impact. Our vision is to elevate leadership capability to optimize top talent retention, performance, and team effectiveness of rapidly growing businesses across North America.
We’re equally proud of our community partnerships that allow us to give back by coaching entrepreneurial women leaders as they scale their rapidly growing small businesses. In addition, we offer an Emerging Leader Financial & Leadership Coaching Scholarship to support high-potential youth who may not otherwise have access to professional coaching and development. Supporting this growth is a meaningful way we contribute to the broader business ecosystem.
