Practical over theoretical
If a leader cannot use it on Monday morning, we are not interested. Every framework earns its place by working in the real world.
Our story
We started Northpeak because good people kept getting promoted into roles no one prepared them for.
Since 2016, we have coached over 1,200 leaders and trained hundreds of teams. The throughline is simple: leadership is a craft, and crafts are learned through practice with a good guide, not a binder.
From a side project to a practice
Northpeak began when our founder, Dr. Maya Ellison, kept getting the same call: a brilliant individual contributor had just been promoted, and now both they and their team were struggling. The technical skills that earned the promotion were not the skills the new job required.
She started coaching a handful of those new leaders on evenings and weekends. The results were good enough that the side project became the work. Ten years on, Northpeak is a team of certified coaches and program designers who do one thing: help people lead well.
Coaching and training, on purpose
Most firms do one or the other. We do both because they reinforce each other. Coaching personalizes; training scales. A course gives a team shared language, and coaching helps each leader apply it to their own situation.
That combination is why the habits stick. It is also why we can work with a single founder or roll a program out to a thousand-person company, and meet each where they are.
2016Year founded
1,200+Leaders coached
94%Would recommend
4ICF-certified coaches
What we believe
Four values we will not trade away
Honest and kind
Good coaching tells the truth, warmly. We will never let you off the hook, and we will never make it personal.
Built to outlast us
Success is a leader who no longer needs us. We build judgment and habits, not dependence.
Confidential, always
What you share with your coach stays there. Trust is the foundation everything else is built on.
The team
Coaches who have sat in the chair
Every Northpeak coach holds an International Coaching Federation credential and has led real teams. We coach from experience, not just theory.
Dr. Maya Ellison
Founder & Head CoachICF Master Certified Coach (MCC), PhD Organizational Psychology
Maya spent 15 years in people leadership, including as VP of People at a Fortune 500, before founding Northpeak in 2016. She coaches senior leaders and founders, and still believes the best leadership advice fits on an index card.
Executive coaching, founder transitions Read profile
James Okonkwo
Director of Leadership ProgramsICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), former management consultant
James designs Northpeak's training curriculum and leads the Manager Bootcamp. He spent a decade in management consulting and is happiest turning a vague leadership idea into something a manager can actually do on Monday.
Curriculum, manager development Read profile
Priya Raman
Executive CoachICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
Priya coaches first-time managers and technical leaders making the jump from doing the work to leading the people who do it. She has a gift for helping engineers translate clarity of thought into clarity of communication.
New managers, technical leaders Read profile
Daniel Brooks
Team & Culture CoachMSc Organizational Behavior, ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
Daniel works with intact leadership teams on alignment, trust, and healthy conflict. His background in organizational behavior means he sees the system, not just the symptoms.
Team coaching, culture Read profile
Come work on the hard parts with us
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We will learn your goals, recommend a path, and match you with the right coach or program. No pressure, no obligation.