About Leaders Matter Founder, Dr. Marti Smye

Our Team

Mary Marcus is a coach, facilitator and recognized expert in the area of generational diversity, competency development, leadership success mapping and assessment, focusing on building organizational success through individuals. As Senior Leadership and Organizational Development Consultant for ADP, and Vice President, Talent Management Consulting and Global Subject Matter Expert in assessment and leadership development for Right Management Consultants, Ms. Marcus worked with leaders and teams in clarifying their vision for the organization, translating that vision to actionable behaviors, and defining the accountabilities and outcomes that enable organizational results. Her work has included the implementation of Balanced Scorecard, Employer of Choice initiatives, corporate development strategies and quality-improvement, all of which have achieved proven organizational results, as has her accountability framework, which focuses on ownership and outcomes at the individual level. An accomplished speaker, Ms. Marcus publishes regularly and is currently a PhD candidate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Richard Zuliani, PhD brings a depth of expertise derived from his extensive and unique background in the human resources arena, which includes human rights and organizational climate surveys.  His areas of focus include change management, M&A process support, strategic planning, surveys, employee selection and retention systems, and program evaluation, among other areas.   He has served as an expert witness before the Human Rights Tribunal regarding the defensibility of personnel policy. Dr. Zuliani is a former Commanding Officer of the Canadian Forces Personnel Applied Research Unit that conducted applied behavioral science research and technical advice on the recruitment, selection, and effective employment of personnel in the Canadian Forces. As a deputy director, he was responsible for the procurement and content of all psychological tests used in the Canadian Forces. Educated internationally, Dr. Zuliani holds an MBA from McGill University and a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Lorne Hartman, PhD, a researcher and practitioner in organization effectiveness,brings a unique perspective in customer-focused culture change, strategy development with senior teams, merger integration, and recruitment and retention. Dr. Hartman has partnered successfully with leaders in business, government, and education to help them implement strategies. The vast scope of his consulting portfolio encompasses Fortune 500 companies with global reach, as well as mid-sized to boutique organizations. In 2001, he created the Toronto-based Psybase Network to enable performance through the alignment of people and processes with strategy, at the individual, team, and organizational levels. A member of several associations and boards, Dr. Hartman is published frequently in scientific, business and professional journals and books and is an accomplished speaker and workshop facilitator. He holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from McGill University and has held academic appointments at the University of Toronto and York University.

Matt Richburg, PhD, brings more than 14 years of experience in human capital consulting with a firm belief that that the quality of senior leadership significantly differentiates returns.  Mr. Richburg partners with CEOs, boards, and senior line executives to assess and develop their top talent.  His background includes deep experience across a broad range of industries.  He builds long term relationships with his clients and has worked extensively with senior executives at ING, Bank of America, Carter’s, Freddie Mac, Interline Brands, The Weather Channel, and a number of the world’s top private equity firms and their portfolio companies.  Across his career, Mr. Richburg has conducted over 1,500 executive level assessments and coached hundreds of senior leaders in the financial services, media, manufacturing, and professional services arenas.  With a passion for helping executives gain broader traction in their organizations, he also helps leaders implement their business strategies by advising on leadership development, merger integration, performance management, organizational effectiveness and succession planning initiatives.  Clients appreciate Mr. Richburg’s candor and pragmatism, as well as his ability to bridge a deep understanding of people and the dynamics of organizations with business results. 

Gundy Jackson, an organization development consultant to the public and private sector, has worked with senior executives and managers to determine and clarify the vision, values, and strategy of senior team alignment, team and individual performance coaching, individual and team assessment, and creating and implementing leader-led strategy rollouts. She served as a senior consultant in the OD practice of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and facilitated several major initiatives within the bank’s value-based management initiative that led to significant changes in the organization. Prior to joining BMO, Ms. Jackson was a managing consultant for a consulting firm that specialized in change management. Ms. Jackson came to consulting from careers in health care and sales and marketing. She holds a BA from Antioch University in Seattle, Washington and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto, Ontario.

Jane Hawkrigg has more than twenty years of consulting experience in general management issues and the development and implementation of organization, leadership, and change solutions.  Her philosophy of working collaboratively with others to maximize their potential Along with a practical, hands-on approach and focused strategies help clients improve organizational performance and results. With experience in industries that include financial and insurance services, non-profits, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals, Ms. Hawkrigg’s particular areas of expertise include coaching executive teams in the creation and execution of business strategies, designing and implementing organizational change initiatives to complement strategic goals, coaching executive leaders to enhance their effectiveness and prepare for opportunities and challenges, and developing and delivering integrated development initiatives for leaders and their teams. Prior to her career in consulting, Ms. Hawkrigg was president of an employment services organization. She holds a degree from McMaster University, as well as Chartered Accountant designation.

Brent Borgunvaag is an experienced professional coach, facilitator and human resource development specialist serving senior executives to maximize leadership, communication, and sales effectiveness, as well as corporate vision and personal goal development. Additionally, he works with the volunteer boards of not-for-profit organizations on strategic planning and board governance policy development and implementation. Most recently, Mr. Borgundvaag has worked with the senior executive team at TD Bank Financial Group to develop and implement internal communication strategies related to key organization initiatives. Additionally, he has assisted the bank’s Financial Group senior executives in the development and implementation of their business strategies and the re-engineering of functional processes. Mr. Borgunvaag is specialized in coaching Asian and South East Asian financial advisors, having served major US financial services organizations in that capacity, and is a guest speaker on the subject.

Liz Brayboy is a skilled business manager and consultant with more than 20 years experience. Her expertise in the areas of detailed project planning and execution, facilitation skills, and executive commitment building make her a valued contributor, whether she is providing consulting services directly to her clients or through selected partnerships. Ms. Brayboy’s areas of focus include leadership development, strategic planning, customer interaction management, and operations and financial redesign. Most recently, Ms. Brayboy’s clients have included a national pharmacy healthcare company and major pension/mutual fund provider. At Deloitte Consulting, she was responsible for the successful delivery of numerous consulting projects for Fortune 100 financial services companies, including Merrill Lynch, MetLife, Aetna, and CIGNA. Ms. Brayboy received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Yale University and her MBA in Finance and Management of Organizations from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Oneida Cox Werger is a manager and consultant with extensive experience in accelerating human performance and business growth of Fortune 100 companies. Founder of Creative Change, a business coaching and consulting practice, she provides assessment, program development, training, and executive, performance, and career coaching services to the public sector as well as to the outplacement, financial services, banking, and insurance industries. Ms. Cox Werger is recognized for developing and delivering programs in leadership/organizational development, change management, sales, retention, diversity, and process re-engineering.  She is skilled in managing virtual resources and restoring dsyfunctional systems, processes, and people, as well as developing talent. A dynamic executive, Ms. Cox Werger is a highly creative developer of innovative processes, products, services, and intellectual capital. Ms. Cox Werger holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication and Psychology from Western Kentucky University, holds numerous professional certifications and affiliations, and is currently pursuing a Master Certified Coach credential.

Janice Chai-Chang has spent more than 20 years supporting organizations to implement business and technology transitions with innovative strategies and solutions.  She has extensive expertise in defining business and technology strategy, leading the design and implementation of large business transformation initiatives and organizational change programs, creating and managing enterprise-wide program management offices, and providing strategic counsel to senior business leaders.  Ms. Chai-Chang has managed portfolios in excess of $60 million and has led global organizations of circa 200 people.  Representative organizations she has worked with include American Express, FedEx, AT&T, Xerox, Burger King, and Costa Cruise Lines.  She has also served as facilitator, leading work sessions across all management levels in various geographic locations including Latin America, Asia, and the U.K. Ms. Chai-Chang has an MBA in International Business and a BBA in Finance & Computer Information Systems from the University of Miami.

Noha Garas has over twenty years of diverse experience in project management, sales, and administration in a variety of professional services, rapid growth, and entrepreneurial settings. Ms. Garas brings a demonstrated ability to successfully coordinate and implement multiple projects under critical deadlines, with multi-tiered task teams and has been recognized for exceptional organizational, written, and verbal communication skills. For the past eight years, Ms. Garas has worked closely with the firm founders of a renowned sales training and mentoring firm, to build its infrastructure, develop business, and manage client deliveries. She has managed various internal and external client projects for the company, including oversight of the internal process and system designs to support several sales training and mentoring programs and the subsequent delivery of these programs to thousands of sales professionals from Fortune 100 financial services firm across the nation. She has also led product development teams whose collective efforts resulted in the addition of over 20 new products and services. Most recently, Ms. Garas led a project team working directly with the executive team of a Fortune 500 financial services firm to develop a turnkey diversity recruiting system. She holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University.

Jane O'Hara has 25 years of experience in media, public relations, and consulting. She excels at project management, working with diverse teams, and producing stellar results. For the past 10 years, Ms. O'Hara has worked closely with a number of international consulting firms, in a wide variety of roles. As a team leader, she has been responsible for organizing and producing 360 interviews throughout large organizations, which includes compiling and clustering data and producing high quality reports, in alignment with client needs and goals. She also administers and manages a variety of psychological assessments, including DiSC™ personal profiles. Ms. O'Hara holds a BA in English from the University of Toronto.