I started Valeo to help people achieve their true potential and find fulfillment – in life and at work. Inspired by my own experience of moving from striving to thriving, Valeo is the springboard to dive deeper into yourself and your purpose, so that you can have a lasting impact on the world that is truly profound and unique.
My competitive, high-achieving nature was developed early as a nationally competitive springboard diver and downhill ski racer. This over-achieving mindset followed me while completing my MBA and, in my career, spanning over 20 years from multi-billion-dollar multinationals and top tier management consulting firms to a venture funded early-stage health-tech start-up. Identified as a high-potential leader, I was on an accelerated path to success – except I was in a haze for the first 15 years of my career, aiming for the top without really knowing why.
On the outside I was successful, managing it all (at least that’s what I liked to think!), on the inside I was stressed, anxious, and burning out. I was living someone else’s dream. I share the analogy of the duck swimming along a lake. All is calm and serene on top of the water, while the legs paddle furiously underwater - that was me, and perhaps you too? The juggling; raising two young girls, traveling constantly for work with global time zone differences and jam-packed schedules, coupled with training for a half ironman triathlon. I slowly got more tired, less fulfilled, injured, and lost.
I wasn’t performing as my best self, and sought out a network of coaches, from executive coaches to personal trainers and behavioural change experts, who helped me see that I could lead my life on my own terms. I learned that I could seek out personal fulfillment throughout my career rather than just climbing a ladder. I learned how to hone my passions, and redefine what success means to me. Most of all, I learned that I couldn’t reach my true potential alone. To truly transform to perform, I needed guidance and encouragement when I fell down (which I did often and continue to do), and to help me solve challenges, push me, and illuminate what was possible.
In addition to my MBA and decades of corporate experience, I’m a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach and a certified Sleep, Stress Management and Recovery Coach. I’m also pursuing a Master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology to bring the best of multiple disciplines to my clients.
In honouring what is fulfilling in my life, Valeo Leadership & Development has come to be. My ripple in the water is just the start of the ripple effect of helping others transform into the best version of themselves.
About Valeo
