Leadership Journey
A customized multi-month leadership development engagement for leadership teams facing real business consequences, delivered through eight structured activities over a typical 24-month period.
People Leader Accelerator helps HR executives, people leaders, and senior teams turn complex leadership challenges into clear action. Through expert-led assessments, mentoring, decision support, and practical leadership frameworks, the platform equips leaders to improve judgment, strengthen team effectiveness, align people priorities with business goals, and lead with confidence in high-growth or high-stakes environments.
Advisory, assessment, mentoring, and peer learning services for HR and people leaders.
A customized multi-month leadership development engagement for leadership teams facing real business consequences, delivered through eight structured activities over a typical 24-month period.
A comprehensive leadership or executive effectiveness assessment using custom 360 surveys, stakeholder interviews, team effectiveness diagnostics, CEO debriefs, and facilitated action planning.
Selective one-on-one mentoring for HR leaders stepping into broader scope, increased visibility, or top-of-function roles, with focus on judgment, presence, and decision quality.
High-stakes advisory support for complex leadership decisions, including keep, coach, move, or exit decisions, board-level readiness questions, and execution risk assessments.
A curated annual membership connecting HR leaders in similar organizations through facilitated monthly discussions designed to support growth, perspective, and peer learning.
An annual leadership development retreat featuring structured sessions, values exploration, reflection, panel discussions, networking meals, and intention-setting for professional growth.
The engagement begins by clarifying the leadership challenge, business context, stakeholder expectations, and consequences of inaction. This ensures the work focuses on the highest-impact decisions, team dynamics, or capability gaps rather than generic leadership development topics.
Helping HR leaders strengthen influence, decision quality, and organizational impact in moments that matter.
"I left the PLA program with several key takeaways. First, the value of making time for your own thoughts. This program was great for structured reflection. Second, don't over-engineer things, especially in growth companies. And finally, my biggest 'takeaway' from the PLA was really the new relationships. I've already found..."
"PLA offers a truly unique learning experience through its emphasis on reflection and practical application. Each week dives into a new People topic, with assignments designed to encourage deep reflection on how you've applied key concepts and how you'll implement them going forward. The assignments are incredibly practical and I..."
"Every week I look forward to the PLA meetings and even get excited about the homework because I know the readings will provide valuable information to reflect on. What I have learned in PLA has helped build my confidence. It is not just the knowledge I've gained, but the connections..."
"I left the PLA program with several key takeaways. First, the value of making time for your own thoughts. This program was great for structured reflection. Second, don't over-engineer things, especially in growth companies. And finally, my biggest 'takeaway' from the PLA was really the new relationships. I've already found..."
"PLA offers a truly unique learning experience through its emphasis on reflection and practical application. Each week dives into a new People topic, with assignments designed to encourage deep reflection on how you've applied key concepts and how you'll implement them going forward. The assignments are incredibly practical and I..."
"Every week I look forward to the PLA meetings and even get excited about the homework because I know the readings will provide valuable information to reflect on. What I have learned in PLA has helped build my confidence. It is not just the knowledge I've gained, but the connections..."
"I left the PLA program with several key takeaways. First, the value of making time for your own thoughts. This program was great for structured reflection. Second, don't over-engineer things, especially in growth companies. And finally, my biggest 'takeaway' from the PLA was really the new relationships. I've already found..."
"PLA offers a truly unique learning experience through its emphasis on reflection and practical application. Each week dives into a new People topic, with assignments designed to encourage deep reflection on how you've applied key concepts and how you'll implement them going forward. The assignments are incredibly practical and I..."
"Every week I look forward to the PLA meetings and even get excited about the homework because I know the readings will provide valuable information to reflect on. What I have learned in PLA has helped build my confidence. It is not just the knowledge I've gained, but the connections..."
People Leader Accelerator helps leaders apply practical tools to consequential business challenges.
Faculty bring 25–30+ years of real HR, talent, start-up, and executive experience.
Frameworks connect people priorities, business goals, leadership behavior, and measurable organizational outcomes.
Offerings include assessments, mentoring, guides, retreats, live facilitation, and peer community.
Credentials include CECP, SPHR, Six Sigma, Hudson Institute, and Emory coaching training.
Experienced faculty guiding strategic HR and people leaders.
Core Faculty – HR & Talent Leadership
Andrew Bartlow is a Core Faculty member at People Leader Accelerator, specializing in HR and Talent Leadership with 25 years of deep practitioner experience. He is co-author of 'Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organizations' and holds prestigious certifications including CECP, SPHR, Six Sigma, and Executive Coaching. Andrew brings a unique blend of academic rigor and real-world application to his teaching, having served as a private equity operating partner, venture advisor, and HR mentor. His curriculum equips HR and people leaders with strategic frameworks to drive organizational success in high-growth environments. Andrew is dedicated to bridging the gap between operational HR and strategic business partnership for professionals across the United States.
Core Faculty – People Operations & Executive Coaching
Marie Szuts serves as Core Faculty at People Leader Accelerator, focusing on People Operations and Executive Coaching. She brings firsthand experience leading the people function at high-growth tech organizations, including Figma, where she developed scalable HR strategies during periods of rapid expansion. Marie holds a BA and MA from Yale University and is a certified Executive Coach through the prestigious Hudson Institute. She also advises people leader networks, venture capital firms, and companies navigating growth challenges. Her practical, experience-driven approach helps HR professionals elevate their strategic impact and build resilient people operations within dynamic organizations across the United States.
Core Faculty – Management & Human Resources Academic
Brad Harris, Ph.D. is a Core Faculty member at People Leader Accelerator, bringing academic excellence and real-world management expertise to HR and people leaders. He serves as Associate Dean of MBA Programs and Professor of Management and Human Resources at HEC Paris, and is an affiliated professor at the University of Illinois. Brad is co-author of 'Scaling for Success' and '3D Team Leadership,' with research published in leading academic journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Management from Texas A&M University and an Executive Coaching Diploma from Emory University. Recognized as a top '40 Under 40 Business School Professor' by Poets and Quants, Brad is committed to equipping leaders with evidence-based frameworks for organizational success.
Core Faculty – HR Leadership & Executive Coaching
Carmela Krantz is a Core Faculty member at People Leader Accelerator, specializing in HR Leadership and Executive Coaching with an impressive 30 years of experience building and leading HR functions in rapidly growing businesses. A trailblazer in her field, Carmela has served as the first VP of HR at nine companies, including six start-ups, giving her unparalleled insight into the unique challenges of scaling people operations from the ground up. She is a certified executive coach and the founder of WOVEN. Carmela's practical wisdom and passion for developing HR leaders make her an invaluable resource for professionals seeking to accelerate their strategic impact within high-growth and entrepreneurial organizations across the United States.
Breakthrough leadership is the ability to move beyond routine management and create meaningful change in performance, alignment, and decision quality. For HR and people leaders, it often means shifting from operational execution to strategic influence: diagnosing organizational issues, improving team effectiveness, guiding leaders through complexity, and connecting people priorities directly to business outcomes.
Talk with experienced faculty about the best next step.
Recognized academic leadership and management excellence.
Advanced compensation and HR strategy credentials.
Certified coaching expertise for executive growth.
Share your leadership challenge, team context, or organizational goal, and People Leader Accelerator will help identify the right advisory, mentoring, assessment, or development path.
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To help us assist you faster, please include the reason for your message so the relevant team can reach out as soon as possible.