Canada
I'm a strategic advisor, independent director, and writer. Through my practice, ClearlyThen, I work with leaders, boards, and organizations navigating complexity: helping them build, transform, or decide what's next. My advisory work spans sectors and time zones. I counsel CEOs, founders, politicians, and executive teams across Canada and the U.S., bringing a generalist's range and a deep relational focus to every engagement. The work is referral-based, highly customized, and confidential. I bring the perspective of someone who has done the things I advise on. I spent six years on the senior leadership team of a large regional hospital, leading corporate communications, public affairs, government relations, and strategic planning, including GR, PR and comms for a $300M capital project. That experience became the foundation for Laridae, the B Corp management consulting firm I founded, grew to serve more than 200 organizations, and sold in 2021. I've served on boards for more than 25 years. Currently: Accerta, OwlCrate (Advisory Board Chair), the Vanier Institute of the Family, and 11A Collaborative. I'm also founding Co-Chair of the Peterborough Community Health Centre, where we co-developed an innovative Indigenous/non-Indigenous shared governance model. I hold a Chartered Director designation (C.Dir.) and a First Nations and Indigenous Director designation (FNI.Dir.). I'm also the author of seven books: novels, poetry, and short fiction. My next novel is forthcoming. The literary writing and the advisory work come from the same place: a serious attention to how people, stories, and organizations hold together, come apart, and find their way through. If any of this resonates, I'd welcome a conversation. DM for my scheduling link.
Helping leaders turn entrepreneurial vision, creativity and instinct into enduring organizations. Fast-track your goals with an ethical, caring trusted advisor. > Growth for organizations (Navigate complexity, ambiguity, or change) > Better people management (Master relationships, teams, and stakeholders) > Unlock your next financial increase (Grow your social purpose, business, and career) Jonathan Bennett, C.Dir., provides sought-after executive advisory services to CEOs, teams and boards across North America--and beyond. Jonathan’s expertise is in social purpose business strategy, executive career pathing, governance, branding, change, and communications.
Strategic Retreats for Boards That Govern Together > Reconnect. Advance your agenda. Govern as one. > Customized. Dynamic facilitation. Immersive sessions. > Experienced. Fully hosted. Expert-led. High-performing Boards start with connected Directors. We focus on how your Board relates, listens, and makes decisions as a group. Every engagement is built around your Board's strategic work, your agenda, your opportunities. > Full Board, Together We shift governance education from developing isolated achievers towards creating cohesive, high-performing board teams. Success is driven by the power of the collective board, not individual accolades. > Your Real Agenda No hypotheticals or case studies. Every session centres on your Board's actual agenda items: real decisions, live opportunities, pressing challenges. You advance your work while practising new and better ways of working together. > Experiential We treat Directors as the accomplished leaders they are, building on existing expertise. The goal is not to make Directors alike, but to help them consider new information and relate to their own experiences in different ways. > Relational Governance We strengthen the strategic work and interpersonal dynamics that drive Board effectiveness by embedding a relational governance focus within the retreat structure. Directors become attuned to one another, and group dynamics enhance the Board's work.
Accerta is a B-Corp certified social enterprise committed to reducing inequities in public programs and lessening the administrative burden for governments and their stakeholders. 2025 - Chair, Governance and HR Committee
OwlCrate is dedicated to spreading the joy of reading and supporting authors, artists, readers, charities and communities from all walks of life.
Member of the Advisory Board. 11A Collaborative consults to purpose-driven businesses, nonprofits, foundations, public offices, and government agencies seeking to increase their impact.