We are on a mission to create a more human world of work. We do this by helping leaders and teams to understand and manage their minds which is where all potential for great things begins. Over the past decade, we have helped over 450,000 individuals at more than 500 clients to adopt new ways of working and leading.
Our solutions are pragmatic and immediately applicable, delivered by experienced facilitators who have spent decades in the corporate environment. Our solutions can be delivered globally in 21 countries in 16 languages, either in-person or digitally at your desk.
At Potential Project, we live what we teach. Every person in the organization practices mindfulness. So, when you work with us, you will witness our years of experience in organizational and leadership development, change management and consulting. And, you will also feel listened to and understood.
You will feel like you have a true partner who can show you a better way. You will feel hopeful and inspired to begin working and leading in new ways.
At Potential Project, our impact is our success. We regularly measure how many people we're touching with our programs, and their satisfaction with both the teachings and the learnings. Here's what our recent participant feedback has to say.
Rasmus Hougaard is the founder and CEO of Potential Project and the author of the ground-breaking book by Harvard Business Review Press, Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way. Rasmus was nominated by Thinkers 50 as one of the eight most important leadership thinkers in the world today. He writes for Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and Fortune. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and leadership developer who coaches and supports C-suite executives at global organizations such as IKEA, Accenture, Wal-Mart, and Unilever. Rasmus is also co-author of the best-selling book, The Mind of the Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results (Harvard Business Review, 2018).
Jacqueline Carter is a Senior Partner and Director of North America at Potential Project. She is a leadership development and corporate culture expert who helps global companies create a more human world of work. She has worked across industries with top companies including Cisco, Disney, Accenture, Kimberly-Clark, IKEA, and Royal Bank of Canada to navigate the challenges of leadership and successfully implement complex changes for large organizations.
Jacqueline is co-author of Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way (Harvard Business Review, 2022). She also co-authored The Mind of the Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results (Harvard Business Review, 2018) and One Second Ahead: Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness (Palgrave Macmillian, 2015). Jacqueline is known as an inspiring, dynamic and energizing speaker with a focus on highly engaging, creative, and impactful experiences. In addition, she writes for leading publications such as Harvard Business Review, Forbes, American Management Association, Leader to Leader, Fast Company, and Business Insider.
Prior to joining Potential Project, Jacqueline was a leader in Deloitte Consulting’s Change Leadership practice.
Rob is a Senior Partner at Potential Project with a purpose dedicated to creating a more human world of work which he believes can be achieved by harnessing the full potential of the mind for individuals, teams and leaders. He works deeply with our largest global clients to help enable their people to realize their potential at work and to transform leadership cultures by developing the underlying qualities that shape these.
Prior to joining Potential Project, Rob spent 21 years at Accenture as a Managing Director working within the Technology sector across multiple industries and geographies. Having experienced the benefits of mind training, he became the global business sponsor for mindfulness across Accenture, implementing the world's largest mind training program across the organization at that time.
He is passionate about combining the commercial and business realities with the need to develop and sustain a truly human world of work.
Marissa is a Partner and the head of Global Accounts. She is a driving force behind leadership development and change initiatives at multinational companies. She helps leaders and organizations unlock their potential to create cultural excellence and superior performance, resilience, and innovation.
A mindfulness practitioner for over 25 years, Marissa is recognized for her breadth of knowledge and deep experience in transforming organizations by transforming the mind. She is a sought-after speaker at leading HR and leadership conferences about the impact of mind training on high-performance cultures, as well as the mental qualities of excellent leaders. She has worked across industries with top companies including Apple, Bloomberg, Cisco, Eli Lilly, Google, and Amgen to amplify employee engagement, organizational commitment, resilient performance, and innovative growth on the individual, team and organizational levels.
As Potential Project’s Global Marketing Director, Paula is responsible for brand, content, digital marketing and media. Prior to joining Potential Project in 2019, Paula was the Chief Marketing Officer for Dreyfus at the Bank of New York Mellon and spent 12 years in Citi’s Consumer Bank in senior marketing leadership roles in Engagement Marketing, Omnichannel Marketing, Customer Experience and Product Innovation. Paula is a marketing strategist, experience builder and data-driven digital marketer. Her passion is helping companies to deepen connections with clients through smart marketing, engaging experiences and new solutions. Paula is also a former Partner with Deloitte Consulting where she worked with consumer brand companies to transform their operations.
Katharina is a Partner and the Global Lead for Top Team Impact at Potential Project. She supports forward-thinking organizations in shaping extraordinary leadership cultures that combine top performance and care for people. She serves clients across industries, including private equity, tech, banking, energy, and telecommunications.
Prior to joining Potential Project, Katharina spent a decade at McKinsey & Company first in strategy consulting, then as Associate Partner specialized in leadership development and culture transformations. Through this background, Katharina combines a deep expertise in leadership development with a keen understanding of business strategy and operations. A certified executive coach and facilitator, Katharina started her career in diplomacy at the United Nations.
Katharina publishes and is a keynote speaker on topics including AI’s impact on leadership and the evolving demands on the leader of the future.
Emma is a Partner and COO at Potential Project. She leads our work with many of our largest clients globally.
Prior to joining Potential Project, Emma was an Equity Partner with EY and a leader in the Data and AI practice. She supported large organisations in AI strategy, transformations, establishing operating models and driving organisational change. She has also been advising CxOs in large organisations in Europe, in how to succeed in strategy execution with Gartner, ensuring a right fit operating model and enterprise architecture as well as organisational impact and change leadership.
Emma has extensive experience in working with life-sciences and consumer products industries, as well as transportation.
Based in Copenhagen, Emma spends time on traveling and an active lifestyle through running, cycling and kayaking. She is an avid traveller and reader.
As Director of People and Operations at Potential Project, Jenni is responsible for providing the infrastructure, systems and resourcing to enable the delivery of organizational strategy. Jenni’s understanding of the challenges and dynamics of organizational life comes from her experience in both leadership and program director roles. Prior to joining Potential Project in 2016, she ran her own consultancy company leading large scale transformation programs and mergers, organizational re-structuring and cross organizational collaborations. She has worked across a wide range of business sectors that include government, transport, leisure, public health and human resources. She is passionate about supporting individuals, teams and organisations to open up to the opportunities created during change by developing new behaviors and skills that ensure personal and organizational success.
Christel Leonhard is responsible for global financial management with Potential Project. Christel joined Potential Project in 2016. Prior to that, Christel worked in financial risk in corporations and financial institutions. Christel holds a MBA from CBS in Copenhagen. Christel has had a daily mindfulness practice for 10 years.
As the Behavioral Data and Science Director at Potential Project, Juan spearheads the integration of cutting-edge behavioral science into all aspects of the organization's offerings. With his extensive background in experimental social psychology and business, he directs research initiatives, ensures the precision of impact assessments, and embeds behavioral insights to enhance organizational effectiveness and client engagements. Prior to joining Potential Project, Juan served as the Regional Director for LATAM at BEworks, a consultancy specializing in behavioral science. He also occupied roles at Havas and engaged in independent logistics consulting in China. He holds a PhD in experimental social psychology alongside a bachelor's degree in business administration. Juan's passion lies in unlocking the potential of individuals and teams by applying behavioral science to foster collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth.
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I came to mind training a decade ago after a serious brush with cancer following the birth of my son James. After spending 20 years as a leader and change agent in the sales and operations functions of large corporations and constantly striving for that elusive perfection at work and home, I found myself drawn to a new career and a new way of being.
As a Senior Facilitator, Country Director and a Partner of Potential Project Australia, I get to draw from all my diverse skills (including qualifications in Economics, Counselling/Performance Psychology and Operations Research/Statistics) and rich work/life experiences and “play” every day with some amazing clients and colleagues from around the world.
One of my greatest joys is helping leaders and teams to unlock potential and powerful change –starting with the mind.
As well as facilitating Mindset and Leadership programs, I’ve been honoured to share what we do as co-author of One Second Ahead – Enhance Your Performance at Work With Mindfulness and via the HBR-published book The Mind of the Leader –How to Lead Yourself, Your People and Your Organisation for Extraordinary Results, where I contributed as a strategic advisor and researcher.
You can also often find me on stage (or in more recent times on Zoom conferences) talking about how mind training can bring greater calm, effectiveness, resilience and even happiness to your work and life. Some of my “pinch me” moments have been presenting at Happiness and its Causes, The Workplace Wellbeing Festival and The World Leading Schools Association Conference in Prague.
I also enjoy sitting on a number of boards, and in my spare time you can find me singing and playing bass in our band The Vagus Nerve, walking my dog through the streets of Sydney and hanging out with family.
Marut is an experienced executive leadership facilitator and consultant who brings more than 25 years experience to working with senior leaders. She provides leadership development & consulting to help clients develop, assess and train their leaders. She frequently works with founders and C-suite executives to take their leadership from "good to great."
She has provided facilitation and consulting to clients globally and has worked in many sectors including financial services, tech, manufacturing, IT, consulting and consumer products in the India, US, Europe and Asia markets. Some organizations she has worked with include Coca Cola, Qualcomm, Mindtree, Genpact, Capgemini, KAS (Kmart), Kois International, KPMGandBritish Council.
She has had an intense personal mindfulness practice for more than 15 years, influenced by the ancient wisdom of Hindu scriptures andis an experienced speaker who has led interactive sessions with small teams, as well as delivered keynotes to large audiences (250+ attendees). Her passion led her to organise the annual Mindful Leadership Summit in India bringing global thought leadership on a platform with Indian CXOs.She strongly believes in creating a more human world of work by enhancing organizational performance and mental wellbeing of teams.
Her education includes Certificate in HR Management IIM Kozikhode, Certified Facilitator & Consultant with Potential Project, MDP Leeds University, MBA in Marketing, Maharishi Dayanand University, PG Diploma in Computer Application and BSc from Kurukshetra University.
Specialties:
Leadership Development, Talent Development, Emotional Intelligence, Mindful Leadership, Mindfulness, Public Speaking, Facilitation & Training, Insight Meditation.
At Potential Project, our commitment to sustainability aligns with our mission to create a more human world of work that fosters connection, resilience, and sustainable high performance. We recognize the interconnectedness between human flourishing and social and environmental sustainability.
We strive to minimize our environmental footprint and promote sustainable practices across all our operations. By integrating sustainability into our policies and learning and development, we create a culture where social and environmental stewardship is valued and practiced.
We advocate for and facilitate transformation towards sustainability by developing awareness, wisdom, and compassion. Our solutions enable mindset and behavior shifts required to co-create a sustainable future with our clients. For more information about our initiatives or to explore opportunities for collaboration, contacts us at: info@potentialproject.com.
