Press Release
New service, led by executive coach and former HR executive Mary Nease, helps organizations set senior leaders up for success in new roles.
MINNEAPOLIS (November 11, 2025) — Navigate Forward , a boutique career advisory firm that offers highly personalized, concierge-style coaching to executives during times of career transition and growth, today announced the launch of its Executive Onboarding Accelerator, a new service designed to help organizations ensure leaders successfully transition into new roles, whether hired externally or promoted internally. The firm also announced that Mary Nease has joined Navigate Forward as an Executive Consultant and Practice Lead for the new offering.
The Executive Onboarding Accelerator tackles a long-standing challenge faced by many organizations: 50 to 70 percent of executives fail within 18 months of taking on a role, whether they are new hires or promoted from within (Corporate Executive Board). Additionally, McKinsey reports that three-quarters of executives feel unprepared for their positions due to inadequate onboarding processes.
“Executives don’t fail because they lack skill. They fail because transitions are complex. New hires are overly anxious to deliver results before they have the information they need to prioritize their early actions and ensure success in a new environment,” said Anne Sample, CEO of Navigate Forward. “Our Executive Onboarding Accelerator gives organizations the structure and coaching support to help new leaders and their managers get aligned quickly, so priorities are clear, expectations are met, and momentum builds fast.”
Introducing Mary Nease
Led by Nease, a trusted executive coach and former chief human resources officer with more than 25 years of experience in leadership development and talent strategy, the Executive Onboarding Accelerator provides one-on-one coaching and structured guidance during the leader’s first six months in the role. The program focuses on accelerating clarity, connection, and contribution, helping executives quickly establish credibility, align with stakeholders, and achieve early wins.
“Too often, organizations assume experienced leaders will ‘figure it out,’” said Mary Nease, Executive Consultant and Practice Lead at Navigate Forward. “But every transition brings new dynamics: different cultures, unspoken expectations, and fresh challenges. Our Accelerator program ensures those first six months are intentional, supported, and successful for both the leader and the organization.”
With a career spanning senior leadership roles at Fortune 500 firms and mission-driven organizations across healthcare, media, financial services, and the arts, Nease brings a potent combination of strategic vision and operational savvy to Navigate Forward. Her expertise covers leadership coaching, organizational design, executive transitions, and succession planning, all grounded in a deep commitment to inclusion. Based in the Twin Cities, Nease works with senior executives across sectors and geographies, helping them accelerate integration, build aligned teams, and translate vision into action.
A robust, full-circle service offering
Navigate Forward developed the Executive Onboarding Accelerator after observing a gap in how organizations approach executive transitions. While most companies invest heavily in leadership hiring, fewer than half provide structured onboarding or coaching once those leaders start. According to the Institute for Corporate Productivity, only 43% of organizations ensure transitioning employees are onboarded with clear guidance and support, and just 12% extend onboarding to internal promotions.
The Executive Onboarding Accelerator offers organizations a scalable way to improve retention, protect leadership investments, and increase overall performance outcomes.
The new service joins Navigate Forward’s suite of executive offerings, which includes solutions for executive outplacement (Executive Transition), development and retention (Board Readiness), and talent mobilization (Legacy Planning). Together, these programs help organizations and senior leaders navigate pivotal career and life transitions with purpose, clarity, and impact from the moment they step into new roles to the time they decide what comes next.
For more information about the Executive Onboarding Accelerator, visit https://www.navigateforward.com/organizations/onboarding-accelerator/.
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About Navigate Forward
Navigate Forward is a Minneapolis-based boutique career advisory firm that offers highly personalized, concierge-style coaching to executives during times of career transition and growth. Since its inception in 2008, Navigate Forward has worked with more than 2,500 clients and 470 companies across the country and around the world. Navigate Forward is a certified women-owned business. To learn more, visit https://www.navigateforward.com/.
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