Strategic Counsel for Executives Who Can’t Afford to Guess
Confidential coaching, board advisory, and succession planning for C-suite leaders and boards navigating high-stakes transitions.
One conversation to decide whether an engagement makes sense. Reply within one business day.
Ashworth Executive Advisory provides confidential coaching, board governance advisory, and succession planning for executives and boards navigating growth, transition, and high-stakes decisions — with the discretion and rigor the moment demands.
Elena Ashworth, Founder & Principal Advisor
Before founding Ashworth Executive Advisory, Elena spent 20+ years in operating leadership roles, including nearly a decade as Chief Operating Officer at two venture-backed growth companies. She has sat on both sides of the boardroom table — as an executive reporting to a board, and as a director evaluating executive performance.
That dual vantage point shapes how she works: practical, direct, and focused on the decisions that actually move an organization forward — not generic leadership theory.
Elena now advises CEOs, C-suite executives, and boards at growth-stage companies on leadership development, governance, and succession — bringing the same rigor she once applied to her own operating decisions.
Four steps, no surprises
The same sequence whether the work is a coaching engagement, a governance review, or a succession plan.
A confidential first call
You describe the situation. Elena tells you plainly whether this is work she should take on — and, if it is not, what kind of help would fit better.
Assessment and scope
Depending on the work, that means a leadership style and communication assessment, a board skills-gap review, or a pipeline readiness assessment. The scope is written down before anything starts.
The engagement itself
One-on-one sessions, board meeting facilitation, or a written succession roadmap — whatever the scope calls for, run on a cadence you agree to up front.
Accountability in between
Check-ins between sessions, so decisions made in the room actually get carried out in the weeks that follow. This is where most of the change happens.
Everything you share stays between us. That applies to the first call as much as to the engagement — including the fact that the conversation happened at all.
A short client list, by design
Engagements are confidential, so you will not find client names or logos on this site. Here is who the work is actually for.
Chief executives
CEOs carrying decisions they cannot fully test on their own team — and who want a counterpart who has held the seat.
C-suite and VPs
Senior leaders stepping up a level, where executive presence and decision-making style start to matter more than functional expertise.
Boards and directors
Boards reviewing their own composition and effectiveness, designing a governance framework, or onboarding new directors.
Growth-stage companies
Organizations scaling fast enough that structure, culture and the operating model need deliberate design rather than drift.
Questions people ask first
What happens on the first call?
You describe what is going on. Elena asks questions, and by the end you will know whether an engagement makes sense and roughly what it would involve. There is no proposal to sit through and no obligation to continue.
Is what I share actually confidential?
Yes. Every inquiry is treated as confidential, including the fact that you got in touch. Nothing from a coaching session is reported back to your board, your CEO, or your HR team unless you decide to share it yourself.
Who do you typically work with?
CEOs, C-suite executives, VPs, and boards at growth-stage companies — most often during a period of scaling, a leadership transition, or a governance change.
How quickly will I hear back?
Within one business day, whether you call, email, or use the form. If the matter is time-sensitive, say so in the first line and it moves to the front of the queue.
Do you work with boards as well as individuals?
Both. Board work covers composition and skills-gap reviews, governance framework design, meeting facilitation and agenda design, and director onboarding and evaluation programs.
We are already mid-transition. Is it too late?
No. A meaningful share of the work is transition support during a leadership change that is already underway — including emergency succession contingency planning when a seat empties without warning.
Talk it through with someone who has held the seat.
One confidential call. You describe the situation, and you leave knowing whether an engagement would help — or what would help instead.
Request a confidential callReply within one business day. Or call (617) 555-0142.