Candour.
Advice.
Momentum,

Chief executives, founders, and boards bring me in to realize their ambitions. First, I listen to you properly. Next, we shape options, stress-test decisions, before you make the call. Finally, I stay until your plan is moving.

A black-and-white photo of Jonathan Bennett, an older man with a bald head, glasses, and a beard, sitting at a desk with his hands clasped together. Behind him is a bookshelf filled with books.
Jonathan Bennett, C.Dir., FNI.Dir.
ADVISORY | STRATEGY | GOVERNANCE
WHERE YOU'RE AT (drive.)

You have an ambition for your organization, but something is standing in the way. I’ve been there too.

I founded a company, built it over a decade, and exited in a management buyout. Before that, I spent six years in the C-suite of a large hospital. I’ve sat at board tables for more than 25 years.

For the last five years, I’ve grown this advisory practice. Leaders call me when they want a confidential sounding board, a strategy crafted, or just a gut check before they act. I’ve supported hundreds of them to realize the ambitions that matter most.

ABOUT MY CLIENTS (fit.)

Founder-led businesses. Professional services firms. Employee-owned companies. Social purpose and non-profit organizations. And the boards governing them.

1

You’re ambitious.

Everything rests with you. You’ve likely tried consultants, coaches, lawyers, and accountants. But what you need now can’t be delegated. You need trusted advice.


You’re experienced.

2

You don't need to be taught how business works. You want a seasoned advisor to think the hard parts through with.


Your values matter, a lot.

3

Mission, employee ownership, B Corp, social purpose. Your ethics and values often make your ambition feel complex.


You make the final call.

4

Founder, CEO, executive director, or chair. It all gets escalated to you. And getting it right means everything.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT (results.)

The clarity to decide.

Candour. Your ambition seen for what it is, plainly. Usually that means separating what is business from what is emotional or personal, and being able to say which is which out loud.

The conviction to act.

Advice. You take a decision. One that survives being tested. One that moves money, people, or resources. One you can live with privately and defend publicly.

The strategy to finish.

Momentum. You have a written plan with sequence, owners, and dates. I stay engaged until you’re good to go, until it is all underway and moving, until you’re feeling relief.

Guest on 40+ podcasts
WHAT I OFFER (services.)

1.

Trusted Advisory.

Your own confidential advisory relationship. It’s for chief executives, founders, or executive directors. It often begins as six sessions, every few weeks, then continues as long as it’s useful. We work on what’s most important to you.

>packages · retainers
>one-pagers: advisory package (pdf)

2.

Strategy. Transformation. Succession.

Your business is changing. We only work on what you need most. Like strategic planning and positioning for growth. Or a turnaround. Your next leader’s career development and succession planning. A founder sale and exit. Employee ownership. Or, AI and core operational issues. Whatever it is, I walk alongside my clients all the way. We deal with your biggest ambitions. Then make plans. And implement.

>retainers · projects
>one-pagers: strategic planning (pdf) · career & succession (pdf)

3.

Board and Governance.

Board effectiveness reviews. Governance fundamentals training. Chair support. Committee design, or building an advisory board from scratch. Conflict management around a board table. Facilitation of tough strategic conversations. Or, CEO 360s and performance management. I’m a C.Dir. and FNI.Dir., with more than 25 years as a director and chair.

>retainers · projects
>one-pagers: governance fundamentals training (pdf) · advisory board design (pdf)
Black and white photograph of Jonathan Bennett, a smiling man with glasses, a bald head, and a beard, wearing a dark sweater, sitting in a room with bookshelves in the background.
ABOUT (bio.)

Jonathan Bennett, C.Dir., FNI.Dir., is the founder and principal of ClearlyThen Inc., an advisory and governance practice based in Ontario. His clients are founders, leaders, and boards across North America moving through the strains of stretched capacity and change: the systems, culture, and governance a company needs to grow and scale.

He has lived that strain himself. In 2011 he founded Laridae, a management consulting firm, and grew it over a decade from a one-person practice to a leading, B Corp-certified firm serving 200+ organizations nationally. In 2021 he exited through a management buyout, with a structured transition that kept the team and clients whole.

Before Laridae, Jonathan spent six years in the C-suite of a large regional hospital, leading strategic planning, public affairs, and government relations. He is a Chartered Director with more than 25 years on boards spanning the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Jonathan is committed to Indigenous reconciliation and co-founded a community health centre with a shared governance model. He is also an award-winning novelist and poet, author of seven books.

TRUSTED BY (testimonials.)
A photo of Maryam Monsef, a woman with dark, curly hair smiling outdoors against a blurred green background.

“Jonathan is a one-stop shop. Whether it's government relations, governance, communications, strategy, issues management, HR, business, politics, or the social stuff. Who knows you, your business, your career, and believes in you, but who also understands all those things? Once Jonathan is invested in your success, he’s all in. I don’t know how I would have navigated my path without him.”

— Hon. Maryam Monsef, CEO, Onward | Former Minister of Women and Gender Equality, Govt. of Canada

START HERE

A short call, then you’ll know.