Heather Pownall

About Heather Pownall

Over my career, I’ve worked inside ambitious visions. Global strategy rollouts. Culture change. Mergers. New business lines. AI modernization. The kinds of initiatives that challenge and reveal our strengths and where we still have work to do. What I’ve learned is this: organizations rarely struggle because they lack ideas. They struggle in the space between vision and execution – where aspiration meets complexity, competing priorities, human resistance, and real life. That space is where I tend to do my best work. I’ve led and supported transformation from many angles – operator, strategist, facilitator, coach. I’ve worked across startups, global nonprofits, and Fortune 500 enterprises. I’ve built teams, scaled new capabilities, and helped leaders navigate decisions that carried high stakes. I\'ve navigated quite a few of those, myself, and have emerged changed and clearer about what matters most.Again and again, the pattern holds: clarity changes everything. Clear thinking. Clear priorities. Clear communication. When people understand and believe in what matters and why, momentum follows. Today, as part of the values-led team at The Presentation Company, I focus on strategic storytelling and communication as professional and leadership disciplines – not polish, not presentation theater, but the ability to frame ideas in ways that align people and move meaningful work forward. Outside of work, I paint. My studio in downtown Durham is a counterbalance and a teacher. Art demands presence. It exposes what is unclear. It rewards courage and honesty. Those lessons travel well into boardrooms and leadership conversations. I’m drawn to people who care about substance over noise, impact over optics, and growth rooted in purpose. If you’re building something that matters and want to strengthen how it’s understood, I’m always open to the conversation.

Experience

1. VP, Client Solutions

   The Presentation Company

   Mar 2026 — Present · Durham, NC, US

   Most teams don’t struggle because they lack insight. They struggle because their insight doesn’t land.At The Presentation Company, we help organizations move business forward through story. I work with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to turn complex strategy, data, and analysis into clear, audience-centered narratives that inform decisions and align people around shared direction.Our approach is hands-on and experiential. Through structured frameworks, interactive exercises, and real-time coaching, participants don’t just improve a presentation. They strengthen a discipline: clarifying their thinking, structuring ideas with intent, and communicating in ways that resonate in high-stakes moments.After two decades leading strategy and transformation myself, I know how much is riding on those moments. The goal isn’t polish. It’s understanding. Alignment. Movement.When ideas land, organizations move.

Education

• University of South Florida

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Journalism/Mass Communications - News/Editing

• American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)

  Diversity Executive Leadership Program (DELP) Scholar

  2015 — 2017

• NC State Poole College of Management

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Technology Entrepreneurship

  2009 — 2011

Skills

• Management Consulting
• Project Management
• Social Media
• Start-Ups
• Business Development
• Organizational Development
• Building Relationships
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Public Relations
• Event Planning
• Management
• Research
• Editing
• Human Resources
• Social Media Marketing
• Sustainability
• Operations Management
• Entrepreneurship
• Strategy