Don’t Just Take Our Word for It
Here’s what top performers and industry leaders are saying about Pawlawski Martin Leadership.
When you’re choosing a partner to help your team grow, mindset matters. So does experience. And so does impact that lasts long after the room clears.
Here’s what clients, athletes, and high-level leaders are saying about the tools, keynotes, and coaching experiences we deliver at Pawlawski Martin Leadership.
“Mike Pawlawski delivered one of the most powerful keynotes we’ve ever heard at our Global Sales Leadership Kickoff. His message of grit, connection and growth resonated with our team – and weeks later, our people are still quoting him and applying what he taught! He truly was the best speaker we have worked with.
Thank you Mike!”
Dennis Brien
Chief Revenue Officer at Arctera
“MIKE PAWLAWSKI IS THE REAL DEAL. HIS INSIGHTS INTO PERFORMANCE AND MINDSET ARE GAME-CHANGING. IF YOU WANT TO ELEVATE YOUR LIFE, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.”
Jared Goff
NFL #1 overall pick and Detroit Lions Quarterback
“I recently stepped into a C-level role after my firm was acquired by a private equity firm. My ability to lead at this level—through multiple ownership changes, executive turnover, and other challenging moments—is due in large part to the skills and guidance that Craig has provided me along the way. Craig and his team also worked with my team to fine tune the strategic vision and develop leadership communications for the new product rollout strategy with key new technology. This combination of strategic visioning and communications training not only helped us outpace our competition but also brought my team together and lifted the organization morale at a critical juncture. The successful rollout of this product family positioned the company to scale rapidly, helped to gain new customers and attract new investors who are now helping us fully realize its potential. Craig’s impact has been both career-defining for me and transformative for the business”
Venkat Vadavalli, VP and GM
Altera
“I brought Craig and his team in to lead my executive team through a major new product and market innovation exercise. He not only delivered a powerful framework for fresh thinking, but also rolled up his sleeves—interviewing our customers and investors to understand the realities of our business and surface opportunities we hadn’t fully seen. As a result, my team generated more than a dozen new product and market strategies, which we rigorously tested over the following months. This work has already sparked a strategic initiative we’re committing capital and resources to for the coming years. Just as importantly, the process energized the leadership team and the impact was both immediate and lasting—clarifying our path forward and elevating the people who will lead us there.”
Jim Woodruff, CEO
National Powersport Auctions
“After spending several years at one of the leading semiconductor companies, I recently joined the executive team of a high-growth optical technology startup. The leadership development work I did with Craig was instrumental in this transition and my continued success.
Craig helped me evolve as an engineering leader in two critical ways: first, by helping me develop concrete strategies to elevate my global engineering team’s performance, and second, by strengthening my executive presence and cross-functional collaboration skills. This helped me become more effective and confident in leadership circles and helped me build strong partnerships across peer organizations.
What sets Craig apart is his ability to bring proven frameworks and insights from other industries and companies in my field, giving me fresh perspectives on challenges I thought I knew well. This outside view was crucial in helping me see blind spots in my leadership approach.
Craig’s guidance helped me in exploring new opportunities but to perform at a higher level from day one!”
Vivek Khanzode
VP Systems Engineering, Ayar Labs
“I have worked with Craig for the past 18 months and have been able to build an immediate trust and thought partnership with me, and this is hugely appreciated. During this time he helped me make the transition from serving as a senior functional leader to stepping up as a company leader with a broader scope. That shift required a real mindset change—seeing myself not just as a collegial manager of a team, but as someone setting direction and representing the management and ownership of the firm. My relationship with my bosses, the firm’s partners, also needed to evolve after many years; Craig helped me develop the candor and directness to engage them as true peers. Through this process, I shifted from thinking like an employee to taking an ownership stance. The result has been stronger executive presence, greater impact across the company, and the ability to contribute more meaningfully to the management of the firm and its future success.”
Jim DiRienzo
Head of Investments, Griffis Residential
“I’ve worked with Craig over several years as I transitioned through new roles and expanded my leadership across the company. His coaching has been instrumental in guiding my career and building the skills and experience that enabled me to step into a senior leadership role. Today, I am helping make decisions that shape the company’s ability to grow and scale its products into the future with a customer-centric approach. My executive presence has grown tremendously, and my visibility and impact across the organization are far greater than before.”
Anamarie Huerta Franc
SVP, SAP Product Success
“Craig was a pivotal advisor during one of the most critical phases of our business. When our U.S.-based life sciences team of three was suddenly tasked with building out global operations across three continents, the complexity and pressure were immense. Over the next 18 months, Craig worked side by side with me and my expanding team to lay the groundwork for sustainable growth. He helped us establish clear communication standards, build trust across cultures, onboard new team members seamlessly, and coordinate effectively across time zones and regions. The result? We scaled rapidly without losing cohesion—and delivered strong outcomes for both our stakeholders and the company’s bottom line. Craig brought clarity, structure, and confidence at a time when we needed all three.”
Amanda Cashin, CEO
Prisma, former Co-Founder and Global Head of Illumina for Startups and Illumina Accelerator
“At the early stage of our wealth management firm, we brought Craig in to help me make the leap from serving as Chief Investment Officer to stepping into the role of President and company leader. His coaching guided me through a process of discovery and growth which yielded invaluable personal, organizational, and strategic insights. I liken this process to amassing a diverse set of useful tools and laying a solid foundation upon which durable and sustainable progress can be built going forward. Not only did my work with Craig arm me with a better understanding of who we are and where we wanted to go, it also enabled me to expand my focus to new areas – developing other functional leaders, strengthening our overall management capacity, and sharpening my partnership with our founder and CEO – critical to how we reach those goals successfully. Today, I work in tandem with the CEO and senior leadership team to marshal the integral resources necessary to meet the firm’s strategic objectives, enhance its capabilities, and deliver the highest level of service to our clients. The result has been a stronger leadership team, clearer direction, and the ability to scale our business with confidence for the years ahead.”
Bill Adrakakos, CFA, FRM
President & Chief Investment Officer, Aaron Wealth Advisors
“Mike’s guidance has been huge for me. He’s an 11-year pro, a world champion, and a Hall of Famer, but what makes him special is how he translates that experience into lessons I can use right now. He’s helped me understand not just the X’s and O’s, but the physiology—the feelings and emotions I go through during a game—and how to use them instead of being overwhelmed by them… He taught me how to slow things down, see what’s really happening on the field, and stay intentional with every rep. His experience as a pro quarterback gave me tools I never had before—to lock in on one play at a time and trust myself in big moments. That shift in mindset has allowed me to play freer and more confidently than ever before.”
Fernando Mendoza
Elite College Quarterback and Heisman Candidate