Empowering Leaders in Organisations
At Elevate, we believe that impactful and resilient leadership is the cornerstone of success and we’re committed to helping your team achieve it!
Our Approach
At Elevate, we believe that strong leadership and governance are the cornerstone of success and we’re committed to helping your team achieve it!
Understanding Your Needs
We work closely with your organisation to understand your goals and challenges, making sure our offerings fit your specific needs and align with your vision.
Providing Bespoke Services
Our programs build trust and ownership among participants through workshops, online sessions and coaching.
With Ongoing Support
We include a follow-up stage to ensure participants can apply what they learned in their everyday work, leading to lasting improvement and sustained growth
Sophie Perreard and Dr Phillip Connors are the heart and soul of Elevate, a company they launched in 2021 to shake up the world of leadership and coaching.
Phillip, with his background in youth work and socioeconomic development, and Sophie, with hers in humanitarian aid and social justice, saw an opportunity to change how people learn to lead and fulfil their governance duties. They combined their experience and passion to create Elevate, a company that goes beyond theory. It’s all about practical, real-world skills that help people lead with authenticity and embrace their unique strengths.
Elevate’s programs quickly became recognised across multiple sectors for their impact. Participants and clients didn’t just gain knowledge - they transformed. They walked away with a new sense of purpose and confidence, ready to face any challenge with their strength and adaptability. Organisations and teams saw 180 shifts in their behaviour and productivity.
Sophie and Phillip are excited to keep pushing boundaries with their collaborators. Their mission? To ignite the potential in countless more individuals and organisations, helping them reach new heights!
“We’re not making the leader, they are making themselves - we provide the environment for growth and development.”
Values We Live and Work By
We're passionate about making a real difference in the world. That's why we focus on partnering with NFPs, corporate businesses and governments – we want to help them amplify their social impact.
Integrity in Action
Good leadership is grounded in ethics, transparency and accountability. Integrity builds credibility, strengthens governance, and supports healthy organisational culture
How we live it
We model the behaviours we teach, hold ourselves to high professional standards, and help leaders embed ethical, responsible decision making in their everyday practice
Purpose with impact
Organisations thrive when their decisions, systems and people stay connected to a meaningful purpose. Purpose guides strategy, behaviour and resilience, especially in complex environments.
How we live it
We support leaders, boards and teams to align their purpose with strategy and culture, so their leadership creates positive impact that is both human and organisational.
Thoughtful Leadership
We believe leadership starts with awareness, curiosity, and the courage to ask better questions. Thoughtful leaders make better decisions, shape stronger cultures, and build trust.
How we live it
We bring evidence-based insight, reflective practice and practical tools to help leaders slow down, think clearly and act with intention.
Human Centred Connection
Relationships sit at the heart of effective teams, strong governance, and lasting impact. When people feel seen and valued, they contribute fully and lead with confidence.
How we live it
We design learning and coaching experiences that honour people’s context, culture and lived experience, creating safe spaces where real growth can happen.
So, why choose Elevate?
At Elevate, we collaborate with your team's subject matter experts and human resources to create customised, engaging leadership programs tailored to your specific challenges, ensuring a focus on your success.
Customised Solutions
We work with you to design and deliver customised solutions, understanding that cookie-cutter approaches don’t work for organisations like yours.Collaborative Design
At Elevate, we co-create programs with you, working hand-in-hand with your team's experts to address your specific challenges.Honesty and Integrity
We're straightforward – if something won't work, we'll tell you. But when we say we can help, we mean it.Engaging Methods
We use fun, engaging methods to keep your leaders motivated and learning.Real-World Experience
Our blend of real-world experience and academic expertise ensures we're focused on one thing - your success.
Our Team
Sophie Perreard
DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER
GAICD | Leadership, Governance and Organisational Development
Sophie Perreard is a strategic leader, governance-informed practitioner and founder of Elevate-CLE. She works at the intersection of governance, ethics, leadership and purpose-driven impact, supporting organisations to strengthen judgement, accountability and culture.
With more than 25 years of experience across international aid, academia and organisational development, Sophie brings deep expertise in strategy, leadership and cross-cultural practice.
Sophie co-founded the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership at Deakin University, where she contributed to academic governance, international partnerships and innovative postgraduate programs, including the first francophone humanitarian leadership course offered by an Australian university. Her work in higher education was recognised through university teaching excellence awards, including a Vice-Chancellor’s award.
As Founder and Director of Elevate-CLE, she works with not-for-profit organisations, government agencies and purpose-led partners to strengthen leadership capability, ethical practice and governance in action. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, an ICF PCC and Hogan-certified, with a practice grounded in strategy, ethics and purposeful leadership.
Sophie holds postgraduate qualifications from Aix-Marseille University, Faculty of Law, including a Master of Arts in International Humanitarian Action and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Legal Practice and Humanitarian Protection. She has lived and worked across Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, the Caribbean, France and the United States before moving to Australia.
Sophie’s professional interests include ethical leadership, governance in practice, organisational culture, strategy development, women’s leadership, gender equality and social justice.
Dr Phillip Connors (PhD)
PRINCIPAL AND FOUNDER
Executive Coach | Master Facilitator | Leadership Development Expert
Phillip Connors is an executive coach, master facilitator and leadership development expert with more than 30 years of experience across government, business, academia, and the international humanitarian and development sectors.
Over more than three decades, Phillip has built deep expertise in executive coaching, facilitation, leadership programme design, and organisational change and development through practice across diverse organisational and cultural contexts. He holds a PhD in Community Economic Development and, as co-founder of the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, has dedicated his career to helping leaders, teams and organisations thrive in complexity and deliver meaningful impact.
Phillip co-founded the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership at Deakin University, where he contributed to innovative leadership learning, strategic partnerships and applied approaches to development in complex settings. His work was recognised through multiple awards from Deakin and Curtin University for innovation and partnership.
As Principal and co-founder of Elevate-CLE, he works with government agencies, businesses and purpose-led organisations to build resilience, lead with clarity, and foster cultures of trust and high effectiveness. His current work includes leadership, mentoring and coaching initiatives with the South Australian Department for Education, alongside engagements with organisations including UNICEF, UNOCHA, ASEAN and the Red Cross. He is an ICF PCC, a master facilitator and Hogan certified.
Phillip’s philosophy is that leadership matters. It is both about doing and being, and about creating the conditions for others to grow. He brings together evidence, experience, facilitation expertise and coaching to support leaders to reflect, grow, act and lead with presence and confidence.
