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The Women Leaders Association, the largest publisher and events organization for women professionals with 43,000 members and more than 130 regional chapters, today announced Denise Byers as the newest Coaching Partner of its Minneapolis chapter, MinneapolisWomenLeaders.org. The appointment expands the chapter's Coaching Partners roster and gives Twin Cities members a second rigorously vetted coach to choose from, each with distinct specialties.
The Coaching Partners program was created to solve a problem the association's members raise constantly: executive coaching is one of the highest-impact investments a professional woman can make in her career — and one of the hardest to shop for. Coaching titles are unregulated, quality varies enormously, and a leader evaluating coaches on her own has little way to verify who is genuinely proven. Under the program, the Women Leaders Association does much of that screening on the member's behalf. Every Coaching Partner is vetted for recognized certifications, verifiable experience, and excellent client reviews before being presented to members, so each chapter's professionals can book a consultation with confidence, have a great experience, and keep rising in their careers.
Byers coaches leaders from the chair they aspire to — because she has sat in it. Before founding Minneapolis-based Agility Partners, Inc., a boutique firm providing fractional CEO and COO services, executive coaching, and culture advisory, she ran global operations at enterprise scale: Global Senior Director of Supply Chain roles at Medtronic and Eaton, where she led organizations of up to 360 people across 39 worldwide manufacturing sites with annual spends of $600 million and more; Managing Director at Accenture, advising the Fortune 500; Executive Client Partner at Silicon Valley start-up Aera Technology, helping executives digitize global supply chains; and founder of her own consulting firm, which she grew into multi-year international engagements across life sciences, healthcare, and automotive. Midcareer, she stepped away to earn a second master's degree at Harvard in strategic management. Today, as an ICF Professional Certified Coach and a John Mattone Global Certified Master Executive Coach, she partners with boards, executives, and founders through JMG's world-renowned Intelligent Leadership™ model — pairing advanced leadership assessments with individual development plans to drive the leadership maturity that delivers business growth.
"I've sat in the operator's chair at global scale — running supply chains across dozens of countries, leading through transformation, carrying the number," said Byers. "That's why my coaching starts with reality, not theory. Through the Intelligent Leadership™ model, I help boards, executives, and founders develop the maturity that actually moves a business — and become the leader others want to follow. I'm honored to join the Women Leaders Association's Coaching Partners and to help Minneapolis' women professionals keep rising."
Byers joins Ursula Pottinga on the Minneapolis roster, giving members a choice between two proven coaches with complementary strengths. Members can view Byers' full profile, including her focus areas and credentials, connect with her directly through the page, or send her a private note through the site, at
https://MinneapolisWomenLeaders.org/coaching.html?coach=DeniseByers
"Our vetting always asks the same questions — credentials, experience, results — and Denise answers them at rare scale," said Lydia Price, 2026 Volunteer Chair of the Women Leaders Association. "She has led six-hundred-million-dollar global operations, advised Fortune 500 clients at Accenture, and pairs that operator's resume with a Certified Master Executive Coach credential from John Mattone Global. Growing our Minneapolis roster with that combination is exactly how this program is meant to work."
The Minneapolis expansion is part of a national rollout, with the association planning to extend the Coaching Partners program across its network of more than 130 chapters, pairing each city's members with coaches selected for that market.
The Coaching Partners program extends the association's broader mission of giving professional women both the structural transparency and the individual support they need to advance. Research from Pew and others estimates that women still earn roughly 15 percent less than men on average, and most women have little visibility into which employers actually advance women fairly. The Women Leaders Association has invested heavily in closing that information gap: its Glass Ceiling Score project, uses big data to score most major U.S. employers on how fairly they promote women into management and executive roles, and its chapters publish Best Women Employers rankings, compensation studies, and annual Top 50 Women Leaders awards. Coaching Partners adds the complementary, personal dimension: once a member can see the landscape clearly, a proven coach helps her move through it.
About Denise Byers
Denise Byers, MBA, MA, PCC, ACPEC, is the CEO of Agility Partners, Inc. (AgilityPartners.co), a Minneapolis-based professional services firm providing fractional CEO and COO services, executive coaching, and culture advisory solutions. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach, an Advanced Certified Personal and Executive Coach (ICF Level 2) through the College of Executive Coaching, and a Certified Master Executive Coach through John Mattone Global with advanced MLEI, ILDP, and Culture Transformation certifications. She holds a master's degree in strategic management from Harvard University, serves on the University of Minnesota MIDB Advisory Board, and is a nonprofit CEO and board chair. Minneapolis members can connect with her through her profile link above.
About the Women Leaders Association
The Women Leaders Association is a non-profit committed to the development and advancement of women in the corporate arena. With 43,000 members and more than 130 chapters in major cities, it is the largest publisher and events organization serving women professionals, producing conferences, leadership programs, original research, and daily publications for its members. We also celebrate the top 50 business women in each city, publish a Glass Ceiling Score ranking how well most employers advance women, and then recognize the best women's employers in each city from these rankings.
Events Near You: https://WomanLeaders.org/r/
Best Employers Near You: https://WomanLeaders.org/r/GlassCeiling
Visit the Minneapolis chapter: https://MinneapolisWomenLeaders.org
Media Contact: Women Leaders Association, Service@WomanLeaders.org
Media Contact:
Lydia Price
Minneapolis Women Leaders Association
Service@MinneapolisWomenLeaders.org
