Board & C-Suite Advisory Practice
About Me
"To me, creating responsible leadership comes down to two real-world practices: vetting candidates rigorously for governance readiness, and setting up the actual leadership governance they need to succeed."
I help boards align the human and structural risks of a C-suite transition so the enterprise never loses its stride
FOUNDER'S PROFILE
Upneet A. Walia
Founder & Principal Advisor, UAW Leadership Global
Succession and Executive Transition Practice
Independent Director (IOD, IICA) | Certified Intelligent Leadership® Master Coach Specializing in Executive Transition & Succession Governance
THE PROBLEM
Boards invest in leaders but overlook governance misalignment—leading to failed transitions.
THE SOLUTION
She combines Intelligent Leadership System™ coaching with board-level insight to align expectations, structure, and strategy.
BACKGROUND
Corporate Director, IL Executive Coach (PCC), and former Professor of Organisational Communication & Business Ethics with deep expertise in executive succession, board dynamics, and crisis communication.
WHAT SHE DOES
Audits board effectiveness, stress-tests succession, defines founder transition boundaries, and de-risks the first 180 days.
OUTCOME :
Secured Leadership Continuity. Mitigated transition risks. Optimized Board alignment.
Values
The Values I Bring to Your Board
The Pracademic Advantage:
I bring a rare blend of deep academic research in communication and ethics alongside real-world, accredited boardroom governance practices.
Principal-Led Accountability:
When you retain my practice, you get direct, absolute access to me. I do not hide behind a big corporate brand name or delegate your sensitive boardroom dynamics to junior associates. I handle your strategy, assessments, and coaching personally.
Radical Discretion & Neutrality:
Leadership handovers and boardroom evaluations can be intensely emotional, especially in family-led conglomerates. I serve as a completely independent, calm, and objective anchor, free from internal corporate politics or cross-selling agendas.
Data Over Guesswork:
I do not rely on vague intuition or soft-skills clichés. Whether auditing a board's effectiveness or evaluating a successor, I deploy validated metric matrices (like the MLEI) to transform abstract corporate culture into clear, measurable data points [John Mattone, 2026].
Trust Anchors
Accredited Trust Anchors
Empanelled Independent Director
Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India [IICA, 2026]
Certified Corporate Director
Institute of Directors (IOD), India [IOD India, 2026]
Professor of Organizational Communication & Business Ethics
[Insert Name of University/Institute, Optional]
Certified Intelligent Leadership (IL) Coach
John Mattone Executive Coaching Architecture [John Mattone, 2026]
Professional Certified Coach (PCC Track)
International Coaching Federation (ICF) via Coaching Lighthouse