Developing Your Leadership Presence

CvB & Associates was founded by Christopher von Baeyer, who began his research and professional practice over 35 years ago as an undergraduate at Harvard University. He has since developed an international reputation as a thought leader and expert practitioner in the field of Leadership Presence. Currently based in Toronto, he has designed and delivered arts-based programming in leadership and professional communication for hundreds of clients across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including BASF, Dolby, Duke Corporate Education, Rogers Communication, Enbridge, Société Générale, Deloitte & Touche, Boston Consulting Group, the Canadian government and the Hearst Corporation. He has served as a consultant and contributing partner to the Queen's/Smith Professional Development faculty for over 15 years.

Over the course of his career, he has coached thousands of men and women in the art of leadership presence, emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, Shakespeare, and voice. As a founding principal at The Ariel Group, the industry-leading international corporate training skills firm from Boston, he served as VP of Client Solutions where he managed the company’s highest revenue-generating clients for over 10 years. He has taught at the Harvard Business School, Emerson College, Boston College, the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Chicago and the Columbia University Senior Executive Program in New York. He has served on the faculty and Advisory Board for Leadership Development at the Banff Centre in Alberta, as well as the board of the Centre for Playback Theatre in New York. In 2014 he returned from a two-year work sabbatical travelling and living between Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Bali Province, Indonesia and Berlin, Germany.

Chris is deeply committed to employing the arts as a creative tool for promoting dialogue on issues of social and civic concern. He recently completed an intensive training with Al Gore to become certified as a member of the Climate Reality Leaderships Corps. For 10 years he served as the Artistic Director for Toronto Playback Theatre, which he founded with the mission of providing improvisational and audience-interactive theatre for diverse communities in the Toronto area. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Dharma Centre of Canada, one of the oldest meditation centres in North America. He holds a BA in English and American literature from Harvard University and an M.A. in Theatre Arts and Vocal Communication from Lesley University Graduate School. He currently resides in Toronto and is the proud father of a university-aged son.

Catherine is a sought-after Facilitator, Executive Coach, and Learning Designer, with over twenty years of successful business practice. She has held senior leadership positions at large and boutique management consulting and training firms based in Toronto, Canada, where her roles involved working closely with leaders of Fortune 500 companies to assess, develop, and implement strategic training initiatives to drive performance. A dynamic leader and learning solutions provider, Catherine offers a fresh and innovative approach to training, engagement and sustainment. She leverages an extensive creative background as a professional actor, writer and director to serve her business clients.

Catherine has served as Senior Manager, Learning and Enablement at Optimus SBR; Director of Learning at The Bottom-Line Group/ myPractice; and Director of Learning at e-Roleplay.  She is a Facilitator and Executive Coach for The Ariel Group, Kearney Management Consulting, and Carol Lempert Speaking. Catherine is certified as a Presence Coach, and in Leading with Emotional Intelligence. She has received designations for Principles in Adult Learning from George Brown College and Leadership and Coaching Fundamentals from the Co-Active Training Institute.

She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York with a BFA, majoring in Theater and Psychology, and earned a Dramatic Arts Certificate from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England. Catherine’s career as a creative artist encompassed theatre, film, television and radio. She co-founded the award-winning alternative theatre group Stiletto Company. She taught acting on faculty at Sheridan College, Toronto Metropolitan University and Seneca College.