We Help Good People Become Great Leaders

Being good at the work isn't the same as being ready to lead it.

That gap, the one between the doer and the leader, is wider than it looks, and it has almost nothing to do with talent. Vertical Motion exists to make that gap visible and close it: for the individual stepping into the executive ranks, and for the organization building a leadership team that scales without the CEO as the bottleneck.

Professionals collaborating in a modern office

Get started with us:

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I want to advance my executive career

For professionals and execs ready to step into the executive ranks.

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I want to scale my executive leadership team

For CEOs and investors building a team that scales without the bottleneck.

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Hundreds coached| $1.5B closed by our founder| 300+ member community
Our approach

Analytics + Intuition = Clarity

We pair rigorous behavioral data with the judgment of leaders who have actually sat in the executive chair. That combination turns a vague sense that something is off into a clear, personal plan.

The power of the analytics

The Leadership Drivers & Natural Aptitudes (LDNA™) assessment, along with our other behavioral tools, measures how you are actually wired, where your natural strengths sit, and exactly where your role is asking you to operate against the grain. No guesswork and no personality-test horoscopes, just a precise read on the gap.

The insight of experience

Then our trained coaches and consultants add the human layer. They have led at the top themselves, so they read the data and the context, translating raw analytics into the few moves that will actually move your career or your team forward.

Take the LDNA™ →
Path A · For Individuals

I want to grow my executive career.

Built for mid-career professionals with 10+ years of experience who are ready to stop waiting to be noticed and step into true executive ownership. The gap from manager to executive is wider than it looks, and it's an execution problem, not a talent problem. We meet you wherever you are on that path.

A professional being coached toward the executive ranks
EP

Executive Presence

Master the mindset, gravitas, and communication that get you seen as the leader you already are, without playing office politics.

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Brand & Network Activation

Build a personal executive brand and activate a network that surfaces roles for you, including the 70% that never get posted online.

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Interview & Negotiation

Navigate the executive interview, recruiters, and the first 90 days, and negotiate the compensation you've earned.

Choose your level of support

The Handbook LDNA Assessment Elevate Membership Executive Career Accelerator Executive Mastermind by invitation
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A leadership team aligning in a boardroom
Path B · For Organizations

I want to upgrade my leadership team.

For CEOs, founders, and boards building organizations that execute with absolute alignment. Most scaling problems aren't strategy problems, they're leadership-gap problems hiding in plain sight: excellent operators who were never developed into executives, and a CEO who's become the bottleneck. We make those gaps visible and close them, before you add more headcount, capital, or complexity.

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Team Diagnostics

Map the natural aptitudes, leadership drivers, and team dynamics of your existing leadership team with rigorous psychometric alignment.

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ELT Diagnostic

An in-depth, data-backed diagnostic of your executive team performance & alignment. Reveal the bottlenecks, misalignments, and behavior patterns capping your growth.

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Outplacement & Succession

Implement succession and outplacement frameworks that keep the organization agile for the long term.

Leadership teams we have worked with come from or move into roles at

Aerospace
Healthcare
Fintech
Insurance
Retail / DTC
Defense
Pro Sports
Enterprise IT
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A message from the CEO

Real leadership isn't academic.

Tom Cox founded Vertical Motion in 2023 after surviving Acute Myeloid Leukemia and retiring from a 30-year aerospace and defense career. A 3x CEO who closed more than $1.5B in new business, he built this from the executive chair, not a textbook. Beating cancer crystallized what mattered: doing something he loves, is good at, can be paid for, and the world needs. For Tom, that became helping good people become great leaders, without compromising who they are.

Read Tom's full story →
Tom Cox, Founder and CEO of Vertical Motion
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A message from Tom Cox, Founder & CEO
The next level of execution begins here

Learn more, or get started.

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Get to know us

The team, the mission, and the story behind Vertical Motion, and why we do this work.

About Us →
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See where you stand

Take the free LDNA and get a precise read on how you actually lead.

Take the LDNA →
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Talk to us

Questions, partnerships, or speaking. We would love to hear from you.

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We help good people become great leaders.