About Us

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Cortical Consulting & Coaching was founded on a simple observation:

organizational performance is shaped as much by how people and teams operate as it is by strategy, structure, or process.

As organizations evolve — driven by change, increasing pressure, and advances in AI — the demands on how work actually gets done are increasing, not decreasing.

Cortical works with organizations navigating complex change to improve performance — by focusing on the human side of how work gets done. This includes how decisions are made, how teams align, and how people respond under pressure.

After more than 30 years working inside organizations, including executive leadership roles, Tammy Arseneau saw firsthand how performance is often impacted by what sits beneath the surface — how people interpret change, how teams align (or don’t), and how decisions are made in real time.

Organizations often focus on strategy, structure, or capability in isolation.

In practice, performance emerges from how these elements interact with how people and teams actually operate — especially in moments of uncertainty, complexity, and change.

Cortical’s approach reflects this reality.

We look at performance across three connected levels:

• Organization — how work flows, how decisions are made, and how the system is structured
• Team — how leaders align, collaborate, and operate together
• Individual — how people think, interpret, and respond under pressure

These layers are always connected — and misalignment across them is often what limits performance.

This perspective has been shaped not only by experience, but also through collaboration with researchers and experts exploring how neuroscience and behavioural science can deepen our understanding of how people think, decide, and perform in complex environments.

Cortical was created to bring together real-world organizational experience with insights from neuroscience and behavioural science — helping organizations strengthen alignment, improve team effectiveness, and perform more consistently in increasingly complex environments.

Tammy is the founder of Cortical Consulting & Coaching. She is an Executive Coach and Leadership Advisor with more than 30 years of experience supporting leaders and organizations navigating complex leadership and organizational challenges.

Her career spans senior leadership roles in oil and gas and consulting, with experience working across Canada and internationally, including time in New Zealand and across both the east and west coasts of Canada.

Tammy held several Vice President roles at Suncor Energy, where she partnered with senior leadership teams to support organizational effectiveness, leadership development, and transformation initiatives within a workforce of approximately 13,000 employees.

Over the course of her career, she led teams ranging from 10 to more than 120 HR professionals and worked closely with leaders responsible for large, complex operations.

Today, through Cortical Consulting & Coaching, Tammy works with leaders and organizations to strengthen leadership effectiveness, improve team performance, and navigate complex change.

Our team is made up of experienced leaders and practitioners with diverse backgrounds across industry and consulting.

We have worked inside organizations, leading teams, navigating change, and supporting complex business challenges — which shapes how we partner with our clients today.

We work collaboratively and bring together the right expertise for each engagement, focusing on practical work that strengthens leadership, improves alignment, and supports better performance. 

Collectively, our team brings decades of experience across industries and leadership contexts. 

To learn more about our team and their experience, visit our Team page.