The Short Story
I’m Shane Tierney (he/they) – an Irish queer settler with Canadian citizenship living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, otherwise known as Vancouver, Canada.
I'm a program leader, venture builder, and brand strategist focused on driving systems change that serves people and the planet. With extensive experience leading initiatives across technology, non-profit, and social innovation firms, my work encompasses strategy, organizational design, operations, and sustainability.
I provide fractional leadership and strategy services to mission-driven organizations, supporting them with organization design, venture building, narrative development, and brand strategy. I'm energized by bold ideas and collaboration, believing in the power of collective action to create a healthier, more resilient future.
The Long Story
My Roots
I grew up in Connemara, a Gaeltacht region in the West of Ireland, where the wild outdoors served as my playground. At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate how being surrounded by such natural beauty, Irish culture, and a close-knit community would shape me. These roots instilled in me a strong sense of connection to people, place, and the natural environment, which has guided me throughout my life and career.
Learning Journey
My academic journey began with a commerce degree and a master's in marketing at the University of Galway, building my foundation in business and strategy. I've since expanded into sustainability and systems change through programs like the Next Economy MBA, where I explored regenerative business design, OnePointFive's Sustainability Consulting Accelerator for decarbonization strategies, and Terra.do's Climate Change Bootcamp, which deepened my understanding of climate science and policy. I'm currently pursuing a master's in sustainable development at the University of Sussex.
Creative Beginnings
At Image Now, I worked with some of Ireland’s most prominent clients, including An Post, Java Republic, Irish Rail, and RTÉ. I oversaw creative teams and external agencies and managed branding, digital, video, and outdoor campaigns. This role taught me the art of stakeholder management, that there is always a creative solution to a problem, and the craft behind building brands that people love.
Driving Social Innovation
Moving to Canada marked the beginning of my journey into social innovation. At Dossier and its innovation lab, Railyard, I managed projects that bridged design thinking and impact. Leading the lab’s first remote cohort, I worked with students and social impact organizations to build beautiful brands, websites, and strategies. This experience taught me what it means to be a great manager and how important it is to me that my work aligns with my values.
Mentorship and Impact
This focus on mentorship continued at Propel Impact, where I supported the development of young leaders and their contributions to community-driven projects. Guiding these emerging changemakers and organizations at critical moments of their growth was deeply rewarding.
Learning from Communities
At Neighbours United, I saw the power of grassroots action up close. As a deep canvasser, I engaged with residents to advocate for protecting old-growth forests in British Columbia. Having transformative conversations with people who didn’t initially share my views taught me how to listen deeply, build understanding, and find common ground—skills I carry into all my work.
This commitment to community extends beyond environmental advocacy. As a volunteer with the Health Initiative for Men (HIM Clinic), I supported strategic fundraising and campaigns to strengthen the health and well-being of queer men. These experiences reinforced my belief in the power of mutual aid and collective action to address challenges and build community resilience.
Practicing Post Growth
As the Post Growth Alliance Manager at the Post Growth Institute, I relaunched a global coalition of 28 organizations advancing well-being economics and systemic change. We amplified member content through an innovative “algorithm-hacking” alerts system, increasing visibility for initiatives challenging growth-centric narratives.
Working with PGI has taught me many things, including how to slow down, lead team groundings, and implement asset-based approaches and sociocratic decision-making.
Driving Change at Microsoft
At Microsoft, I played a chief of staff role to executive leadership, partnering on organizational design, strategic planning, and execution across a product portfolio, including Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. I led cross-functional alignment and drove systems-level initiatives through change management and strategic negotiation.
As co-founder of the Green Design Lab, I championed digital sustainability through hackathons engaging 100+ participants and facilitated 15+ workshops that built capacity for sustainable practices across the organization, earning executive recognition.
I developed capacity planning processes and tools for a 315+ person design and research team, formed a coalition of 60+ executive leaders to operationalize craft quality as a core value across products, and led accessibility initiatives that equipped 150+ designers to embed inclusive design into core workflows and governance.
Navigating change within a complex organization like Microsoft taught me how to leverage collaboration and systems thinking to drive meaningful impact at scale.
Current Chapter
After leaving tech to pursue more values-aligned work, I launched my independent consulting practice focused on organization design, narrative development, and brand strategy for organizations doing good.
One of my first projects is helping build and launch a new economic intelligence organization in Canada focused on energy investments. I'm excited to partner with clients who are ready to do hard, wonderful work - if that's you, please reach out.
Outside of work and studies, you can find me leaning into my plant-daddy era, hunting for gluten-free snacks that spark joy, sweating in a sauna, or learning how to make hats.
