- Innovative Connections of Fort Collins, Colorado, has merged with and acquired Virginia-based executive coaching firm MSB Coach, founded by Dr. Michelle Braden.
- The deal expands Innovative Connections’ leadership development, coaching, and organizational transformation offerings across sectors such as healthcare, education, construction, and HR.
- MSB Coach’s evidence-based Conversational Oxygen® framework and Braden’s continued transition involvement are positioned to strengthen methods and client continuity.
- Financial terms and key integration details, including staffing and how proprietary frameworks will be combined, were not disclosed.
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The merger between Innovative Connections and MSB Coach, LLC represents a strategic consolidation in the leadership consulting / executive coaching sector. Innovative Connections, operating out of Fort Collins, CO, and MSB Coach, based in Virginia and founded in 2008, are combining their resources to deliver expanded capabilities in leadership development and organizational culture advisory services.
This move addresses a broader market trend: increasing demand for evidence-based leadership development rooted in both human-centered coaching and strategic organizational transformation. MSB Coach brings its proprietary “Conversational Oxygen®” framework and a track record of working with Fortune 500 entities, non-profits, and small businesses. Having this in-house strengthens Innovative Connections’ methodology and credibility in the marketplace.
For Innovative Connections, this acquisition not only broadens their industry reach—adding more depth in sectors like healthcare, education, construction, human resources—but also accelerates team growth, allowing for specialized expertise drawn from MSB Coach’s senior coaching leadership.
Strategically, this could serve multiple functions: enhancing competitive differentiation via a more robust product/service offering; improving economies of scale in coaching and consulting delivery; and enabling cross-selling opportunities with existing clients who may have had overlapping needs across strategy, culture, executive coaching, and leadership communication. However, the lack of disclosed financials suggests this is likely a smaller deal, possibly aimed as much at talent and capability acquisition as revenue growth.
Key risks include integrating different corporate cultures and preserving the identity and strengths of the MSB Coach brand and its frameworks. Ensuring continuity for MSB clients is being addressed—Dr. Braden will stay involved during the transition—but the extent to which MSB’s staff will stay long term remains to be seen. Another concern is how quickly the merged entity can realize synergies without disrupting service quality, especially given the intimate nature of coaching relationships.
Open questions that bear monitoring are: What was the purchase price or valuation, and how will it be funded? How will compensation, governance, and leadership responsibilities be shared between Dr. Braden/MSB team and Dr. Cure/Innovative Connections? What will the merged service offerings look like in practical terms? Finally, will there be any changes to contractual commitments with existing MSB clients during integration?
Supporting Notes
- Innovative Connections is a leadership consulting and organizational development firm headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado; MSB Coach, LLC is a Virginia-based executive coaching and leadership development company founded by Dr. Michelle Braden in 2008.
- The deal is described as a merger and acquisition to “expand its presence and expertise in leadership coaching, team development, and organizational transformation,” spanning industries including healthcare, education, construction, and human resources.
- Conversational Oxygen® is MSB Coach’s evidence-based coaching framework.
- Dr. Laurie Cure, CEO of Innovative Connections, emphasizes that this was not just about expanding services but integrating people whose values and approaches align deeply, to help leaders navigate complexity with confidence and integrity.
- Dr. Michelle Braden will remain involved during the transition to ensure continuity for MSB Coach’s clients and to maintain quality.
- No financial terms (purchase price, valuation, revenue impact) were disclosed in either the primary article or corroborating sources.