Last updated: June 23

My global 2022 Career Innovator Award from Career Directors International (CDI) 

I’m delighted to share that I have earned a global 2022 Career Innovator Award from Career Directors International (CDI).

According to Career Directors International: “Winning a Career Innovator Award tells the world that you are a leader who is making a difference. The awards are an endorsement of creativity, passion, and expertise. This seal of approval provides winners with an enormous opportunity for visibility, credibility, and growth.

Innovation is a proving ground where you show prospective clients, employers, partners, and the media that you’ve “got what it takes” as an expert authority.

Our innovation is the CEO 90-Day-Plan product.  

As an organization optimization expert for CEOs and their boards, the 90-day plan is instrumental to clients' successes, and this is the reason for our honor.

We instituted a significant innovation with our CEO 90-day plan. The strategy has evolved over 5 years and toward the end of 2020, we published a blog on the Westgate website titled, Make your CEO and board happy with a 90-day plan, and it includes a template, checklist, and accountability script.

Whether you’re a new CEO, an experienced CEO, or a C-level planning to get hired up, you can use this comprehensive 90-day plan to jump-start your year, maximize performance, and appease your investors.

CDI is a leading global professional association for career coaches and resume writers. I've been a member for more than 10 years.

Like a Swiss Army Knife, the 90-day plan will help you master the job interview, master your first 90 days on the job, and serve as a continuous performance improvement tool.

There are many “90-day plans” online, but ours is unique in that it is a plan specifically built for executives and it isn’t just a template. It is based on real client experiences. We offer the template, 12 weeks 12 sheets (organizational tool), and both are low tech, high impact. It is a holistic system.

This past April (04/22), we delivered our 90-day Plan for a senior leaders presentation in Philadelphia to 58 incredible career professionals, executive coaches, branding specialists and executive recruiters from across Canada, the U.S., and Sweden.

Maureen Farmer presenting on 90-day plan

What executives are saying about our plan


“I’ve been searching for a CEO opportunity and there was one that I was very interested in. I really wanted to blow the interviewer away by coming to the table with a plan. I went online, and I Googled ‘CEO 90-day plan’ and your information came up right away. I went in and took a look at it, I thought wow, this isn't just some kind of marketing ploy, there was some robust content there. And there were also pieces that I wouldn't have normally thought about. Checking environmental scan, for example, was an area I hadn't really heard of before, I thought the way that it was put together made a lot of logical sense.

So, I downloaded the plan, and then, of course, I created my own plan based on this particular position that I was interested in. And I'll tell you it was actually good to go through the exercise because as I went through each piece of your plan, I was able to reflect on what I do and if there were some gaps that I had coming into the role, which helped me be even more prepared for the interview portion of the entire recruiting process.

After the interview process had concluded, I later found out that the reason I made it into the top two final candidates was the thought and the detail that I had put into that 90-day plan, which set me a lot higher up in their process in terms of the candidates that they were looking for.”

Chief Strategy & Growth Officer | Biosciences | Phoenix, AZ


“The 90-day plan has been fantastic. For new executives or executives in a new setting, it allows them to get their first win really fast because it is laser-focused. And it keeps them grounded and focused on getting things done that are very essential during their first 90-day period. I have also used it when I had conversations with organizations about key positions. I use it as a leave-behind artifact where I was able to layout precisely what I could provide for them during the first 90 days.

The use continues because we have larger strategies, and these have to be executed in chunks. The 90-day plan is lightweight and very precise, so we are able to break the strategy down into precise time boxes that prevent us from being distracted.

It's easy to monitor and easy to track. You could use bigger program planning tools, but those are larger hammers and not precise scalpels. If you have something very particular that you need to get done, this helps a lot.”

Technology and People Leader | Infrastructure & Cloud Management Services | Denver, CO


“Writing a quick note to commend you on the 30-60-90 Day Plan that I downloaded from your company yesterday. By far the most comprehensive roadmap that I have come across whilst doing my research. It provided the perfect balance of the hard and soft considerations necessary for a leader embarking on a new journey.”

Director | Financial Services | Toronto, ON

We would like to thank Laura DeCarlo, president of CDI as well as the additional winners, esteemed nominees, and judges.

We would also like to acknowledge our community without whom, this innovation wouldn’t have gained the visibility at the rate that it did.

Thank you!

I also want to thank Maddison Shears, our Digital Marketing Manager at Westgate for her contribution to the marketing of the plan. She was an integral part of the planning and design behind the 90-day plan and she developed an innovative way for our firm to connect with our community on a deeper level through the use of the 90-day plan. Her efforts contributed to the overall global access of our product!

For CHROs, private equity funds, operating partners, and boards of directors

Learn about the C-Suite Optimization Program (CSOP), which is designed to help your new CEO on board safely and effectively thereby protecting your investment in the new leader. By doing so, you will reinforce your business plans early and help the CEO make the kinds of rapid and decisive moves that help foster success in the long term.

For aspiring CEOs, C-levels, and business leaders

Learn about the Career Navigator Program (CNP) now in its eleventh year. Jump-start your C-level trajectory with a proven process and framework used by thousands. And, leverage the global labor market by uncovering a powerful brand that will speak on your behalf in front of organizations who don’t know about you. A powerful brand speaks for you when you’re not in the room while thriving during economic downturns because strong bands weather difficult times.

Get in touch

If Westgate can serve as a resource to your CEO and board, we’d be happy to explore with you. Drawing on 25 years’ corporate experience and serving organizations in the United States and Canada, Westgate Executive Branding is a 100% independent firm with no affiliations with recruitment or outplacement firms.

To secure a personal and confidential appointment, please contact Maddison at maddison@westgatecareercoaching.com.



We look forward to welcoming you into the Westgate Family of success stories.

About executive resume writing author 

Westgate - Maureen Farmer

Maureen Farmer is the Founder & CEO of Westgate Executive Branding & Career Consulting Inc., an international personal branding and career consulting firm delivering premier executive branding and career consulting services for high-profile leaders. Author of The CEO Script Vault: Job Search Scripts for Busy Executives, Maureen believes that when we’re doing work aligned with our values, everyone wins. Using the law of attraction to identify quality employers utilizing the hidden job market is a cornerstone of her career management strategy.

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