About

Adam Smith

Founder / CEO

Adam has held senior roles across the private, political and charitable sectors for more than 25 years. In January 2017, he launched, Rise Up Strategies.

“Adam understands how to shape and frame messages for greatest impact. He understands narratives and the power of appealing to both the heart and the head. I would trust him with any communications challenge.”

Andrée Dion
Communications Manager, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

“I worked with Adam on the renewal of a complex $30M account. The client wasn’t happy with the way things were going and it was clear that they were exploring alternatives. Adam was able to step in and reset the discussion, eventually resulting in the renewal of the account with several new concessions made by the client.”

Rob McCulloch
Associate Vice-President, Advancement and Chief Development Officer, University of Ottawa

“Adam is a true professional with an exceptional work ethic combined with intelligence, creativity and desire to make a real difference. A significant asset always to our team, it was a pleasure to work with him.”

Rocco Rossi
President and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce

“During my time working with Adam at United Way, I saw him transform an underperforming, outdated Marketing Department into an innovative and high-performing digital team. It was an amazing transformation that helped United Way re-establish itself in the modern digital philanthropic landscape.”

Brendan Mullen
Marketing Executive, Automotive Industries Association (AIA) of Canada

“In the 25 years I’ve known and worked with Adam, I’ve seen him successfully build high-performing teams in the technology, political, non-profit, and financial services sectors. He’s a true high-performing professional.”

Jay Litkey
Software Executive, Snow Software

“I’ve seen Adam diplomatically express a contrary opinion to the consensus in a room of professionals and eloquently convince people that his perspective is the right one. It takes courage to be different than the crowd, but the value it brings is immeasurable.”

John Peters
Partner in the Advocacy Department, Gowlings WLG

“I had the pleasure of working with Adam for several years in Ottawa and found him to be a voice of reason and a champion of innovation. Adam is not afraid of taking chances while always supporting his colleagues.”

Gosia Radaczynska
Senior Vice-President, AlayaCare

“During my time as President of the Liberal Party of Canada, Adam had a very difficult job but he handled it with charm and professionalism. Despite the challenges faced by the Party, he built strong and lasting relationships with many senior officials across the country and ensured the Party had the necessary funds to fight elections.”

Doug Ferguson
Lawyer and Professor

“During the Federal election, while I was volunteering with the LPC, Adam identified a gap in the Party’s messaging and communications whereby thousands of Canadians were not having their policy questions answered. Although outside Adam’s scope of work, he quickly assembled and trained a team of volunteers to work through the backlog and make sure every inquiry and question was answered.”

Scott Willis
Climate Policy Specialist

“I asked Adam to be a keynote speaker at the Performance and Planning Exchange Symposium where he delivered an exceptionally well-received presentation on his work with the Shepherds of Good Hope. It couldn’t have gone better.”

Katie Brown
Chief of Staff at Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada

His passion for helping people and organizations reach their potential is visible in everything he does. His professional pursuits have allowed him to work with a variety of companies and other organizations in technology, financial services, private equity, universities and colleges, think tanks, as well as major national non-profits and associations.

Adam is an expert at navigating and influencing public policy at both the federal and provincial levels. He combines his skills in government relations with significant experience in marketing, data and project management to build consensus and drive transformative change for clients.

Adam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa. In 2012, he completed a Masters Certificate in Project Management through the Sprott School of Business, and he holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation from the Project Management Institute.

Working with Rise Up Strategies means you’re maximizing your flexibility while accessing top talent.  We only work with vetted professionals, all of whom operate well within their circles of competency. You get people who are ready to hit the ground running and won’t stop until you’re completely satisfied with the outcomes.

Learn more about Adam >