We've Led Transformation From the Inside
We've spent decades leading brand and omnichannel transformation at global companies (Unilever & Clorox) and at high-growth startups (Hazel Health & Impossible Foods). We are now at forefront of helping organizations navigate AI adoption and what it means for their people and teams.
Meet the Team
Drew Mathias and Erin Dress founded Heartfelt Strategy after decades leading transformation at some of the world's most demanding organizations. They built this firm to do the work they know matters most: helping leaders and teams navigate change in a way that actually sticks.
Co-Founder
Drew Mathias
With over 20 years of experience spanning Fortune 500 companies, startups, and social ventures, Drew combines a love of strategy with a commitment to helping organizations grow with intention.
"I’m a people-person who loves helping, listening, and bringing out the best in others. Outside of work, I'm hiking with my dog Pepper and husband Matt, cooking for friends, or lost in a great book."
Co-Founder
Erin Dress
A marketer with 15+ years of expertise in omnichannel strategy, and insight-led marketing, Erin thrives on connecting the dots between human behavior and innovative solutions to empower organizations.
"A lifelong learner and mentor, I find joy hiking with friends or romping along the beach with my pup Josie, reading 50+ books a year, and helping others clarify and realize their mission."
Our Story
Heartfelt Strategy wasn’t just built—it grew naturally, the way the best ideas do. We met in 2018 during a job interview, and two-and-a-half hours later, we were still deep in conversation, laughing, and sharing ideas. We left that room knowing one thing: we’d be friends for life.
Since then, we’ve worked side by side across industries—CPG giants, scrappy start-ups, purpose-driven brands. We’ve supported each other through new roles, big changes, and countless hikes with our dogs, Josie and Pepper (who are now great friends, too).
It wasn’t long before we realized: the way we support each other in life, the way we balance curiosity with compassion and strategy with execution, is exactly how we could help others thrive. Heartfelt Strategy is the result of that realization—a business built on partnership, lifelong learning, and the belief that when you get to the heart of what matters, everything falls into place.
Our Impact & Experience
Team Upskilling for AI
Led a 15-person, 4-month AI adoption pilot, coaching staff through workflow redesign, building shared skills, and embedding AI into daily practice.
Governance & Policy
Helped multiple clients draft or revise AI policies and usage policies, as well as how to roll them out to their teams.
Design Work, Manage Knowledge + Automate
Redesigned workflows and knowledge management flows at multiple organizations, helping identify and prioritize AI-able steps and bringing in automation while keeping the right level of human in the loop.
Change Management & Habits
Insights-first approach listening to where teams and individuals are and personalizing change management strategies to help them build new habits.
Goals Alignment
Led workshop for leadership team to align on OKRs that incorporated AI change, and then helped the team operationalize goals performance tracking with the team.
Proven Results
$210K
Saved annually from a single workflow redesign
+66%
Time savings Q/Q from AI workflow integration
50+
Custom GPTs and agents built and optimized for clients
15+
AI tools used regularly and applied to client work based on use cases and their needs for adapting to the changing business landscape
