AI is changing what good leadership looks like.

Trekka helps executives and their teams make the shift to AI-first, by leading it and building with it, not just sponsoring it.

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The shift

AI fails when leaders sponsor it instead of lead it. And when they never build with it themselves.

Yvonne Newlands, founder and CEO of Trekka

My story

I'm Yvonne Newlands,
founder & CEO of Trekka.

I've spent my career on every side of transformation, and that's why I coach leaders the way I do.

I've worked as a consultant, advising Fortune 100 companies on large-scale transformation at PwC, EY, and Accenture. I learned how to diagnose where things break, map the human side of change, and make complexity make sense.

I've also been the operator. At Apple and Agilent, I didn't advise on transformation, I led it. I drove technology adoption across thousands of users and executed at scale. That's where I learned the part most advice misses: the judgment calls a leader makes when the plan meets reality. You can't advise your way through those. You have to live them.

And at venture-backed AI startups, I got hands-on building. I built and deployed production workflows myself on no-code platforms. Not to become an engineer, but to understand what AI can and can't do, what's hard, what's easy, and where the decisions sit.

Across all three, one pattern held: the leaders who deliver get hands‑on.

That's what I teach.

Why the shift stalls

Across more than 30 enterprise transformations, the same patterns show up.

Tools bought before the problem is understood

The software gets purchased before anyone maps how the work actually happens. It runs fine. No one uses it.

Leadership says go, and no one moves

The initiative gets announced from the top. The team nods, then keeps working the way it always has.

No one has drawn the line

There's no clear call on what AI should and shouldn't touch, so every decision gets made case by case, and the back-office standard walks straight into client work.

Every one of these is a leadership problem before it's a technology problem. That's where I work.

Leading vs. sponsoring

Leading the shift means doing the work first.

You can't lead this from the corner office. The leaders who get real value from AI are the ones who use it themselves, understand where it belongs, and make the hard calls personally. The ones who announce an initiative and step back end up with a tool nobody adopts and a budget nobody can account for. Leading the shift means doing the work first, not just funding it.

What it takes

Build the capability.
Own the direction.

The capability

You can't direct what you can't do. To hold AI to your standard, you have to be hands-on enough to know what good looks like and catch when it falls short. That judgment is the capability you build.

The direction

Where AI belongs in your work, and where it doesn't, is a call you own, not outsource. A direction you set is one you see through. A direction handed to you is one you quietly set aside.

How I help

Coaching for the capability. Strategy for the direction.

Executive coaching and training

I coach executives to build their own AI fluency, the kind that lets you make the call instead of deferring it. And through hands-on workshops, I bring teams along, so they become citizen builders who use no-code tools to automate their own work. You get leaders and teams who work differently, not a workshop everyone forgets by Friday.

AI Strategy and Roadmap

I help you find where AI is worth doing and where it isn't, then rank what to tackle first by impact and effort. Because I have built these systems myself, the plan is grounded in what your data, your risk, and your team can support, so it is one you can act on. You leave with a clear direction you can take to leadership and a 90-day plan you can start on Monday.

How to work with me

Two ways to start.

Claude Coaching Intensive

Five weeks from occasional Claude user to building automations on your own work. One-to-one, hands-on, and you keep a playbook of everything we build. See the coaching →

AI Clarity Session

Half a day to a prioritized plan. We map where AI fits across your work, rank what is worth doing, and you leave with a readiness snapshot, a ranked use-case map, and a 30-60-90 you can act on. See the Clarity Session →

Every engagement starts the same way, with a conversation about where you and your team stand today. See how we work together →

Executive education

Free workshops, because this is learned by doing.

I believe executives need hands-on experience with AI, not just talks about it. So I run free workshops where you build and learn, not just listen.

Head Start with Claude

A two-part virtual series, hosted on Luma, where you build your first workflows and see what's actually possible.

Claude for Finance

An in-person workshop in the Bay Area for finance leaders putting AI to work in their own roles.

Partnering with Trekka was a turning point for NeoWork. Yvonne gave us a scalable foundation and the confidence to grow without the growing pains. What impressed us most was how seamlessly Trekka integrated AI solutions into our existing workflows without disrupting our operations.

Joshua EidelmanCEO, NeoWork

Common questions

What does Trekka do?

Trekka helps executives and their teams make the shift to AI-first, through executive coaching, training, and AI strategy. The focus is building the leader's own capability and a clear point of view on where AI belongs in the business.

Who is Yvonne Newlands?

Yvonne Newlands is the founder and CEO of Trekka. She has worked as a management consultant at PwC, EY, and Accenture, an operator leading transformation at Apple and other large technology companies, and a hands-on builder at venture-backed AI startups, where she built and deployed production workflows across no-code platforms.

What is AI-first leadership?

AI-first leadership means building AI into how decisions get made and how work gets done, and getting hands-on with it personally rather than sponsoring it from a distance. It starts with the people leading the change, not with buying tools.

What is a citizen builder?

A citizen builder is someone who uses no-code tools to build their own automations and workflows without being an engineer. Trekka trains executives and teams to become citizen builders so they learn what AI can do by building with it.

Does Trekka build or implement AI systems?

No. Trekka coaches and trains leaders and teams to build their own workflows, rather than delivering large custom builds. Heavy engineering is left to specialist implementation partners.

Who does Trekka work with?

Trekka works with executives at companies that weren't built AI-first and now have to lead the shift, across industries, including finance leaders.

How do I start working with Trekka?

Send a message through the contact form describing where you and your team are with AI. If it is a fit, we will set up a conversation from there.

About the author

Yvonne Newlands is the founder and CEO of Trekka. She has led transformation across management consulting (PwC, EY, and Accenture), operations at Apple and other large technology companies, and hands-on AI building at venture-backed startups, where she built and deployed production workflows across no-code platforms. She coaches executives and their teams to lead the shift to AI-first and become citizen builders.

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The more you share about where you and your team are with AI, the more useful my reply will be.