Our Story
The Waypoint Group was launched by Adam Sholley, a Certified Executive Coach (CEC), Career Coach (CCC) and Business Coach (CBC) with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations clarify direction, strengthen stakeholder relationships, and communicate their story with purpose.
Adam began his career in the advertising and marketing business at Ogilvy & Mather in New York, later working as a senior leader for mid-sized agencies in Boston, Cambridge and Portland, Maine. Overseeing major campaigns for iconic consumer brands such as McDonald’s, Unilever, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and Verizon, he developed an appreciation for the power of brand equity and the role brands play in driving customer trust and loyalty.
Over time, Adam’s professional focus shifted toward more purpose-driven institutions, particularly in higher education and healthcare. His strategic branding and fundraising campaign work included initiatives for colleges, universities, and academic medical centers. Adam guided his teams and partnered closely with institutional leaders, faculty, researchers, and advancement teams at Brown University, Bentley University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and The Wyss Institute at Harvard University, among others. These experiences deepened his appreciation for how leadership, organizational narrative, and philanthropy must align to optimize mission impact.
Throughout his career, and inspired by his parents’ commitment to community involvement, Adam has shared his expertise with non-profit boards across education (Noble and Greenough School, Falmouth Academy), health and human services (Community Servings, YearUp), public resources (Milton Library Foundation, Cunningham Park Foundation), faith-based organizations (St. Michael’s Episcopal Church), and more.
In addition to having worked with these boards, Adam currently serves as President of the Sholley Foundation, originally established in 1947 by his grandfather, Sidney L. Sholley. The family foundation primarily supports organizations across the arts, education, healthcare and the environment, and has distributed over $1,000,000 to more than 30 deserving organizations in the last ten years alone.
All of these experiences within the non-profit ecosystem ground Adam in the challenging realities facing mission-driven institutions, and this has inspired The Waypoint Group’s pragmatic and focused approach to working with mission-driven clients and organizations.