HW Strategy | Partnering with Purpose on the Prairies
- Path Cowork
- Nov 13, 2025
- 5 min read
From strategy to execution, HW Strategy is helping shape Saskatchewan’s biggest ideas into tangible actions. With a focus on collaboration and community impact, this Regina-based duo is proving that good strategy isn’t just about plans on paper - it’s about the right people, the right partnerships, and leading with purpose.
Let’s start with the basics. Who is HW Strategy? Tell us a bit about yourselves!
HW Strategy is essentially us - Rachelle Holterman and John Waller (the “H” and “W”). We’re a project development, business advisory and management consulting firm proudly based in Regina. Our work focuses on supporting the strategy, planning, engagement, and development needed to move complex projects forward by being an embedded team member within our clients’ organizations
“Our favourite projects are the ones that require collaboration, where you’re bringing multiple stakeholders to the table to make something happen that couldn’t have without partnership.”
With over 30 years of combined consulting experience, we’ve had the opportunity to work across Saskatchewan’s public and private sectors - from provincial ministries and Crown corporations to post-secondary institutions and Indigenous organizations. Our favourite projects are the ones that require collaboration, where you’re bringing multiple stakeholders to the table to make something happen that couldn’t have without partnership.
You’ve been helping shape Saskatchewan’s business and community landscape for decades, what inspired you to branch out and launch HW Strategy?
After collaborating together for more than a decade at another successful local management consulting firm (shout out to Doug McNair and our roots in this business!), we decided to venture out and start a company together focused on providing project development and business advisory services in Saskatchewan.
We created our firm to develop a focused business model around our experience, providing senior project delivery that we augment through various strategic partnerships with other advisors and technical service providers. We’ve developed our business model to also provide us the flexibility to manage with a strong work-life balance. It’s hard to believe that was already 5 years ago!
What’s one project or client experience that made you go, “Yep, this is exactly why we do what we do!”?
We take on multi-year, complex projects and work directly alongside client teams to move big initiatives forward. Our strength is navigating challenging environments - balancing strategic alignment with hands-on execution, especially when stakeholders have competing priorities.
John led market analysis and partnership strategy that explored multiple land-development concepts and ultimately helped secure $27.6M in federal funding and $8.25M in land lease + donation funding from Conexus Credit Union, key catalysts for the $70M+ campus renewal.
A great example is the University of Regina’s College Avenue Campus renewal. John led market analysis and partnership strategy that explored multiple land-development concepts and ultimately helped secure $27.6M in federal funding and $8.25M in land lease + donation funding from Conexus Credit Union, key catalysts for the $70M+ campus renewal.
He also supported negotiations with the City of Regina, coordinated community and stakeholder engagement, and oversaw a multi-year swing-space strategy, including complex relocation plans for the Conservatory’s music programs. In 2021, John returned to support planning and the reopening of Darke Hall, completing a transformative historic project that had been a priority for the University for decades.
Does having flexible access to turnkey workspaces like boardrooms and common areas at Path make a difference in your day-to-day work?
Having flexible access to different types of workspaces is essential in the type of work we do. Whether it is our weekly Monday morning touchbase - just the two of us prioritizing for the week, hosting our clients for key meetings discussing our projects, or hosting larger strategic sessions in The Boardroom, the Path meetings rooms work great and have everything you need in them for productivity (i.e. A/V, whiteboards, etc.).
We always get comments the first time we bring our clients into this space how cool it is!
The common area is also so handy with access to coffee, tea, water, etc. to make our clients feel comfortable when they are here with us. We always get comments the first time we bring our clients into this space how cool it is!
If you were to recommend Path to another team, what would you tell them about the workspace?
Path works well for all types of teams, personalities, work preferences, etc., and has different types of spaces to accommodate various work styles. We have always been somewhat “heads-down” when we are in the office, and our private office workspaces allow us to do that. However, the common areas and design of the workspace enables interacting with others and making connections when you desire to do so!
We’ve met some great people since being located in Path and it's pretty valuable when someone can pop by for a chat and spitball for five minutes about a problem they are having to pick our brains. Also, when our client has an issue and we know someone at Path that would be great for the job!
What’s a recent project or accomplishment with HW Strategy that you’re especially proud of?
Every project impacts us differently, and “accomplishment” can look like many things depending on what our clients are trying to achieve. While a lot of our work happens behind the scenes, it’s the big capital projects - the ones that start as a concept, evolve through business cases and feasibility work, secure major funding, and eventually become real, community-changing spaces that tend to give us those true goosebump moments. Seeing a new building or asset come to life after years of planning is incredibly rewarding.
One project we’re especially proud of is the Muskowekwan Family Healing & Wellness Centre. Muskowekwan First Nation is home to one of the last standing residential schools in Canada, and the community wanted a new, culturally grounded model for healing that supported families as a whole.
One project we’re especially proud of is the Muskowekwan Family Healing & Wellness Centre. Muskowekwan First Nation is home to one of the last standing residential schools in Canada, and the community wanted a new, culturally grounded model for healing that supported families as a whole. Through deep engagement and collaboration, we helped create the Centre’s vision and concept plan, and managed the multi-year process of building support, coordinating stakeholders, and preparing a successful application to the ISC Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative, where the project was chosen as one of only 24 selected from 342 applicants. The Centre officially opened in 2023, marking a meaningful step forward in community-led healing.
What’s on the horizon for your team, and how can people connect with you to learn more or work with you?
We are constantly involved in interesting initiatives and projects which are often confidential, so we do not do much corporate promotion ourselves. It is easy to connect with us! Just drop an email to John (john@hwstrategy.ca) or Rachelle (rachelle@hwstrategy.ca), or even drop into Path Basecamp, we are usually here! You can also check out our website. 🙂
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