Photo Credit: Rosy & Shaun
Meet The Team
Uphill Partners is a wife and husband duo, cheered by their two young daughters. Our collective experience at Fortune 500 companies and successfully exited start-ups has taught us the operational complexities in small business, how to cultivate winning teams and how to deliver for customers. Each with unique expertise and style, we bring energy, leadership, and action-orientation to a business.
Laura Engelland | Founder & Principal
Laura leads search and acquisition efforts for Uphill Partners, and will become the target company’s CEO.
Laura has spent her career managing organizational and behavioral change. She has over 15 years of experience navigating companies in different industries and of different sizes, developing her swift, thorough, and decisive problem-solving skillset. Prior to running Uphill, Laura led teams and built businesses while working at market-leading companies like iRobot Corporation and Ford Motor Company. As a marketer and strategist, Laura creates a vision and secures the tools and resources to achieve it. She is passionate about people, laser-focused on serving all stakeholders from her employees, to customers, to the local community.
Laura has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Arkansas, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Michigan. While at Arkansas, Laura was an NCAA Div. I cross country and track and field athlete, earning multiple Academic All-American honors. As an athlete, Laura leads with accountability, integrity, and resilience.
Laura grew up in Los Angeles, lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas, New York, Boston, and San Francisco before meeting Jason and starting their family in Michigan. She loves building her home here, taking her daughters on stroller runs, to yoga class, and planning for the family’s next backpacking trip.
Jason Engelland, CFO, CTP | Chief Financial Officer
Jason will serve the acquired business in a part-time capacity, acting as advisor and Chief Financial Officer.
Currently the Chief Financial Officer at Career Now Brands in the transportation and logistics sector, Jason is part of the executive leadership team, responsible for setting strategic direction for the business, ensuring mutually beneficial vendor contracts, and directing operations through KPI tracking and cash flow modeling. Before Career Now Brands, Jason was Head of FP&A at Shift Digital, a digital marketing firm, where he led due diligence on multiple successful M&A transactions and implemented a variety of systems to streamline processes. Jason has also spent time in automotive (General Motors), financial services (Ally), and in public accounting, bringing a wealth of problem-solving and operational experience. Jason maintains an active CPA license.
Jason earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Western Michigan and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Detroit Mercy. Originally from Southeast Michigan, he is proud to be raising his daughters here and contributing to the economic growth of our community. As a self-taught handyman, Jason spends a lot of weekends fixing up the Engelland home. His hobbies include sailing, snowboarding, and playing hockey…all of which he is already teaching his daughters.