I help founders build a future worth wanting.
My mission is to steer toward humane futures through the art and practice of leadership.
For 17 years, I've done private, transformational work with leaders. Today, my clients are founders in AI and other frontier technologies. They are the people whose decisions will shape how billions of us live. My job is to help them actualize their full potential as a leader, and steward this power with wisdom and integrity.
My life's work
The art and practice of leadership
The Art | Executive Coaching
Executive Coaching
Private, long-term work with founders navigating the demands of building something that matters.
Learn more →The Practice | AIxHumanity
AIxHumanity
Gatherings, projects, and writing on leading toward humane futures in the age of AI.
Learn more →
Writings
Writings on the inner and philosophical dimensions of being human and our evolving relationship with technology.
Testimonials
Here’s what people say about me.
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Lots of executive coaches talk to help you clarify your thoughts. What Banu does is not that. She is more like Yoda. I can’t imagine the person I would be without Banu’s penetrating insight and unflagging resolve in seeing and unlocking my potential. Having a stellar executive coach is a superpower; one that most people don’t realize. Banu is that superpower for me. She’s helped me completely transform my view of who I am and what I’m capable of, and has unquestionably more than 10x’d my effectiveness as a leader, and my ultimate life outcomes.
Kanjun QiuCEO Imbue · GP Outset Capital
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Other executive coaches work on tactics. Banu works on something far more foundational and everything else changes downstream. She can pinpoint the root of the problems and show me things I didn’t see. I learned so much from her that helps me see things in a totally new light. I don’t know any other executive coaches that could ever discuss things at this level.
Dawn SongProfessor UC Berkeley · MacArthur Fellow · Founder Oasis Labs
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Banu is the platonic ideal of what an executive coach should be. I have a great imagination but it’s honestly hard for me to think of how she could be better. She’s been life-changing both for me and for my company.
Armand CognettaFounder & CEO · General Proximity
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Banu is one of the most perceptive, intelligent, and helpful people I’ve interacted with in the course of getting better at the work that I do. I’m very careful about whose mental model I let into my brain. She is one of the few people where I both trust the intent and I also trust the wisdom. There’s something I really respect that she has, and I want to be influenced by it.
Laura DemingCEO Until · Partner Age1 & The Longevity Fund
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It is so helpful to have someone else who is smart and insightful and understands enough about the world, and enough about me, to look at the situation from the outside, and then push. We raised our large round a few years ago largely because Banu pushed me — "Can you think bigger? Why raise $10 million? Why not raise $100 million? Why not raise $200 million?"
Josh AlbrechtCo-Founder & CTO · Imbue
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I sometimes say that “Banu has changed my life,” and I mean it. I’ve updated out of old ways of thinking and unhelpful patterns. This has profoundly impacted not only the way I show up at work, but also the rest of my life. Banu is unusually insightful, and I trust her to push back when I need it. But she is also incredibly supportive and caring; a source of strength over the last few years.
Anastasia GamickCo-Founder & President · Convergent Research
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Banu has been invaluable to my career trajectory as a serial entrepreneur and investor. Her expertise from working with founders and CEOs means she can bring a perspective and pattern recognition to our conversations that is rare and much needed. She has an innate ability to uncover your superpowers and to help you harness them, with results that are life-changing. In working through transitional times, Banu grounds you in a deep belief that you can unlock your limitless potential. Truly second to none.
Betsy ForeFounding Partner Velveteen Ventures · 3× Founder
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I have worked with many executive coaches over the years, and Banu is simply in a league of her own. The true 0.1%. She has an exceptional gift for pinpointing the exact mental roadblocks standing between me and my goals, surfacing things I have sensed but have never been able to name. She perfectly balances warmth and support with directness and honesty, challenging me when it matters most. What makes her truly rare is that her approach is built on a foundation of genuine care. I feel very fortunate to have found her.
Kevin LiangCOO · Starbloom Capital
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Banu has been invaluable coaching me through the rollercoaster of the startup journey, starting when I was in the depths of burnout and helping me get into a more sustainable rhythm. She is incredibly incisive, cuts to the root of things very quickly, and has unshakable belief in you and in developing your unique genius. She has been stellar as a leadership coach; I couldn’t recommend her enough.
Michael LaiAI for Government · Anthropic