Elevating Leadership

“Maïa is a legend. She's probably one of the top five administrative & executive operations experts in Silicon Valley. Just her track record alone is scintillating, but getting to work with her is where the real magic comes to life. We were looking for a top executive operations person for our company, and Maïa and her team delivered above and beyond our expectations. I would hire her again in a heartbeat. If you are looking to bring on a top admin, exec ops person, or level up your organization in these domains, look no further.”

Chandan Lodha

President & CoFounder, CoinTracker

“Maïa helped us scope, recruit, and eventually hire our first executive operations position at Abridge. She is fabulous to work with, and has an unwavering commitment to helping people find the right person for the job! The candidates she sent our way were fabulous. Thank you, Maïa!”

Julia Chou Chapin

COO, Abridge AI

After HumanFirst raised our Series A, we needed a more sophisticated approach to our internal operations compared to our scrappy seed state. As we thought about what roles we needed, a critical area was to scale our executive team. Given that we were still small, we didn't need a classic EA role though we needed someone who could support operations that would be more tactical than a strategic Chief of Staff. We hired Maïa to help us craft an "Executive Operations" role which is effectively a hybrid between an EA and CoS. She also worked with our team to source, recruit, interview screen and design a process for hiring this role. We brought our new EO teammate in shortly there after, and she's transformed the company. I'm very grateful that Maïa helped us learn this could could exist and she's continue to work with our team as a coach for both our EO and me so we can continue to develop this very excellent partnership.

Andy Coravos

CEO, HumanFirst

“Maïa's consulting and search services helped us re-define and fortify our company's executive operations. Maia deftly defined our internal needs, crafted the perfect role and led an efficient recruiting strategy which resulted in a very qualified hire. Maia was able to quickly identify the most qualified candidates meeting our criteria and kept us informed during the recruiting process through detailed weekly candidate generation reports. She then supported us throughout the offer process and provided insight on our onboarding plans. I would not hesitate to recommend Maia's services and would gladly work with her again.”

Lynn Rauch

Head of HR, ATREG, Inc.

“Maïa is an extremely dedicated and empathetic leader, who achieves results by applying a coaching mindset to her work, products, and teams. She is direct, authentic, and accountable - a true force of nature. I have so appreciated collaborating on projects that speak to mission driven work, while driving authenticity and transparency as foundations of her working style.“

Cara-Lynn Giovanniello

Head of Leadership, Learning & Development, Block (Square)

“Maïa has a compassionate and thoughtful approach to coaching. Her extensive business experience is evident in her coaching skills. She has the ability to quickly make clients feel comfortable and to skillfully guide them through the process.”

Julia James

CEO, Hedgerow Group, LLC

“I have so appreciated the executive coaching relationship with Maïa and the way it's elevated my leadership and ability to navigate a new chapter of my career. Maia's keen judgment, trust and encouragement have been invaluable to me and had a wider impact on my team. She has not only provided me with management tools and advice, but more importantly has helped lead me to discern the answers already within me. I can't recommend working with Maia enough to anyone looking to make a leap in their professional development.”

Annie Rothrock

VP, ATREG, Inc.

I have had the pleasure of working with Maïa when I first started my career as an Executive Assistant. She took me under her wing and provided me guidance as well as encouragement. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. Throughout the years she has continued to be an incredible mentor to me. She is someone I reach out to when it comes to advice on my career or different aspects of our day-to-day job. She is professional, intelligent, and conquers anything that she puts her mind to!

Rachel Chavez

Executive Assistant to the Founders, Cloudflare, Inc

Every conversation with Maïa was purposeful, engaging, and personally challenging. As a veteran educator, whose life’s passion is guiding, mentoring, and supporting students, I was more inspired and better able to articulate my leadership skills with Maïa's coaching. She amplified my “Jiminy Cricket” voice, whose advice and counsel were muffled by life’s distractions. Her approach to coaching helped me clear away some noise, so that I could continue to be my own guide. Thank you Maïa!

Chai Phannaphob, Ed.D

Educator and Consultant

Maïa is a wonderful and seasoned leader; I found her coaching insightful and valuable. It helped me to better understand my own goals and aspirations as well as helping me to become a better manager and leader. Her guidance, counsel and capacity for understanding nuance and people are a barometer I will carry with me throughout my career. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work for her.

Ingrid Kier

Executive Operations Manager, Square

My coaching with Maïa was a transformative experience. As a career freelance journalist I was being offered bigger public speaking work, which I was apprehensive about. With a light touch Maïa gave me the courage to make the leap into this career move with confidence, and helped me thrive in this new challenge. She always approached our sessions with enthusiasm, warmth, compassion and kindness, and no matter how apprehensive I felt about talking about myself, she gave me the courage to be honest, and to believe in myself, and to consequently push myself to bigger challenges. I came away from our sessions with a clear idea of my core values and life purpose, which help guide me confidently through difficult decisions. The outcome is I am moving forward with my career in a way I couldn’t have imagined before.

Laura Laker

Freelance Journalist

“Maïa and I worked together at Asana and she led the effort to significantly expand the Administrative Operations team during a time of fast growth. Maïa built the business case for expansion, influenced Leadership to approve the headcount growth, rolled up her sleeves to interview, hire, and onboard a dozen or so new Admins, and managed a large team. As my manager, Maïa also led me through coaching and values engagement, helping me to refine my anchor point and vision, and it was an energizing and expansive experience that I still reference today. During our time working together, Maïa also handled some challenging moments with curiosity, openness, and willingness to learn from them. She's got the wisdom to grow teams with a heart of empathy and the passion to motivate people to be their best!”

Jenna Mahina

Administrative Business Partner to C-Suite, Asana

“Maïa is an incredibly talented coach and an inspirational leader of teams. Under Maïa's leadership and guidance of the Executive Operations team at Square, I experienced some of the most profound professional growth of my career.”

Tyler Blum

Executive Operations Manager, Block (Square)

“I wholeheartedly recommend Maïa as an outstanding coach. She has had a profound impact on me in my Executive Operations journey.Maïa is wildly talented, insightful and generous. She brings a wealth of expertise and a diverse toolkit that supports me in enhancing communication skills, fostering a cohesive team, facilitating constructive conversations, navigating high-pressure situations, and advocating for myself. Her approach is not just about immediate problem-solving but also about instilling a lasting mindset to continuous improvement. She empowers others to harness their strengths while purposefully challenging areas for development. She would be a force for any individual or organization looking to deepen relationships, elevate leadership, strengthen team dynamics, or navigate change. Maïa, you are a legend!”

Quinn Burke

‍Executive Operations Director, HumanFirst

“Maïa is an incredibly talented coach and an inspirational leader of teams. Under Maïa's leadership and guidance of the Executive Operations team at Square, I experienced some of the most profound professional growth of my career.”

Tyler Blum
Executive Operations Manager, Block (Square)

A picture of andy coravos smiling in a black top against a red brick background.

After HumanFirst raised our Series A, we needed a more sophisticated approach to our internal operations compared to our scrappy seed state. As we thought about what roles we needed, a critical area was to scale our executive team. Given that we were still small, we didn't need a classic EA role though we needed someone who could support operations that would be more tactical than a strategic Chief of Staff. We hired Maïa to help us craft an "Executive Operations" role which is effectively a hybrid between an EA and CoS. She also worked with our team to source, recruit, interview screen and design a process for hiring this role. We brought our new EO teammate in shortly there after, and she's transformed the company. I'm very grateful that Maïa helped us learn this could could exist and she's continue to work with our team as a coach for both our EO and me so we can continue to develop this very excellent partnership.

Andy Coravos CEO, HumanFirst

A picture of Chandan Lodha smiling in black and white

“Maïa is a legend. She's probably one of the top five administrative & executive operations experts in Silicon Valley. Just her track record alone is scintillating, but getting to work with her is where the real magic comes to life. We were looking for a top executive operations person for our company, and Maïa and her team delivered above and beyond our expectations. I would hire her again in a heartbeat. If you are looking to bring on a top admin, exec ops person, or level up your organization in these domains, look no further.”

Chandan Lodha
President & CoFounder, CoinTracker

“Maïa helped us scope, recruit, and eventually hire our first executive operations position at Abridge. She is fabulous to work with, and has an unwavering commitment to helping people find the right person for the job! The candidates she sent our way were fabulous. Thank you, Maïa!”

Julia Chou Chapin
COO, Abridge AI

A picture of andy coravos smiling in a black top against a red brick background.

After HumanFirst raised our Series A, we needed a more sophisticated approach to our internal operations compared to our scrappy seed state. As we thought about what roles we needed, a critical area was to scale our executive team. Given that we were still small, we didn't need a classic EA role though we needed someone who could support operations that would be more tactical than a strategic Chief of Staff. We hired Maïa to help us craft an "Executive Operations" role which is effectively a hybrid between an EA and CoS. She also worked with our team to source, recruit, interview screen and design a process for hiring this role. We brought our new EO teammate in shortly there after, and she's transformed the company. I'm very grateful that Maïa helped us learn this could could exist and she's continue to work with our team as a coach for both our EO and me so we can continue to develop this very excellent partnership.

Andy Coravos CEO, HumanFirst

“Maïa's consulting and search services helped us re-define and fortify our company's executive operations. Maia deftly defined our internal needs, crafted the perfect role and led an efficient recruiting strategy which resulted in a very qualified hire. Maia was able to quickly identify the most qualified candidates meeting our criteria and kept us informed during the recruiting process through detailed weekly candidate generation reports. She then supported us throughout the offer process and provided insight on our onboarding plans. I would not hesitate to recommend Maia's services and would gladly work with her again.”

Lynn Rauch
Head of HR, ATREG, Inc.

“Maïa has a compassionate and thoughtful approach to coaching. Her extensive business experience is evident in her coaching skills. She has the ability to quickly make clients feel comfortable and to skillfully guide them through the process.”

Julia James
CEO, Hedgerow Group, LLC

“Maïa is an extremely dedicated and empathetic leader, who achieves results by applying a coaching mindset to her work, products, and teams. She is direct, authentic, and accountable - a true force of nature. I have so appreciated collaborating on projects that speak to mission driven work, while driving authenticity and transparency as foundations of her working style.“

Cara-Lynn Giovanniello
Head of Leadership, Learning & Development, Block (Square)

“I have so appreciated the executive coaching relationship with Maïa and the way it's elevated my leadership and ability to navigate a new chapter of my career. Maia's keen judgment, trust and encouragement have been invaluable to me and had a wider impact on my team. She has not only provided me with management tools and advice, but more importantly has helped lead me to discern the answers already within me. I can't recommend working with Maia enough to anyone looking to make a leap in their professional development.”

Annie Rothrock
VP, ATREG, Inc.

A headshot of Rachel Chavez smiling in a dark blazer with her arms folded, against a white background.

I have had the pleasure of working with Maïa when I first started my career as an Executive Assistant. She took me under her wing and provided me guidance as well as encouragement. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. Throughout the years she has continued to be an incredible mentor to me. She is someone I reach out to when it comes to advice on my career or different aspects of our day-to-day job. She is professional, intelligent, and conquers anything that she puts her mind to!

Rachel Chavez
Executive Assistant to the Founders, Cloudflare, Inc.

Headshot of a lady again some photo frames in the background, smiling.

Every conversation with Maïa was purposeful, engaging, and personally challenging. As a veteran educator, whose life’s passion is guiding, mentoring, and supporting students, I was more inspired and better able to articulate my leadership skills with Maïa's coaching. She amplified my “Jiminy Cricket” voice, whose advice and counsel were muffled by life’s distractions. Her approach to coaching helped me clear away some noise, so that I could continue to be my own guide. Thank you Maïa!

Chai Phannaphob, Ed.D
Educator and Consultant

A photo of Ingrid Kier. She wears large frame dark glasses and smiles against a white background.

Maïa is a wonderful and seasoned leader; I found her coaching insightful and valuable. It helped me to better understand my own goals and aspirations as well as helping me to become a better manager and leader. Her guidance, counsel and capacity for understanding nuance and people are a barometer I will carry with me throughout my career. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work for her.

Ingrid Kier
Executive Operations Manager, Square

A picture of Laura Laker from the news, in a black blazer, yellow tee and against a city backdrop.

My coaching with Maïa was a transformative experience. As a career freelance journalist I was being offered bigger public speaking work, which I was apprehensive about. With a light touch Maïa gave me the courage to make the leap into this career move with confidence, and helped me thrive in this new challenge. She always approached our sessions with enthusiasm, warmth, compassion and kindness, and no matter how apprehensive I felt about talking about myself, she gave me the courage to be honest, and to believe in myself, and to consequently push myself to bigger challenges. I came away from our sessions with a clear idea of my core values and life purpose, which help guide me confidently through difficult decisions. The outcome is I am moving forward with my career in a way I couldn’t have imagined before.

Laura Laker
Freelance Journalist

“Maïa and I worked together at Asana and she led the effort to significantly expand the Administrative Operations team during a time of fast growth. Maïa built the business case for expansion, influenced Leadership to approve the headcount growth, rolled up her sleeves to interview, hire, and onboard a dozen or so new Admins, and managed a large team. As my manager, Maïa also led me through coaching and values engagement, helping me to refine my anchor point and vision, and it was an energizing and expansive experience that I still reference today. During our time working together, Maïa also handled some challenging moments with curiosity, openness, and willingness to learn from them. She's got the wisdom to grow teams with a heart of empathy and the passion to motivate people to be their best!”

Jenna Mahina
Administrative Business Partner to C-Suite, Asana

“Maïa is an incredibly talented coach and an inspirational leader of teams. Under Maïa's leadership and guidance of the Executive Operations team at Square, I experienced some of the most profound professional growth of my career.”

Tyler Blum
Executive Operations Manager, Block (Square)

A picture of andy coravos smiling in a black top against a red brick background.

After HumanFirst raised our Series A, we needed a more sophisticated approach to our internal operations compared to our scrappy seed state. As we thought about what roles we needed, a critical area was to scale our executive team. Given that we were still small, we didn't need a classic EA role though we needed someone who could support operations that would be more tactical than a strategic Chief of Staff. We hired Maïa to help us craft an "Executive Operations" role which is effectively a hybrid between an EA and CoS. She also worked with our team to source, recruit, interview screen and design a process for hiring this role. We brought our new EO teammate in shortly there after, and she's transformed the company. I'm very grateful that Maïa helped us learn this could could exist and she's continue to work with our team as a coach for both our EO and me so we can continue to develop this very excellent partnership.

Andy Coravos CEO, HumanFirst

Executive Coaching, Administrative Operations Consulting & Search

Our purpose is to elevate leadership in everyone through our coaching and administrative operations consulting as well as through candidate search for:
  • Executive Operations
  • Chief of Staff
  • Executive Assistant
  • Executive Business Partner

Our value

We have over 20 years of leadership in Administration and Operations experience, combined with expertise in people management, organizational design, talent management and certified executive coaching. By choosing to work with us, you will enable the success of your leadership, leading to better business outcomes.

Companies we've worked with

Pole to win LogoC3.ai LogoElevation Partners LogoAtreg LogoQuizlet LogoMountainseed LogoThe Higher Standard LogoCoinbase LogoDrew Las Vegas HotelSquare LogoHumanfirst LogoBridgepoint LogoCVC LogoAsana LogoAbridge AI LogoCointracker Logo
Pole to win LogoC3.ai LogoElevation Partners LogoAtreg LogoQuizlet LogoMountainseed LogoThe Higher Standard LogoCoinbase LogoDrew Las Vegas HotelSquare LogoHumanfirst LogoBridgepoint LogoCVC LogoAsana LogoAbridge AI LogoCointracker Logo
Cointracker LogoPole to win LogoC3.ai LogoElevation Partners LogoQuizlet LogoMountainseed LogoThe Higher Standard LogoCoinbase LogoDrew Las Vegas HotelSquare LogoHumanfirst LogoBridgepoint LogoCVC LogoAtreg LogoAsana LogoAbridge AI Logo
Cointracker LogoPole to win LogoC3.ai LogoElevation Partners LogoQuizlet LogoMountainseed LogoThe Higher Standard LogoCoinbase LogoDrew Las Vegas HotelSquare LogoHumanfirst LogoBridgepoint LogoCVC LogoAtreg LogoAsana LogoAbridge AI Logo

Work with us

Find out how we can help you by scheduling a free introductory call.
Contact us