Coaching for leaders, founders, and senior executives. Improve self-awareness, decision-making, and communication skills to lead effectively when it matters most.
Sathya Smith
Sathya brings more than two decades of experience operating at the frontier of technology, spanning engineering leadership, executive management, venture investing and entrepreneurship. She spent 12 years at Google, building and scaling partner technology across the globe, and was recognised in the 99th percentile of Google's people managers. She went on to serve as Chief Product and Technology Officer at onefinestay, leading the technology organisation through its $170M acquisition by Accor Hotels, and later spent three years as a Venture Partner at LocalGlobe/Latitude, one of UK and Europe's leading venture firms, advising deep tech and health tech founders on product, technology, and leadership. She then founded Piper, a speech-based agentic AI coach to help managers develop their leadership skills.
Building Piper turned an informal habit of mentoring and coaching engineers, managers, founders, and senior execs into a deeper study of what separates leaders who talk a good game from leaders who can actually deliver under pressure. That distinction, the gap between knowing and doing, remains the foundation of how she works with clients today.
Unlike generalist coaches, Sathya brings:
Operator credibility: 12 years at Google, ranked in the 99th percentile of managers. She has led the teams and navigated the pressures of being an exec in the most challenging environments
Executive experience: Former CTO who led a $170M acquisition, with firsthand experience of the strategy and decisions that define a company's trajectory
Investor lens: Former Venture Partner at LocalGlobe/Latitude, advising founders on product, technology, and leadership
Builder's instinct: Founded and built Piper, an AI leadership coach. She understands the unique challenges founders face while building a company, product and business, all while keeping investors and stakeholders happy.
A particular focus of Sathya's coaching is helping leaders navigate complex situations and transitions: career change, stepping into management, scaling responsibilities, leading through acquisitions or reorgs, making clear decisions when the path forward isn't obvious, and navigating founder identity.
