David, Susan

Susan David

Susan David, a Co-founder and Co-director of the Institute of Coaching is an internationally recognized thought leader operating at the nexus of business and psychology. Her focus is on defining and executing effective people strategies, particularly in the areas of employee engagement, high-performance leadership, and organizational culture change.

Susan is a sought-after keynote speaker, and a highly experienced coach and consultant to C-suite executives. Her unique combination of pragmatic business experience and extensive scientific knowledge allows her to help leaders meet the most pressing business challenges without losing sight of their most important asset: their people. Susan has been a coach and strategic advisor to executives at the helm of mergers, acquisitions, leadership transitions, and people strategy revisions. She routinely consults internationally at the most senior levels of large organizations and has extensive experience in industries as perse as financial services, information technology, healthcare, utilities, pharmaceuticals, and mining. Her client list includes Ernst and Young Global, the World Economic Forum, BHP Billiton, United Nations Development Program, JP Morgan Chase, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nestlé, among many other multinational firms. A lifelong learner, Susan has completed BA, MA, MPsych, and Ph.D. degrees, as well as postdoctoral studies (Yale). She is CEO of Evidence Based Psychology, a management consultancy and an Instructor in Psychology (Department of Psychiatry) at Harvard Medical School.

Susan is author of the definitive Oxford Handbook of Happiness (OUP, 2013), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring (Gower, 2013), and the top rated Harvard Business Review article “Emotional Agility: How effective leaders manage their negative thoughts and feelings”. She is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and her work has been featured in many publications including TIME, Fast Company and the Wall Street Journal.

A lover of travel, Susan has lived in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA. She is now based in Boston, where she lives with her husband and two small children.