Wai Poc
EXECUTIVE COACH AND LEADERSHIP CONSULTANT
San Francisco, CA
SUMMARY
Practical, deeply insightful, and strategic, Wai has for 10 years coached leaders and executives principally in three sectors: Biotech, High Tech, and Finance. In his last in-house role for +10 years at Genentech, Wai consulted SVPs and VPs on developing their senior teams, leading reorgs and xfn change initiatives, and facilitated succession planning. These days, Wai coaches Directors at both big tech like Google and Facebook and venture funded CTO, CMO, and CEO clients. Through Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Wai has coached MBAs and global CFOs. Collaborating with McArthur Fellow Patricia Wright, Wai has been co-writing a book on power and politics. Their expertise is in decoding the primate roots of human competition and collaboration. Across sectors, Wai provides both challenge and support to his clients to help them grow, scale, and build strategic relationships to get big things done.
His signature is helping leaders:
Building strategic alliances to get big things done
Exercising power to navigate political currents
Accessing executive presence when stakes are high
Facilitating executive decision-making with senior teams
Leading change including reorgs and scaling
Developing better habits of resilience
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE & BACKGROUND
Born in Shanghai, raised in Hong Kong and Miami, Wai loves people and celebrates diversity. Differences – in how people think, feel, and act – have long captivated his curiosity. He is a cultural adventurer to over 60 countries. One encounter in Madagascar led him to collaborate with MacArthur Fellow and distinguished professor of biological anthropology and ecologist Patricia C. Wright. Together, they have a book-in-progress to decode power and politics at work. Their goal is to update and demystify the primal roots of human nature, particularly in the ways we compete and collaborate.
In his last in-house role for over 10 years, Wai worked at Genentech, partnering with leaders in Engineering, Ops, Research, Sales and Marketing, G&A, Product Management, and BD. He consulted in reorgs, succession planning, and developing senior teams. He is a senior mentor, facilitator, and leadership coach at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he is currently coaching CFOs through Exe Ed. Wai’s approach is to partner with his clients to grow fast, be more strategic, and add value to the business.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
Wai is an excellent coach. He was instrumental in my own transformation. He has a unique perspective and brings both immense skill and heart to his coaching practice. I highly recommend him.
–Nina Khan, Global Director of Industry Sales at Intel
Wai was extremely helpful in coaching me to see a more complete picture of the people and technology we’re developing together. That’s helping me make better decisions and lead more creatively.
– Brian Strope, Sr. Staff Scientist in AI at Google
Wai makes visible the invisible ‘data’ of interpersonal relationships and organizational dynamics. Don’t let him fool you with his humility. Wai is thoughtful, innovative, and outstanding!
– Edith Perez, VP in Oncology at Genentech
RECENT CLIENTS
Google
Facebook
LinkedIn
Oliver Wyman
Genentech
BioMarin
The Federal Reserve Bank
X, Google’s Moonshot Factory
Nintendo
Mozilla
Stanford Grad School of Business
EDUCATION
MBA | Golden Gate University
BA | Stanford University
ASSESSMENTS & CERTIFICATIONS
Coaching from New Ventures West
OD from Columbia University
Myers-Briggs (MBTI)
TKI Conflict Mode
FIRO-B
Social Styles at Work / Insights
StrengthsFinder
Enneagram
Grove Strategic Visioning
Team – Grove and Five Dysfunctions
Korn Ferry 360
Lominger’s Career Architect from the Center for Creative Leadership
INSPIRATIONS
Cultural Adventurer
Martial Arts
Cats and Dogs