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Nelson S.

Nelson Spencer

He/Him

Hands-On AI Coaching for Leaders

  • Columbia Business School Logo

    Columbia Business School

  • Nelson Spencer Logo

    Nelson Spencer

Available today

Starting at 5:00 PM UTC

Questions?

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Work with Nelson

About

Hi there. There are many talented folks you could work with, so I am grateful you are here. I want this profile to give you a sense of who I am, how I work, and what it might feel like to work together. I care deeply about people. Mentoring, teaching, coaching, listening, and caring about others, have been part of my life for a long time. As technical and data-driven as I am, people often tell me that I would make a good therapist in another life. I enjoy listening and understanding how people think. I am neurodivergent and definitely have a sprinkle of autism. For me, that often means noticing small changes in people and behaviors. I will notice when you get a haircut. I will notice when you are irritated. You might like that. You might not. Either way, you can expect me to pay attention. I work best with direct communicators. I will tell you what I see, and I welcome the same in return. How did I get here? I began my career in baseball, doing the Moneyball thing and using analytics to inform team strategy. I eventually took that same approach into organizations, using data to help leaders make better decisions about people and work. After leading people analytics and technology teams at Wayfair, Sonos, and Figma, I now advise leaders, teams, and founders on AI transformation. I am currently earning my MBA at Columbia Business School in New York, and I have a master's degree in data science. Much of my work and research focuses on AI, human-centered organizational transformation, and product management. The simplest description might be AI expert generalist? BTW, I highly recommend the book Range. On any given day, I might be researching how nudges support change, advising a founder on where a button should go in an app, or building my own team of AI agents. AI is making this a pretty weird time to be alive. I am here to help you through the weirdness.

Nelson’s Executive Coaching Qualifications

Coaches professionally

Experience level: Director

I’ve led People Analytics and Talent Technology at Wayfair, Sonos, and Figma. Today, I’m an AI coach and advisor, helping leaders build confidence with AI through hands-on work in their own tools. I work especially closely with Chief People Officers and leaders in People Analytics, HR Tech, and People and Talent Operations. A safe space to ask questions and try things without needing to have the answers. We build things you can use the same day, with guidance as you learn. You do the building, with me there to help you work through what’s unfamiliar and understand what you’re creating. As you gain experience, we connect what you learn to the decisions you’re making about AI and your team. You don’t need a technical background to get started.

Nelson can help with:

AI Automation

AI Fundamentals

AI Strategy

Decision Making

Why do I coach?

Personally, I believe that good coaching is like leading people: you have to actually want and enjoy doing it. I believe AI is the greatest multiplier of human capability we’ve ever seen. I want to help people use it to expand what they can do, not replace them. You’re often expected to have the answers as a leader. Here, you can ask questions, try things, and learn at your own pace. I enjoy helping people build that confidence while making things they can use.

Work Experience

QVALNT Logo

Advisor

QVALNT

August 2025 - Present

Advising on product strategy and go-to-market for AI-native tools that accelerate strategic execution for consultants and operators. https://qvalnt.com/

Thred Logo

Advisor

Thred

July 2025 - Present

Advising on go-to-market strategy, user engagement, and scaling operations for an employee connection platform that uses interest-based matching to reduce workplace isolation and improve retention. https://www.thred.works/

Nelson Spencer Logo

AI Transformation Advisor and Coach

Nelson Spencer

December 2024 - Present

I work with leaders and teams on AI transformation through coaching, workshops, focused projects, and embedded partnerships.

People Tech Partners Logo

Advisor

People Tech Partners

May 2024 - Present

PeopleTech Partners is an HR tech accelerator for early-stage startups building the Future of Work. • Lead the internal AI community, bringing together HR and People leaders exploring how AI fits into their teams and strategy. • Serve on the due diligence team evaluating new startups entering the program, focused on product viability, market fit, and where the HR tech landscape is heading.

VITALIZE Venture Capital Logo

Venture Partner

VITALIZE Venture Capital

April 2024 - January 2026

• Served as a venture partner for seed-stage fund investing in WorkTech and the future of work ($23M Fund II). Supported the partners on market landscape analysis, AI and People Analytics trends, and portfolio strategy. • Helped evaluate where the HR tech market was heading and how AI was reshaping the space.

Figma Logo

Talent Technology and Analytics

Figma

2023 - 2024

Oversaw the talent technology and people analytics strategy, roadmap, and architecture • Pioneered the inaugural people analytics strategy, laying the foundation for data-driven decision-making within the People Org • Managed a $2 million budget, including vendor management, contract negotiations, and RFP processes • Conducted process reviews, identify improvements, create action plans, and manage vendor relations with quarterly reviews

Sonos Logo

Head of People Analytics and Employee Listening

Sonos

2021 - 2023

Led Global People Analytics Team; creating overarching vision, strategy, and roadmap, overseeing the employee listening survey strategy • Drove People strategy via key analytics insights. Routinely presented to Leadership, C-suite, and Board of Directors • Nominated as one of 20 high-performing managers for The Leadership Consortium (TLC), recognizing exceptional leadership skills • Boosted Black employee representation by 45% through the strategic development of DEI goals • Detected biases in hiring outcomes through statistical analysis, leading to the design and implementation of new training for staff

Wayfair Logo

Team Lead, People Analytics

Wayfair

2020 - 2021

Led DEI-focused people analytics team of one to execute against roadmap to understand what levers to pull to create a culture of inclusion • Prompted an organization-wide review of compensation strategy through pay equity analysis • Led the first EU demographic data initiative, designing global data collection workflows across multiple regulatory environments

Cleveland Guardians Logo

Baseball Analytics & L&D Consultant

Cleveland Guardians

2018 - 2020

Served as an internal consultant for the Major League Baseball team, focused on utilizing data to optimize organizational behavior • Decreased manual work by 30% YoY by persuading leadership to invest in modernizing hiring software (Greenhouse) • Increased underrepresented hires by 5% and introduced unconscious hiring bias staff training by proposing a DEI strategy • Applied Natural Language Processing (sentiment analysis) to generate insights from rich text datasets such as employee surveys

Nelson was also given offers to work at

  • Google Logo

    Google

  • Slalom Logo

    Slalom

Education

Columbia Business School Logo

Columbia Business School

Master of Business Administration - MBA

Elmhurst College Logo

Elmhurst College

Master's Degree, Data Science

University of Massachusetts at Amherst Logo

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Bachelor's Degree, Sport Management

Nelson was also personally admitted to

  • University of Georgia Logo

    University of Georgia

  • Clemson University Logo

    Clemson University

  • Florida State University Logo

    Florida State University

  • Elon University Logo

    Elon University

  • Northwestern University Logo

    Northwestern University

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