
Samantha L.
Studied at Columbia University
Works at Samantha Lassoff Coaching & Consulting
Available tomorrow at 5:00 PM UTC
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About Samantha
I am an executive advisor and coach who works with senior operators, Chiefs of Staff, and leaders navigating moments when decisions become more complex and the cost of getting them wrong increases. My background spans private equity, venture capital, executive search, and enterprise leadership, including senior roles at Blackstone, Human Capital, and Heidrick and Struggles. Across those environments, my work has focused on leadership decisions, succession, organizational structure, and the operating systems required to execute as scope and complexity grow. Clients typically come to me during periods of transition, expansion, or increased responsibility, when judgment matters more than speed and clarity matters more than effort. Sessions are practical and focused, designed to help leaders think clearly, pressure test options, and move forward with decisions that hold up in practice. I am an ICF credentialed executive coach with formal training through Brown University’s Leadership and Performance Coaching program.
Why do I coach?
I coach because I have seen repeatedly how much organizational and personal performance hinges on the quality of judgment leaders bring to moments of change. Throughout my career, I have worked alongside CEOs and senior teams making high stakes decisions about leadership, structure, and direction, often under time pressure and with incomplete information. What consistently mattered was not intelligence or effort, but the ability to think clearly, hold complexity, and choose deliberately. Coaching allows me to partner with leaders directly in those moments. I help capable people slow down just enough to see their options clearly, pressure test assumptions, and move forward with decisions that hold up in practice.
Work Experience

Executive Advisor & Coach
Samantha Lassoff Coaching & Consulting
July 2024 - Present
I partner with CEOs, founders, and leadership teams on leadership, succession, and organizational decisions that directly shape execution as companies scale. The work centers on placing the right leaders in the right roles, strengthening succession, and building people and operating systems that hold as complexity increases. Engagements typically arise during periods of growth, transition, or structural change, when leadership decisions carry outsized impact. I operate as a senior business integrator, working closely with executive teams on organizational design, leadership effectiveness, operating cadence, and strategic priorities. Talent intelligence, market insight, and performance data are used to sharpen judgment and bring speed and consistency to decisions. I also serve as a trusted advisor and executive coach to senior leaders navigating change, often alongside broader organizational and execution-focused work. Selected engagements include ongoing advisory and coaching work with Banff, supporting senior leaders through growth and transition, as well as prior embedded work redesigning Banff’s product, pricing, and go-to-market strategy. In 2024, I served as an Executive Advisor to Carrara, supporting client engagements on people strategy, leadership hiring, and talent intelligence to improve clarity, performance, and growth.

Senior Vice President, Talent & People
Aspen Standard Wealth
2024 - 2025
Hiring Manager
Joined at launch to build the leadership, talent, and organizational infrastructure for a new PE-backed holdco during its earliest phase. Partnered with the CEO and executive team to clarify direction, design structure, and establish the systems required for scale and disciplined execution. • Designed the talent strategy, organizational architecture, leadership expectations, and performance systems that enabled rapid growth across Aspen and its portfolio companies. • Created hiring, development, and capability-building practices that supported expanding scope, increased complexity, and cross-portfolio coordination. • Established operating rhythms, cultural practices, and leadership behaviors that improved execution, cohesion, and long-term organizational stability.

Vice President, Portfolio Talent & Organizational Performance
Blackstone
2022 - 2024
Interviewer
Served as Blackstone’s Head of Portfolio Talent Intelligence and Insights, leading portfolio-wide intelligence, analytics, and insight generation that strengthened leadership decisions, accelerated executive transitions, and improved organizational alignment across 250 companies and 740,000 employees. • Designed and built Blackstone's executive talent intelligence and recruiting enablement platform, centralizing insight on and access to more than 10,000 executives, increasing placement speed, improving decision quality, and reducing external search spend by more than $12M. • Co-led the global CHRO network, advancing benchmarking, leadership development practices, and shared organizational insight across the portfolio. • Developed portfolio-wide analytics on labor costs, attrition, leadership patterns, and organizational structure that informed talent strategy, clarified decision-making, and shaped early value-creation priorities. • Partnered with deal teams and operating partners to deliver leadership and organizational insight during diligence, CEO and CHRO transitions, and early operating phases, strengthening early performance, alignment, and ramp-up speed.

Head of Research
Human Capital
2021 - 2022
Interviewer
Built and led the firm’s first talent insights and leadership research function, delivering analysis that informed diligence, leadership decisions, and talent-driven value creation across a $1.6 billion venture portfolio. • Led leadership diligence for Transcarent’s Series C, assessing executive capability, organizational structure, and team dynamics to inform investment decisions. • Created an on-demand research capability producing rapid, evidence-based briefs on compensation, hybrid work, global talent strategy, and organizational trends. • Developed a centralized insights repository and talent intelligence products that enabled repeatable, data-informed decision-making for investment and portfolio operations teams. • Produced leadership, talent, and workforce analyses that guided founder decision-making and early organizational design.
Director, Workforce Strategy and Analytics
Heidrick & Struggles
2019 - 2021
Built from scratch and led the firm’s first people analytics and leadership insight function, delivering the data, analysis, and frameworks that strengthened succession planning, leadership decisions, and organizational performance across a global business. • Designed and executed a global leadership review covering more than 300 senior leaders, establishing a repeatable model for succession visibility and talent planning. • Conducted leadership, performance, and team analyses that identified success drivers and informed executive development, promotion, and workforce strategy. • Created benchmarking, reporting, and decision tools that improved leadership insight, clarified organizational priorities, and enhanced ESG-related talent reporting.
Practice Director, Financial Services Practice (Chief of Staff)
Heidrick & Struggles
2018 - 2020
Directed talent strategy, workforce planning, and leadership development for a $180 million global practice, strengthening performance, leadership capability, and organizational clarity. • Increased performance and team health by redesigning roles, restructuring teams, and developing data-driven advancement and compensation models. • Built and implemented a practice-wide talent review framework that guided leadership decisions, promotions, and development priorities.
Practice Director, Global Private Equity and Venture Capital Practices
Heidrick & Struggles
2016 - 2020
Directed strategy and operations to scale revenue and market share for a $100M practice. • Reimagined go-to-market and client coverage models, driving a 40% revenue increase over four years. • Partnered with senior leadership to optimize business performance, succession planning, and client relationships. • Managed resource allocation, team structure, and execution priorities to improve global delivery effectiveness.
Education
Columbia University
Bachelor of Arts - BA, East Asian Studies
Activities and societies: Columbia East Asia Review - Co-Editor-in-Chief Co-founded and led undergraduate academic journal dedicated to East Asian Studies and related disciplines Ran external relations and prospect research, and raised $15,000 towards publishing and outreach expenses Graduated early and Cum Laude
Brown University
Leadership & Performance Coaching Certification