how I got here

My friends call me a recovering overachiever. 

​I spent 12 years in hyper-growth tech companies building products and teams, chasing external validation, and convincing myself that true happiness would accompany the next accomplishment.

The harder I pushed, the more I began to feel less "me", pretending to be someone I wasn't. Outside, I looked successful, but inside, I was deeply dissatisfied and knew I didn't belong. The ladder I was climbing was leaning against the wrong wall.  It was a scary moment to realize the things I had been chasing my whole career were running my life on autopilot.

I began questioning the scaffolding of my identity that had defined most of my adult life.  With guidance and coaching, I gradually began seeing and understanding my beliefs, and their effects, more clearly.  Every moment of insight brought more connection with a more authentic me.

More accepting of myself.
More loving in my relationships.
More effective and engaged with my work.
More intentional with where I contribute my energy.

Less self-critical when taking risks.
Less worried about what ifs.
Less reactive in heated moments.
Less afraid of not being enough.

Better at making decisions.
Better at owning my mistakes.
Better at embracing uncertainty.
Better at not taking myself too seriously.
These shifts continue to open new perspectives for me. They've offered gifts that I cannot put into words.

I'm 41 now. I've learned that the true journey is the inner journey - and it's good for business, too.

​When leaders operate from an inner place of clarity and wisdom, they become more effective, creative, and alive... and give others permission to do the same.
​Leland is a remarkable human being.  I have the privilege of being a mentor to him during his Journey of life. Leland has not only successfully navigated several major career changes, but has done so in the pursuit of his own truth and higher purpose. He has a capacity of energetic sensitivity and awareness that belies his "youth", in other words, he is an Old Soul in a young body.  Anyone who works with him in any capacity would be very lucky and dare I say even privileged, to benefit from his intuitive and loving guidance. 

Dan Spinner
Former CEO, Deepak Chopra Foundation
I've always been deeply curious about the world around me.
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Growing up in Hong Kong, I was surrounded by multiple languages, competing histories, and clashing cultural norms. Navigating that complexity made me wonder: what connects us beneath all the differences?  What if the things we've been treating as separate were always connected?
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I envision a future where we've stopped pretending that impact, integrity, and inner work are separate conversations. Where sustainable business isn't just about results - it's about the sustainable humans leading it.

​That's why I do this work.
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At the end of this life, I want to look back on memories of all the wonderful people I've served, knowing that our time together created ripples we'll never fully see.

I'm tremendously honored to work with the people I do - each is an inspiration and a gift.

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engineer -> program manager -> people manager -> coach

I've been drawn to the intersection of leadership, technology, business, and social impact since 2006 - long before it was trendy to talk about "purpose-driven" work.
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Before launching my coaching practice in 2019, I spent over a decade as a product, program, and people leader at innovative, hyper-growth tech companies:
  • At Citrix, I led strategic cloud technology projects for Fortune 100 companies in healthcare, renewable energy, and education.
  • I joined GoPro as the first software PM, helping scale the company from series B through IPO+ (5x team growth, $288M raised, $8B valuation).
  • I led Partner Engineering at Clever, a YC-backed edtech platform used by 60% of U.S. schools and 22M students monthly. Named one of Inc.'s best places to work during my tenure and acquired for $500M two years later.
  • I managed cross-functional teams up to 130 people across four continents, with project budgets reaching $11M. 

I learned how organizations move, where they get stuck, and what it actually takes to drive meaningful change at scale.

Along the way, I had great mentors who guided me to always remember to focus on people first. I'm proud to have built & nurtured teams of project managers, engineers, and consultants who went on to work for Apple, Google, and Microsoft. I was voted best project lead in my consulting org for my dedication to mentoring and developing others.

Outside of work, I founded a career mentoring network for students, built a volunteer mental wellness coaching platform for frontline COVID healthcare workers, and created a peer community for professional leadership coaches. These passion projects taught me that the most sustainable impact comes from leaders who are resourced, supported, and connected to something larger than quarterly results.

I earned a bachelor's degree in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Organizational Behavior from Brown University and an Evening & Weekend MBA with Honors from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. I earned a Professional Certificate in Strategy, Leadership, and Project Management from Stanford University and studied at the Yale School of Management. I'm certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Co-Active Training Institute (CPCC), widely regarded as the gold standards in professional coaching.

I was formerly a USPA licensed skydiver and certified skydiving coach with over 700 jumps and 2500 wind tunnel flights.  I hold 3 FAI big way team world records and 8 national and state records in team formation skydiving.

I've been meditating since 2013 and became a Certified High Flow Meditation Guide through Wacuri, having been personally mentored by Dan Spinner, former CEO of the Deepak Chopra Foundation.
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Born and raised in Hong Kong until age 16, I now live in the SF Bay Area with my wife, kids, and aussie collie puppy.

Certifications and credentials:
  • Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)
  • Certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF PCC)
  • Certified High Flow Meditation Guide​
  • Certified Stanford Advanced Project Manager (SAPM)
  • Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
  • Certified Agile Hardware Practitioner (CAHP)
  • Certified Skydiving Coach from the United States Parachute Association (USPA)
  • 8 technical certs including Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Citrix Certified Integration Architect (CCIA)

​Mentors and influences:
Dan Spinner, Esther Perel, Brene Brown, Simon Sinek, Adam Grant, Patrick Lencioni, Tim Ferriss, Alex Hormozi, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, Rumi, Sam Harris, Henry Shukman, Adyashanti, Elena Bower

lenses

I've been a magician since I was 7.
​As a close-up magician, I find tremendous joy in helping people get momentarily reacquainted with their sense of childlike wonder and awe. I've performed for kid's birthday parties, university deans, veterans, Krispy Kreme chefs, and audiences of up to 300 people.

​Check out that bowl cut.
​I come from a family of educators.
​My grandfather worked for a university until he was 93 years old. My father recently turned 76 and is still teaching grad students around the world. My mom has helped thousands of students find careers after school. It runs in my blood - here I am as a Rotary camp leadership facilitator for high school students.
​I'm a lifelong student of martial arts.​
After several years of Krav Maga, I dipped my toe into a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class and immediately connected with its principles of experimentation, adaptation, integration, and community.  9 years later and going strong, I'm currently a brown belt under Eduardo Fraga (formerly purple belt under Romulo Melo) and now train regularly at Ralph Gracie Berkeley BJJ.  I am also an active supporter and former youth instructor at Guardian Gym in Oakland, where every adult membership supports one local youth to train for free.
I've leapt out of airplanes 700 times.
​One of my greatest teachers, skydiving has opened up profound experiences and meaningful relationships beyond words.  Contrary to most people's assumptions, dancing with gravity is one of the most peaceful and meditative activities in my life where I'm fully present and in flow.  Where the mind quiets and time slows down.  I earned my Accelerated Freefall (AFF) License in 2011, became a certified USPA skydiving coach a few years later, and went on to set 3 world records with the best group of humans one could ask for. (video)
​I've participated in Burning Man 8 times.
You can usually find me handing out pour-over coffee at sunset as part of a theme camp we started in 2013.  One of my big takeaways over the years has been embracing the beauty and freedom in imperfection.  I am forever grateful to have met my now-wife out there dancing in the dust.    
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)'( ​
we see things not as they are but as we are