Human Resources Professionals: Insights & Resources

Best Executive Coaches in Pittsburgh

Ryan Stevens
October 23, 2025
All Insights
HR Professionals: Insights & Resources

Best Executive Coaches in Pittsburgh

Best Executive Coaching Services in Pittsburgh

There’s something about Pittsburgh that breeds resilience, loyalty, and transformation. Once the industrial heart of America, this city has reinvented itself into a hub for healthcare, technology, education, and entrepreneurship. With this evolution has come a rising demand for visionary leadership — the kind that blends emotional intelligence with data-driven insight, empathy with execution.

Enter executive coaching — one of the most powerful tools for leaders in Pittsburgh to strengthen decision-making, communication, and team dynamics. Whether you’re in the steel industry’s legacy sectors or the modern startup ecosystem of the Strip District, local executive coaches help translate raw talent into sustainable leadership impact.

At Digital Reference, we’ve made it our mission to spotlight the very best professionals shaping this transformation. Through rigorous research, in-depth interviews, and verified expertise reviews, we’ve curated this list of top executive coaches in the Pittsburgh area — from solo consultants to firm-based strategists.

How We Selected the Best Executive Coaches in Pittsburgh

At Digital Reference, our selection process blends qualitative insight and quantitative evaluation. We look for:

Proven client outcomes — measurable improvements in team cohesion, communication, and executive performance.

Recognized certifications and academic affiliations with institutions such as Harvard, McLean, and Jay Shetty Certification School.

Thought leadership — books, podcasts, and keynote engagements that shape conversations in HR, leadership, and organizational psychology.

Local relevance — commitment to the Pittsburgh business community through consulting, workshops, or partnerships.

These professionals aren’t just coaches — they’re catalysts for growth. Below, we highlight each one’s unique approach, philosophy, and contributions to leadership development.

🌟Featured Executive Coaches in Pittsburgh, PA

♦️ Julie Roehn

Business and Marketing Consultant, Executive Coach
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

In the heart of Pittsburgh’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Julie Roehn stands out as a dynamic voice in business transformation and personal growth. Through her firm You Belong Strong, Julie brings a holistic lens to executive development — helping leaders rediscover confidence, authenticity, and strategic clarity.

Julie’s background in marketing and business consulting enables her to bridge the emotional and operational sides of leadership. Her methodology isn’t one-size-fits-all; instead, she tailors each engagement to the client’s culture, values, and long-term goals.

Key Highlights:

🟢 Guides executives through purpose alignment and organizational storytelling.

🟢 Skilled at blending brand development with leadership identity coaching.

🟢 Empowers female leaders and entrepreneurs to amplify their presence across industries.

Julie’s style is direct yet compassionate, rooted in the belief that belonging drives performance. For Pittsburgh leaders navigating change, her coaching helps them lead not just with authority, but with heart.

♦️ Dr. Shanea C.

Keynote Speaker | Leadership & Professional Development Trainer | International Best-Selling Author | Executive Coach + Consultant
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Dr. Shanea C. is not just an executive coach — she’s a global thought leader in trauma-informed leadership and organizational wellbeing. Her impact spans across industries, empowering executives to lead with resilience, authenticity, and empathy.

Her practice draws from deep expertise in mental health, addiction, and business psychology, making her one of the few Pittsburgh-based coaches who integrates neuroscience and leadership performance.

Key Highlights:

🟣 #1 International Best-Selling Author on leadership transformation.

🟣 Founder of programs that help C-suite professionals build trauma-resilient leadership cultures.

🟣 Frequently featured keynote speaker and trainer for corporate wellness events.

Dr. Shanea’s sessions challenge assumptions — helping leaders unlearn outdated hierarchies and embrace inclusive, emotionally intelligent leadership. Her work exemplifies Pittsburgh’s growing movement toward people-centered corporate culture.

♦️ Tracy Fuller

Executive Coach & Leadership Development Specialist
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Tracy Fuller, a Fellow at the Institute of Coaching (McLean/Harvard Medical School), brings decades of research-driven leadership experience to her Pittsburgh clients. Through her company Compio, Tracy helps executives strengthen their leadership DNA using evidence-based practices rooted in organizational psychology.

Key Highlights:

🟡 Expertise in coaching psychology and behavior change.

🟡 Designs leadership development frameworks for healthcare, academia, and corporate teams.

🟡 Advocates for gender equity in leadership pipelines.

Her blend of science, structure, and empathy has positioned her as one of Pittsburgh’s most trusted advisors to senior leadership teams. Tracy doesn’t just coach — she cultivates enduring capacity for growth.

♦️ Rosemarie Perla

Leadership and Executive Coach, Licensed Psychologist
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

With a background in clinical psychology and organizational leadership, Rosemarie Perla has helped countless leaders uncover the mindset and self-awareness needed to excel. Her coaching practice integrates emotional intelligence, personality assessment, and strategic leadership development.

Key Highlights:

🔵 Combines psychological insight with executive skill-building.

🔵 Works extensively with healthcare leaders and corporate innovators.

🔵 Helps executives cultivate presence, confidence, and relational intelligence.

Rosemarie’s approach is both reflective and action-oriented — empowering Pittsburgh’s leaders to navigate complex workplace dynamics with clarity and compassion.

♦️ Anne Papinchak

Business Executive / Consultant / Executive Coach
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Anne Papinchak is a veteran business transformation leader with deep experience in organizational design, change management, and leadership development. At Great Work Coach, she helps executives streamline operations while cultivating innovative cultures.

Key Highlights:

🟢 Expertise in change leadership and business process optimization.

🟢 Former executive with extensive experience across manufacturing and tech sectors.

🟢 Guides leaders to achieve strategic alignment and operational excellence.

Anne’s strength lies in helping leaders balance vision with execution — a vital skill in Pittsburgh’s evolving industries like robotics, energy, and healthcare.

♦️ Shawn Meredith

Coach | Learning & Development Consultant | Executive Coach
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Shawn Meredith specializes in leadership performance and workplace learning strategies. His work bridges coaching, facilitation, and consulting, helping executives develop cultures of accountability and trust.

Key Highlights:

🔶 Develops customized leadership training programs for fast-growing organizations.

🔶 Known for pragmatic, performance-focused coaching style.

🔶 Collaborates with leaders to drive measurable behavioral change.

Through his affiliations with Pittsburgh’s coaching community, Shawn contributes to shaping future-ready leaders who thrive under pressure.

♦️ Erroline Williams

TALI Executive Coach | Leadership Coach & Consultant
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Erroline Williams brings academic depth and executive acumen to her coaching practice. As an executive coach affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University’s TALI program, she focuses on inclusive leadership and equity in organizational advancement.

Key Highlights:

🔷 Specializes in leadership development for underrepresented professionals.

🔷 Deep understanding of university leadership and executive education.

🔷 Integrates values-based leadership with personal authenticity.

Erroline’s approach exemplifies the intersection of diversity and leadership excellence, an increasingly vital theme in Pittsburgh’s academic and business communities.

♦️ Drew Biernesser

Executive Coach | Leadership Development Professional | Frontline Business Operations Specialist
🔗 LinkedIn

Drew Biernesser focuses on leadership readiness and operational efficiency. With roots in frontline management and HR, Drew brings a unique systems-thinking perspective to coaching — aligning leadership behavior with business outcomes.

Key Highlights:

🟣 Coaches emerging leaders to strengthen communication and execution.

🟣 Expert in operations-driven leadership development.

🟣 Empowers teams to embrace continuous improvement mindsets.

♦️ Lori Clark

Executive & Leadership Coach | Jay Shetty Certified
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Lori Clark is a Jay Shetty Certified Coach who inspires leaders to build trust, drive engagement, and lead with authenticity. Her firm, Lead with AIM, focuses on aligning intention and impact in corporate leadership.

Key Highlights:

💠 Builds cultures of psychological safety and engagement.

💠 Certified in mindfulness-based coaching and emotional intelligence.

💠 Works with organizations to nurture values-driven leadership pipelines.

Lori’s philosophy — “Lead with AIM: Awareness, Intention, and Mindset” — resonates with professionals seeking purpose-driven leadership in Pittsburgh’s evolving economy.

♦️ Ken Sevick

Business Coach | Executive Coach | Leadership Consultant
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

A fixture in the Pittsburgh business community, Ken Sevick has spent over two decades coaching business owners and executives to scale sustainably. His pragmatic approach combines strategic planning, accountability systems, and mindset mastery.

Key Highlights:

🟩 Long-time ActionCOACH affiliate and leadership strategist.

🟩 Proven success in helping local businesses achieve growth and profitability.

🟩 Passionate about developing authentic, resilient business leaders.

Ken’s impact extends well beyond coaching — he’s a mentor and advocate for Pittsburgh’s entrepreneurial spirit.

♦️ Shawn Kent Hayashi

Executive Coach & High-Performing Team Consultant
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Shawn Kent Hayashi brings over two decades of expertise in team dynamics, communication, and performance consulting. Her work helps organizations build emotionally intelligent teams that achieve measurable results.

Key Highlights:

🟦 Specializes in communication intelligence and team synergy.

🟦 Author of several books on leadership and collaboration.

🟦 Partnered with Leanne Meyer Consulting to elevate leadership across industries.

♦️ Leanne Meyer

Leadership Author | Keynote Speaker | Executive Coach
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

A TEDx speaker and leadership author, Leanne Meyer helps executives navigate their careers and accelerate professional success. Her philosophy focuses on authentic leadership and personal alignment, key themes for emerging and senior leaders alike.

Key Highlights:

🟨 Leadership author and keynote speaker with a global perspective.

🟨 Former Director of Carnegie Mellon’s Accelerate Leadership Center.

🟨 Dedicated to women’s leadership advancement and executive presence.

♦️ Mary Lee Gannon

Executive Coach | CEO | Podcast Host
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Mary Lee Gannon brings 19 years of CEO experience to her executive coaching. Her firm helps high-achieving leaders conquer self-doubt, improve executive presence, and strengthen their career trajectories.

Key Highlights:

🟧 Focuses on executive presence, confidence, and wellbeing.

🟧 Host of a popular leadership development podcast.

🟧 Advocates for leadership balance — blending ambition with authenticity.

Mary Lee’s coaching epitomizes the Pittsburgh ethos of perseverance and excellence, offering clarity for leaders striving for purpose and promotion.

♦️ Heidi (Gilcher) Sadecky

Certified Executive Leadership Coach | Corporate Trainer
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Heidi Sadecky brings structure and heart to executive growth. Through Townsend Leadership Program and 3rd River Partners, she provides character-based coaching that promotes competence, connection, and integrity.

Key Highlights:

🟩 Certified in Townsend Leadership Coaching methodology.

🟩 Helps organizations build character-driven leadership pipelines.

🟩 Supports leaders through corporate training and emotional growth.

♦️ Angelina Beas

Executive Coach & Change Strategist | Founder, 3 Elements
🔗 LinkedIn | Website

Angelina Beas is a change strategist and leadership innovator whose firm, 3 Elements, focuses on resilience, sustainability, and purpose. Her programs combine neuroscience, mindfulness, and strategy to create leaders capable of thriving in uncertainty.

Key Highlights:

💜 Founder of 3 Elements, integrating resilience and strategy.

💜 Expert in adaptive leadership and transformation.

💜 Helps executives drive lasting organizational impact.

Why Executive Coaching Matters to Pittsburgh’s Future

Pittsburgh’s future is being shaped by leaders who combine innovation with empathy. Executive coaches in this city are redefining what leadership looks like — helping individuals and teams move beyond titles to cultivate trust, purpose, and sustainable performance.

These coaches are not competitors — they’re collaborators in Pittsburgh’s leadership ecosystem. Together, they’re equipping the city’s professionals to lead with clarity, compassion, and courage.

👉To explore how leadership development connects with broader talent strategy, check out these features:

At Digital Reference, we help HR professionals, consultants, and coaches build visibility, credibility, and growth through curated recognition and digital strategy. Our work connects exceptional coaches — like those featured here — with organizations seeking authentic, high-impact leadership partners.

Through data-backed curation and storytelling, we ensure that the right experts get discovered by the right clients. Our goal is simple: to make excellence visible.

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