About Russo Leadership

We Build Leaders Who Hold Under Pressure, In Power, and Without Performance

Russo Leadership exists to interrupt default—and develop leaders who can meet complexity with clarity.

Let's Work Together Review our Services

Trusted by leading Organizations

Infinite Loop of Logos

Who We Are

Founded by Nayli Russo, Russo Leadership is a boutique leadership development firm with deep expertise in:

Strategic Identity™ Design

Helping leaders break from default patterns and choose who they are—especially in moments that matter.

Leadership Under Pressure

Equipping leaders to respond with clarity in high-stakes, high-ambiguity environments.

Behavioral Credibility & Communication

Building leadership presence that earns trust—without performance theater.

System-Aware Leadership

Understanding how strategy, power, identity, and context shape what leadership requires in the room.

We specialize in helping organizations build leaders who can adapt skillfully, communicate with purpose, and stay grounded under pressure.

Work with Nayli

Nayli Russo (PharmD, MBA)

Founder & Principal, Russo Leadership

Leadership Strategist | Executive Partner | Creator of the Strategic Identity™ framework

Nayli Russo is a Venezuelan immigrant with deep executive experience, She's led in high-stakes rooms—from Major League Baseball to national healthcare organizations. She's been the fixer, the chief of staff, the strategist behind the scenes. And she know what it means to hold power without losing yourself inside it.

Her work is grounded in the belief that leadership is not performance—it’s authorship. And that real leadership isn’t revealed in perfect conditions. It’s forged in pressure, ambiguity, and truth.

With a background that spans clinical science, pro sports, and executive leadership, Nayli brings sharp operational acumen and deep psychological insight to every engagement. She is the creator of the Strategic Identity™ framework—an approach to leadership development that helps leaders move beyond default behaviors and lead by design, not by script.

Through Russo Leadership, she partners with organizations to build leadership that lasts—not just in theory, but in behavior. Her programs equip managers, directors, and senior leaders to show up on purpose, lead through ambiguity, and scale trust and clarity across teams.

Because when performance patterns break down, only real authorship holds. And leadership that holds—changes everything.

What We Believe

Leadership isn’t a title.

It’s a behavior—revealed under pressure.

We believe that:

Leadership gets distorted by systems, power, and culture

Default behaviors are not flaws—they’re survival responses

Performing leadership is exhausting—and unnecessary

Presence matters more than polish

And the strongest leaders are those who stop waiting for permission

We don’t teach you to “act like a leader.”

We help you lead without self-betrayal.

What We Do

We work across three layers of leadership:

Individual Leaders

Programs and advising that develop identity, presence, and strategic behavior—especially under pressure.

Teams

Facilitation that builds trust, improves collaboration, and unlocks alignment (powered by Everything DiSC®, Five Behaviors®, and Working Genius™)

Organizations

Consulting that embeds leadership clarity into systems, strategy, and culture—so your values show up in behavior, not just posters.

Who We Work With

People leaders without formal training

Executives navigating power and pressure

Teams in transition, growth, or conflict

Organizations committed to human-centered leadership that performs and sustains

We’ve partnered with leaders in tech, sports, healthcare, education, and social impact—anywhere leadership is lived, not just talked about.

How We’re Different

We don’t do leadership trends.

We don’t use frameworks as personality tests.

We don’t pretend culture change happens in a two-day retreat.

We’re here for the leaders who want depth, truth, and transformation that sticks.

Not performance. Not perfection. Just presence, power, and clarity that holds.

Meet Our Founder & CEO

Nayli Russo (PharmD, MBA)

Founder & Principal, Russo Leadership

Nayli Russo is a leadership strategist, systems thinker, and trusted advisor to founders and high-growth organizations navigating complexity, pressure, and scale.

Her path—from clinical science to executive leadership—reflects the same clarity, rigor, and intentionality she brings to every client engagement.

Born in Los Teques, Venezuela, Nayli’s career has spanned industries and disciplines, all rooted in one belief: clarity is the foundation of leadership that holds under pressure

She brings deep expertise in strategy execution, leadership system design, and behavioral alignment, with a Doctor of Pharmacy, an Executive MBA, and advanced certifications in Strategy Execution, HR Management, Lean Six Sigma, and DiSC® Behavioral Analysis.

As former Vice President of People & Strategy for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Nayli led large-scale leadership, culture, and strategy alignment transformations—including launching the organization’s first Leadership Academy.

She brought a systems and strategy lens to leadership development, integrating KPI-driven execution rhythms, future-focused alignment, and cross-functional leadership behaviors.

Her work helped drive not just post-COVID growth, but a leadership system that scaled with the organization’s evolving strategy and performance demands—work that continues to deliver business outcomes beyond her tenure.

Nayli’s approach to leadership is both precise and deeply human.

She helps founders and senior leaders move from reactivity to strategic influence that holds under pressure—building leadership systems that create clarity, trust, and traction across the business.

Whether advising a CEO post-restructure or coaching a founder scaling fast, her focus is on alignment that holds—not performative change.

To her, leadership is orchestration. Every organization has a unique rhythm. Through Russo Leadership, she helps clients tune their systems, align their teams, and lead with both strategy and soul.