Global People & Transformation Executive

San Francisco Bay Area, work globally.

I build the organizations that growth depends on by listening and removing obstacles.

For 15+ years I have led strategy, operations and talent for global teams: inside a Fortune 100 AI hardware company, across Asia-Pacific, and through disaster response. I walk into unfamiliar ground, read it fast, earn trust, and move a team forward with candor and care.

Operating models that work across borders. I clarify who decides what, simplify how work moves, and align HR, technology and operations behind one plan. At Hyve Solutions I built the organizational effectiveness function in a newly created role and led cross-functional initiatives across seven global cities.
Leadership and talent at scale. I build the talent, onboarding and leadership systems that fast growth requires. We built the talent infrastructure behind 55.6% headcount growth, from 793 to 1,234 employees, and manager competency in our UK pilot rose 48%.
AI adoption that holds. AI amplifies whatever an organization already is. I get the human systems ready first: governance, manager capability and clear ownership of decisions. I served as Head of Global Ethics alongside AI governance boards, and built an AI coaching agent that we tested with a multilingual global team before rollout.

Full experience

“There are no superhumans. We’re all human. When you build trust, there’s nothing you and your team can’t do.”

— Lori Adams-Brown

What I lead

Lori Adams-Brown

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“When we empower people and create environments where everyone can succeed, we don’t just improve businesses; we also improve communities and lives.” - Lori Adams-Brown

Selected experience

Founder, Brava Global Advisory, leadership and talent transformation

Advising companies on leadership, organizational effectiveness and AI-era change. Retained by Big 5 Publisher on workforce learning and corporate training product strategy.

Director, Global Talent Development, and Head of Global Ethics, San Francisco Bay Area

Hyve Solutions, a TD SYNNEX company (NYSE: SNX, $64B, AI Hardware)

Owned global training for a 2,000+ workforce in 7 cities across APAC, EMEA and the Americas. Six direct reports. Reported to the SVP of Business Operations with regular one-on-ones with President and COO.

Senior Director, Global Strategy, APAC, global NGO

A $312M global NGO, Singapore

Member of the APAC senior leadership team. 12 direct reports, a core team of 52, and reach across about 500 people.

Site Director and nonprofit Co-Founder, disaster response operations

Indonesia

Directed a $16M budget and a 50+ person organization after the Indian Ocean tsunami. Co-led delivery of 121 infrastructure projects and coordinated with UN agencies.

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From San Francisco to Singapore, Lori advises global CEOs and boards on leadership development and global transformation

In conversation

Podcast: I host A World of Difference, ranked in the top 3% of podcasts globally, with 300+ episodes, 177,000+ downloads and listeners in 120 countries. I talk with executives, authors and changemakers about leading across difference.

Speaking: I speak on human-centered leadership, AI-era organizational change, and leading across cultures, for audiences including CSHRP, BAEDN, Women x AI, Achieve Engagement, How Women Lead and the Marcus Evans Talent Management Summit.

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Featured Conversations

Under the Hood

Leading across cultures and building a personal board of advisors

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Empowerography

Why organizations should rethink how they treat their people

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Risely

AI in talent development, cultural intelligence and the future of work

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How Women Invest

Leadership development, organizational effectiveness and talent transformation in global work

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Sort of Sure

Lori speaks on Imposter syndrome proposing an alternative framing: “Systemic Exclusion Syndrome.”

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Stories From Real Life

Lori talks about how becoming a better listener can improve your work culture.

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Event poster for Palo Alto hosted by How Women Lead, featuring a photo of Lori Adams-Brown. Event details: Wednesday, October 23, 5:00-7:00 PM PT at Baker & McKenzie LLP, 600 Hansen Way, Palo Alto, CA 94304.

Boards and credentials

Board Director, Justice Revival, 2022 to present
Board Advisor, Center for Creative Leadership, 2025
Board Director, How Women Lead, 2024 to 2026
Certificate in Private Company Governance, Private Directors Association
Certified Professional Facilitator, Center for Creative Leadership
M.A. Intercultural Studies. B.A. Sociology and Spanish
English, Spanish, Indonesian and Malay, with elementary French and Arabic
Raised in Venezuela and Costa Rica. Lived on three continents, worked across six

Building something global? Let's talk.

Get in touch

Get my notes on leading across difference, plus the Cross-Cultural Communication Starter Guide.

Lori Adams-Brown is a Silicon Valley–based executive leader, board director, and global speaker with more than 20 years of experience of living across 3 continents advancing workplace culture, talent development, and organizational effectiveness. Recognized as a trusted advisor to C-suites and boards, Lori brings an unmatched global perspective shaped by living and working on three continents.

She serves on several influential boards, including the Justice Revival Board of Directors in Washington D.C., where she champions human rights; the Silicon Valley Executive Board of How Women Lead, advancing women in leadership across industries; and the Advisory Board of the Center for Creative Leadership, a global authority in leadership development.

Lori is also the host and executive producer of A World of Difference, a podcast ranked in the top 3% globally with listeners in over 100 countries. The show features conversations with executives, authors, and change makers on leadership, culture, and global impact, making it a trusted resource for leaders across industries navigating transformation in complex environments.

Her expertise spans talent development, leadership pipelines, organizational effectiveness, and employee listening strategies equipping executives and boards with actionable insights to strengthen culture, accelerate innovation, and build resilient organizations. She is known for bridging strategy and empathy, global change management, designing human-centered solutions that unlock both performance and purpose. Lori speaks 6 languages, and she holds an M.A. in Intercultural Studies and B.A.s in Sociology and Spanish Language and Literature.

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“Teams make their best decisions when there are as many different types of brains around the table as possible. Group think holds teams back, but listening understand propels teams into innovative growth.”

-Lori Adams-Brown

After over 20 years of professional international experience of working and living in South America, Asia and the San Francisco Bay Area, Lori has vast experience in global talent development that is based in the latest research at the cusp of how leadership is changing around the world. She will help you make an impact and show you and your team how to take what is working and add what is missing so that what is great becomes superb.

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Lori’s Background

Learn more

“Not all great minds think alike, and that is such a good thing for all of us.”

— Lori Adams-Brown

A woman with blonde hair smiling in front of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the daytime.

Lori’s career has taken her around the world. During her years in Southeast Asia, she led global teams to do work in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Brunei. She speaks fluent Indonesian and Malay.

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Lori is an engaging conference speaker.

Lori is a connector who puts people first and values the lasting partnerships she builds globally. Lori is an active listener who cares about the stories people share whether she is advising a CEO or listening to the trauma of an Indonesian rice farmer. She is energized by communication and teamwork because she knows the dangers of group think to organizations and to societies. She is a lifelong learner and known for bringing innovative perspectives and questions to the board room and organizational decision-making tables.

She is deadline and results-driven, passionate about creating better processes, systems, and best practices that help her teams, clients and partners do outstanding work worldwide.

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Podcasts Where Lori Has Been Interviewed

Under the Hood

Lori shares her journey of navigating diverse cultural settings, leading with compassion as a strength, and trusting her intuition in moments of uncertainty. From building her own “personal board of advisors” to redefining what effective leadership looks like across cultures, this episode offers practical wisdom and heartfelt lessons for leaders at every stage.

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Empowerography

Lori speaks on how setting clear work-life boundaries can fuel productivity and prevent burnout, why kindness is such a powerful leadership quality to possess and how small acts of kindness can create massive lasting results. She gives practical steps to foster psychological safety, kindness and empowerment.

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Risely

Lori is interviewed by Risely’s Ashish Manchanda to talk about AI in Talent Development, Cultural Intelligence, and the Future of Work.
She gives practical tools and insights into workforce transformation with a human-centered approach in partnership with AI, including AI agents for leadership coaching.

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How Women Invest

Lori is interviewed by San Francisco Bay Area- based CEO Julie Castro Abrams, founder of How Women Lead and managing partner of How Women Invest. Lori serves on the board of How Women Lead and discusses leadership development, organizational effectiveness and talent transformation experience in her global work.

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Sort of Sure

Lori speaks on Imposter syndrome proposing that it isn’t a personal defect. It’s a predictable reaction to exclusion. She offers an alternative framing: “Systemic Exclusion Syndrome.”

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TPNR

Lori is a guest on the 300th episode of TPNR in a collab with Will Wright, host of Faithful Politics to talk about integrity in leadership.

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Life After MLM

Lori talks with host Roberta Blevins about business ethics, workplace culture and the changing face of leadership

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What Comes Next

Lori advocates for a fundamental shift in how organizations approach their human capital, fostering cultures that prioritize well-being and collaboration.

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Talkin' Politics and Religion Without Killin' Each Other

Lori speaks on US politics, midterms and the Equal Rights Amemendment

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Stories From Real Life

Lori talks about how becoming a better listener can improve your work culture.

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Twenty All-Things

Making A Difference During Your 20s:
Lori talks about working in the Indonesian tsunami of 2004

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Radical Love Live

Lori shares about the ramifications of not cultivating psychological safety in faith-based workplaces as well as steps to take to repair with change management

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Introducing Me Podcast

Lori talks about how growing up as a TCK gave her cross-cultural communication skills that have paid off in her career across Asia and now in Silicon Valley

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Talkin' Politics and Religion Without Killin' Each Other

Lori shares about "cultural humility”

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Join the Conversation with Denise Clark

Lori spoke about the future of work and increasing needs for belonging

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Women, Faith, & Business

Lori speaks on business for women and the future of work

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Steps to Sobriety Podcast

Lori speaks about being trauma-informed as an International Relief & Development Medical Director

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Bodies Behind the Bus

Lori talks about what it looks like to champion women

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Hagar's Voice

Lori shares the importance of well-being in the workplace

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Bodies Behind the Bus

Lori talks with host Johnna Harris on values-based leadership in preventing toxic workplace environments.

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Untangled Faith

Lori speaks about her experience of being interviewed by journalists

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Liminal Living

Lori describes toxic leadership and how to decode image management

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Is the Evangelical Church at the Breaking Point with Women?

Lori speaks as a Subject Matter Expert as an advocate for women who have experienced hostile faith-based work environments

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Untangled Faith

Lori speaks on the value of creating safe spaces for whistleblowers to speak up in work environments

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At the Bus Stop

Lori speaks about the petition to end faith-based NDAs

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Three smiling women taking a selfie at an outdoor event during sunset with tables, chairs, and attendees in the background, featuring a large sign that reads "Future 2050 Summit".

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Two women posing at the Forbes 30/50 Summit during International Women's Day in Abu Dhabi. They are smiling and wearing name tags, with a stage and chairs in the background.

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Two women smiling in front of a red banner for the Forbes 30/50 Summit, celebrating International Women's Day in Abu Dhabi.

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Four women standing around a table at an indoor event with ornate architecture. They are smiling, with drinks on the table, and appear to be enjoying themselves.

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Two women standing side by side, smiling, at the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi, with a backdrop featuring logos of Cisco, Carrefour, and other sponsors.

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Promotional flyer for the podcast 'Evolutions' featuring Lori Adams-Brown, titled 'A World of Difference,' with event details including location at JW Marriott in Los Angeles and dates March 26-29, 2024.

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Two women smiling and posing in front of a colorful conference banner with palm trees, a vintage car, and logos for podcasts and media companies, at the 2022 Podcast Movement event.

A woman in a black dress standing in a vineyard, smiling with her arms outstretched amidst rows of grapevines under a clear blue sky.

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Two women standing in front of a decorated Christmas tree. The woman on the left has blonde hair, is wearing a white shirt and gray skirt. The woman on the right has long black hair, is wearing a black dress and a pearl necklace. They are smiling and

Woman in sunglasses standing on white sand dunes, with a few small plants, mountains in the background, and a partly cloudy sky.

Two women smiling and standing in front of a backdrop with logos and the text 'The HEARt Enterprise, helping every person with autism reach their talent,' and the website www.heartsocialent.com. One woman wears a white T-shirt with a colorful superhe

A woman taking a selfie outdoors on a grassy area near water with the Singapore skyline in the background, including the Marina Bay Sands hotel and the Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel, during sunset.

A woman smiling while holding chopsticks with a piece of sushi in a restaurant. There are empty and partially filled plates on the table.

A woman with light brown hair, jewelry, and a light beige cardigan sitting in front of decorative carved stone columns, smiling at the camera.

A woman wearing a gray beanie, large sunglasses, and a gray jacket outdoors with green trees and a blue sky in the background.

A woman with long blonde hair, wearing a white shirt and dark jacket, smiling while seated on an airplane.

A woman crouches and smiles among pigeons in a public square in front of a historic cathedral with domes and intricate architecture.

A woman with blonde hair wearing large dark sunglasses, a beige trench coat, and a necklace, taking a selfie on a city street with tall buildings and a blue sky in the background.

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Promotional flyer for #GetOnBoard Week, October 21-25, 2024, featuring a woman in a black blazer smiling, with a quote from Lori Adams-Brown, Director of Talent Development, emphasizing the importance of women on corporate boards for better decision-

A woman with blonde hair looking out of an airplane window, wearing a light-colored shirt and headphones around her neck.

A woman with long brown hair, wearing a beige jacket and statement earrings, taking a selfie on a boat with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in London visible in the background on a bright, sunny day.

A woman with long blonde hair, gold hoop earrings, and a dark button-up shirt smiling at the camera inside a building at night. She is leaning on a beige upholstered seat, with a cityscape illuminated by bright neon lights visible through the window

Three people standing under a bridge overlooking a river with trees in the background, on a cloudy day.

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A woman smiling, holding a yellow snack bag and a red umbrella, on a rainy street in London with a fountain and red double-decker buses in the background.

Three women smiling at a social event, with a crowd and a woman with an afro in the background.

Two women smiling outside a restaurant called Flour & Grape at night, with a brick exterior and illuminated sign.

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Promotional graphic for a podcast episode titled 'EPS 210: The Power of Women of Color in the US Election'. It features pictures of the host, Lori Adams-Brown, and guest, Aimee Allison. The episode is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, with a 'List

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A woman with blonde hair, wearing earrings and a beige jacket, sitting at an outdoor cafe, holding a cup of coffee, with a slice of berry cake on a tray in front of her. There are other people and buildings visible in the background.

A woman with blonde hair and gold hoop earrings holding a Dubai-themed mug in front of a microphone.

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A woman with blonde hair, wearing a cream-colored top, gold hoop earrings, and a blue lanyard, sitting at a desk with papers, smiling at the camera.

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Lori is Endorsed By Female Executive Search

Leadership Development

Decision making is a skill in leadership development.

Here are 3 questions Lori can help you ask when making significant decisions.

Belonging at Work

Cultivating belonging in a work environment isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do.
Inclusive teams make better decisions.
Cultures of belonging are not easy to cultivate, and it does take time and intentionality. However, going slow to go fast can really pay off.