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16 Top Executive Coaches in New York (2026)

  • Writer: Jonno White
    Jonno White
  • Dec 29, 2025
  • 10 min read

Updated: Jul 6

Last updated: July 2026


Executive coaches are credentialed practitioners who work one-on-one with senior leaders on decision-making, communication and career transitions. This directory compiles 16 executive coaches and coaching firms with a confirmed New York presence, verified in July 2026, spanning board-readiness, financial-services leadership, healthcare, and behavioural-change specialists.


As of July 2026, the global executive coaching and leadership development market is valued at USD 112.98 billion, according to Mordor Intelligence, and is projected to reach USD 174.53 billion by 2031. New York remains one of the densest markets in that industry, which makes a clear-eyed way of comparing options useful before you commit to one.


What Makes a Great Executive Coach | How to Choose a Coach in New York | The Directory | Where NYC's Coaches Focus | Looking for a Coach with Global Reach | Questions to Ask Before Hiring | FAQ


What Makes a Great Executive Coach


Relevant industry experience matters more than a generic methodology. A coach who has worked with hedge fund managers brings different insight than one who specialises in nonprofit or public-sector leadership, and the strongest fit comes from a coach who has genuinely worked inside your world.


Credentialing signals rigor without guaranteeing fit. An ICF credential (PCC or MCC), graduate training in organisational psychology, and certification in a recognised assessment tool such as Hogan, DiSC or the Leadership Circle Profile all indicate a coach has been through a formal process, but none of them substitute for a direct conversation about your specific situation.


Track record with high-stakes situations is the harder thing to verify. Coaching that touches board dynamics, succession planning or a leadership transition carries real downside risk if it goes badly, so it is reasonable to ask a prospective coach directly whether they have handled a situation like yours and what happened.


Communication and conflict-resolution skill shows up in how a coach talks about difficult conversations, not just whether they claim to teach them. A coach who can describe a structured way of approaching a hard conversation, rather than general advice to "be direct," is usually the more experienced one.


A clear engagement structure is the last thing worth checking before you sign anything. A professional coach can explain their cadence, their confidentiality approach, and how progress toward your goals will actually be measured; vague promises without a defined process are worth treating with some scepticism.


How to Choose an Executive Coach in New York


New York's executive coaching market is dense, which makes selection both easier and harder. A few practical questions narrow the field:


What am I actually trying to solve? Executive presence, board readiness, team alignment and communication under pressure all call for different strengths, and naming the problem precisely is the fastest way to rule coaches in or out.


Do I need industry-specific expertise? Financial services, healthcare and legal leaders often move faster with a coach who already knows the sector's pressures; leaders in a less specialised context may get more from a generalist with broader pattern-matching across industries.


What is the likely cost, and how is it usually priced? According to Locked On Leadership's 2026 executive coaching rate guide, hourly rates commonly run from USD 300 to 750 at manager level, USD 750 to 1,250 at senior leader or VP level, and USD 1,500 to 3,500 or more at C-suite level, with six-month packages commonly landing between USD 12,000 and 50,000. Most of the providers below do not publish exact fees; where a provider's own site did not list a public figure at the time of writing, that is noted rather than guessed at.


Should I work with a local coach or one who travels in? Many leaders assume a coach based outside New York is impractical. In practice, virtual coaching now covers most ongoing engagement types well, and travel for periodic in-person work is a normal, low-friction part of how several coaches on this list (and providers well beyond it) already operate.


The Directory: Executive Coaches in New York


The 16 practitioners and firms below were each re-verified in July 2026 against their own current websites or professional profiles. They are compiled here, not ranked, and are grouped loosely by their primary focus.


High-Profile Coaches with Global and NYC Reach


1. Marshall Goldsmith, New York, NY (Global)


Marshall Goldsmith is a Thinkers50 Hall of Fame member described on his own site as the only two-time #1 leadership thinker in the world, and a #1 New York Times author with more than 4 million copies sold across 36 languages. His stakeholder-centred coaching methodology has worked with more than 200 major CEOs and emphasises measurable behavioural change over time. As he puts it on his own site: "I want to help successful people achieve positive, lasting change in behavior." His current site is built primarily around free knowledge-sharing (courses, articles and an AI-based coaching tool) rather than a conventional bookable 1:1 practice, so leaders interested in his methodology should expect to engage with his books and licensed-coach network as the practical entry point.



Best for: leaders who want his stakeholder-centred, feedback-driven methodology, whether through his writing or a coach certified in his approach.


2. Stephen Miles (The Miles Group), New York, NY


Stephen Miles is the founder and CEO of The Miles Group, profiled by Bloomberg Businessweek as "The CEO Whisperer" for his work in CEO succession and executive transitions. He co-authored *Riding Shotgun: The Role of the Chief Operating Officer* and co-hosts the C-Suite Intelligence podcast.



Best for: CEOs approaching succession and COOs defining or transitioning out of the role.


3. Margaret Chan, New York, NY


Margaret Chan brings 25 years in executive search, including 18 years at Spencer Stuart and Korn Ferry, where she assessed more than 3,500 executives on leadership style and board readiness. She holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the ICF and is a Certified Executive Coach with Columbia Business School's Leadership Lab.



Best for: senior executives pursuing board positions or navigating a significant career transition.


NYC Executive Coaching Firms


4. Hatwell Group, New York, NY


Hatwell Group is a coaching and talent-development firm specialising in financial services, with offices in New York, London and Singapore and its US base at 230 Park Avenue. Their coaching covers presentation preparation for financing, M&A and IPO roadshows alongside 1:1 executive coaching for banking, asset management and private equity leaders.



Best for: finance leaders preparing for high-stakes external presentations such as IPO roadshows or investor meetings.


5. Bridgeline Executive Coaching, New York, NY


Bridgeline is an authorised Wiley partner delivering Everything DiSC and The Five Behaviors assessments alongside 1:1 coaching, workshops and offsite facilitation from its office at 70 Little West St.



Best for: organisations wanting a firm with structured, Wiley-licensed assessment tools built into team coaching.


6. TLD Group, New York Metropolitan Area


TLD Group is a healthcare-focused leadership firm built around its HELM (Health Ecosystem Leadership) model, serving providers, pharmaceutical companies, payers and health policy organisations, with clients including Amgen, Pfizer, Sanofi and Novartis.



Best for: healthcare executives and organisations wanting sector-specific succession and team development.


7. IMPACT Group, New York, NY


IMPACT Group uses a brain-based ARIA (Awareness to Action) coaching model and reports a 98% client satisfaction score and more than 50,000 annual coaching hours across its network; more than 70% of its coaches hold a PhD or other advanced degree.



Best for: enterprise organisations managing large-scale leadership transitions who want a scalable coaching bench.


Individual Executive Coaches


8. Mary Taylor, New York, NY


Mary Taylor positions herself as a direct, results-focused executive and business coach with a background spanning corporate law, organisational psychology and accredited performance coaching. She offers a free initial consultation; current pricing was not publicly listed on her site at the time of writing and is available directly from her practice.



Best for: leaders who want a direct coaching style and are comfortable requesting pricing during a discovery call.


9. Julien D'Auria (Hatwell Group), New York, NY


Julien D'Auria brings 17 years of capital markets experience in trading, structuring and sales to his coaching practice, holding an MBA from the Rotman School of Management and certifications in DiSC and Hogan assessments. He works with finance leaders preparing for investor presentations, roadshows and M&A processes.


Best for: finance professionals preparing for high-stakes investor-facing presentations.


10. Rachel Horan (Hatwell Group), New York, NY


Rachel Horan brings a media and political-communications background, including work as a press officer and a BBC radio producer and director, to executive presence coaching for financial-services leaders. She holds a Professional Certified Coach credential, a Hogan Assessment certification and a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach credential, and has worked with clients including Citigroup and Barclays.


Best for: finance leaders who want to strengthen executive presence and messaging under scrutiny.


11. Nancy Polsky (JER HR Group), New York, NY


Nancy Polsky is a founding partner of JER HR Group and now serves as its Vice President of Organizational Development, holding an MBA from Penn State and certifications including Certified ROI Professional and an ICF coaching credential. Her focus spans executive coaching, leadership development and talent strategy across nonprofit, corporate and government sectors.



Best for: organisations wanting executive coaching integrated with broader HR and talent strategy.


12. Erin Hilgart, New York, NY


Erin Hilgart holds an MA in Organizational Psychology and a doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership, both from Columbia University. Her practice focuses on organisational development, culture transformation and leadership strategy for organisations navigating significant change.


Website: hilgart.co


Best for: organisations undergoing culture change who want coaching paired with organisational-development expertise.


13. Anita Kishore, PhD, ACC, New York, NY


Anita Kishore is the founder of Access to Opportunity Consulting and holds an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential, certifications in Hogan Assessments, EQ-i 2.0 and the Leadership Circle Profile, and an MPA from NYU Wagner, where she also teaches leadership development. She coaches senior executives, nonprofit and government leaders on emotional intelligence and trust-building.



Best for: leaders seeking assessment-rich, emotional-intelligence-focused coaching with public and nonprofit-sector fluency.


14. Dr. Joel Mausner (Workplace Psychology), White Plains / New York, NY


Joel Mausner holds a PhD and has worked as an executive coach for 25 years across corporate, healthcare and nonprofit settings through his firm, Workplace Psychology. He previously taught as an adjunct professor at NYU, leading a seminar on group dynamics.



Best for: leaders wanting a psychology-grounded coach with a long track record across sectors.


Creative and Specialised Coaches


15. Amelia Kruse, New York, NY and Sydney


Amelia Kruse is a certified Conscious Leadership and Executive Coach (PCC) with the ICF and a certified EQ assessor with Six Seconds, working virtually with creative and entrepreneurial leaders. Her past clients include people at Google, Spotify, Gap Inc, Airbnb and Etsy.



Best for: creative-industry and tech leaders wanting emotional-intelligence-centred coaching.


16. Starla Sireno, New York, NY


Starla Sireno is an executive coach and strategic advisor working with individual leaders and leadership teams on trust, tension and decision-making under pressure, with a client base that has included Apple, BlackRock, 3M, PwC and LinkedIn.



Best for: leadership teams that need help operating effectively as complexity and pressure increase.


Where NYC's Verified Coaches Focus


Grouping the 16 verified providers above by primary focus shows three roughly even clusters and two smaller ones: financial-services specialists (Hatwell Group, Julien D'Auria, Rachel Horan), CEO succession and behavioural-change specialists (Marshall Goldsmith, Stephen Miles, Margaret Chan), and psychology- or assessment-grounded practitioners (Anita Kishore, Dr. Joel Mausner, Erin Hilgart) each account for three of the 16. Firm-based team and culture programmes (Bridgeline, TLD Group, IMPACT Group, JER HR Group) account for four, and independent generalist or emotional-intelligence-focused coaches (Mary Taylor, Amelia Kruse, Starla Sireno) account for the remaining three. This is compiled from the entries listed here, not from a survey.


Looking for a Coach with Global Reach?


In full transparency, I offer executive coaching myself, so I have kept my own work separate from the list above rather than including it as an entry. If you are a senior leader who wants a coach who brings structured frameworks for difficult conversations and genuine cross-border experience, including with clients in New York, that is exactly the kind of engagement I specialise in. Details on reaching me are at the end of this guide.


Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Executive Coach


What is your coaching experience with leaders in my industry or facing my specific challenge? How do you structure a typical engagement, including cadence and how you measure progress? What is your approach to confidentiality, particularly if my organisation is paying for the coaching? What happens if we discover partway through that coaching is not the right fit?


These four questions, asked directly in a discovery call, surface most of what matters before you commit.


FAQ


What does an executive coach in New York typically cost?


Published 2026 market guides put hourly rates at roughly USD 300 to 750 for manager-level coaching, USD 750 to 1,250 at senior leader or VP level, and USD 1,500 to 3,500 or more at C-suite level, with six-month packages commonly falling between USD 12,000 and 50,000. Few individual coaches publish exact figures, so most engagements are priced during a discovery call.


How is executive coaching different from management consulting or executive search?


Executive coaching works one-on-one with a leader on their own thinking, communication and decision-making over an ongoing engagement, while consulting advises on organisational problems and executive search fills open roles. Some New York firms on this list, like Hatwell Group and Margaret Chan, draw on a search or consulting background but deliver coaching as a distinct service.


Should I choose a local New York coach or one who works virtually or travels in?


Virtual coaching now covers most ongoing engagement types well, and several coaches on this list work with clients well beyond New York using a mix of virtual sessions and periodic in-person visits. A local-only search is not necessary unless your situation specifically calls for regular in-person work.


What credentials should I actually look for?


An ICF credential such as PCC or MCC, formal training in organisational or industrial psychology, and certification in an assessment tool such as Hogan, DiSC, EQ-i or the Leadership Circle Profile are the most commonly held qualifications among the coaches on this list, though fit with your specific situation matters as much as the credential itself.


How long does a typical coaching engagement last?


Engagements on this list commonly run in three- or six-month blocks with a defined cadence, though several providers, including firm-based practices like TLD Group and IMPACT Group, also support longer succession or transformation-linked coaching that runs a year or more.


Is executive coaching confidential from my employer, even when the company is paying?


Reputable coaches set out their confidentiality approach at the start of an engagement, and it is a fair, direct question to ask before you begin, particularly when a third party is funding the coaching. It is one of the four questions listed earlier in this guide worth asking any coach directly.


Finding the Right Executive Coach for You


The 16 practitioners and firms above represent a genuinely varied set of ways to approach executive coaching in New York, from Stephen Miles's succession-focused work to Bridgeline's assessment-driven team programmes. Credentials matter, but fit with your specific situation matters more, and a short discovery call is normally enough to tell the difference. Virtual coaching now works well for most ongoing engagements, so it is worth looking beyond purely local options if a coach elsewhere is a stronger match for what you actually need.


If you want to talk about working together on executive coaching, structured frameworks for difficult conversations, or a leadership offsite, I'm at jonno@consultclarity.org.


I'm Jonno White, a Brisbane-based leadership consultant, keynote speaker and Certified Working Genius Facilitator, certified through Patrick Lencioni's Table Group, and the author of Step Up or Step Out, with more than 10,000 copies sold. I host The Leadership Conversations Podcast and work with schools, corporates and nonprofits around the world.



 
 
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