“After years working in war zones and designing constitutions, I honestly thought leadership would be mundane. Instead, it has turned out to be one of the most intellectually demanding and endlessly fascinating parts of my career. The scale is different, but the underlying questions about power, trust, adaptation, and collective action are remarkably similar.”
Dr Kirsti Samuels
Founder & CEO of KS Insight
- Founder & CEO of KS Insight
- Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, teaching Leadership and Management in Moments of Adversity & Opportunity
- Former Executive Director of the Adaptive Leadership Network
- 25+ years working with global leaders, from CEOs to heads of state to rebel groups
- Doctorate in Law from Oxford, MPA from Harvard Kennedy School
- Expert in leadership through crisis & complex societal change
Kirsti Samuels is the founder and CEO of KS Insight, a leadership and strategy consultancy based in New York City. She also served as the Executive Director of the Adaptive Leadership Network during its start-up years, leading a community of more than 700 leaders, change-makers, thinkers, and reformers. Kirsti is Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, where she teaches Leadership and Management in Moments of Adversity and Opportunity to Master's students at the School of International and Public Affairs.
As an entrepreneur and strategist with 25+ years of experience, Kirsti specializes in tackling complex problems with innovative approaches. Her work has spanned executive teams, senior country leadership, and even armed rebel groups, often in deeply divided societies. Her clients have included the President of the Comoros Islands, the leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the U.S. Department of State, the Clinton Global Initiative, the United Nations, the World Bank, the American Hospital Association, and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
Kirsti holds a Doctorate in Law from Oxford University, a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Science and Law from Sydney University. She has also completed mediation training with the Swiss Government and coaching studies at NYU. Beyond her professional endeavors, she is a founding board member of the Harlem Wellness Center.
Dr. Samuels has lived in diverse locations, including France, the UK, South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Kenya, Iraq, Sudan, and the U.S.; she has shared her expertise on leadership and strategy worldwide. She now calls New York City home.
Follow Professor Samuels on LinkedIn.
In Action: Workshops, Dialogues, and Leadership Moments
