Who is Who
Lori Adams-Brown is a Silicon Valley executive, global keynote speaker, board director, and C-suite advisor specializing in leadership development, culture transformation, and talent strategy. With over 20 years across Latin America, Asia, and the U.S., she guides CEOs and boards in building inclusive, high-performing cultures. A multilingual leader and host of the top-ranked podcast A World of Difference, she is known for human-centered leadership, cross-cultural expertise, and future-of-work innovation.
Where Leadership Began
Before Lori Adams-Brown ever set foot in a boardroom or guided a global CEO through organizational transformation, she learned her foundational lessons about humanity, belonging, and perspective standing barefoot on the warm, white sands of Playuelita. As a child growing up between Costa Rica and Venezuela, her Saturdays were often spent in the Caribbean, where the water moved in soft ripples and the sky stretched wide in shades of blue that seemed to invite reflection.
There, under the palm trees where her family tied up a hammock and the coconut ice cream vendor wandered down the shoreline with a familiar smile, Lori discovered what would become her earliest form of leadership. She watched people from every corner of the world share stories, offer help, and build friendships across differences without hesitation. These moments formed the emotional blueprint for the work she would eventually do around the world: cultivating environments where people feel safe, respected, and empowered to bring their whole selves to the table.
That beach remained her sanctuary long into adulthood, the place she would picture when she needed clarity. It was where she wrote her college essays, where she learned the value of curiosity, and where she understood that leadership begins with listening. Many years later, leaders around the globe would describe that same instinct in her. As one colleague shared, “Lori embodies authentic leadership at every turn. Her approach is rooted in empathy, compassion, and integrity.”
Those early lessons would become the guiding force behind Lori’s decades-long journey as a leader, advisor, and voice for change.
A Global Upbringing That Shaped a Global Perspective
Born in the United States to expat parents serving in a global nonprofit, Lori spent her childhood in international schools surrounded by friends and teachers from every cultural background imaginable. That multicultural upbringing taught her what many leaders learn only through years of cross-border work: that culture is not a barrier but a bridge.
Her academic path reflected her insatiable curiosity about people and systems. Lori went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Spanish Language and Literature, followed by a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. Her academic grounding paired with her lived experience created an intuitive cultural fluency that would set her apart in every career environment to come.
She later became a medical director in post-crisis zones, experiences that offered her a profound understanding of human resilience and the importance of trauma-informed leadership. Those life chapters gave her firsthand exposure to what happens when systems fail people and what courageous, human-centered leadership requires. It also deepened her appreciation for the leaders who fight to rebuild trust and safety in moments of extreme vulnerability.
Many years later, those who worked directly under her would speak to that same steady compassion. As one former team member shared, “Lori’s exceptional listening skills created a sense of psychological safety I had never experienced before. Because of her, I felt comfortable expressing ideas openly and confidently.”
From the Caribbean coastline to the complexity of global transitions, Lori’s early experiences formed the foundation of a leader who could understand people deeply, navigate cultural nuance, and thrive in environments where others often felt lost.
Building Cultures That Scale Across Continents
Over the next two decades, Lori’s journey took her across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the United States, where she led global teams, designed leadership programs, and helped executives navigate organizational transformation. Her ability to bring cultural intelligence into mission-critical decisions became one of her most defining strengths.
Her work in Singapore and Indonesia shaped her into a bridge-builder who could unite people across backgrounds, languages, and expectations. She became proficient in speaking six languages, a skill that offered more than just communication. It created a connection. It built trust. It allowed her to see what others sometimes missed.
As Director of Global Talent Development at a leading enterprise technology company in Silicon Valley, she designed AI-enabled learning systems, built scalable talent pipelines, and reshaped leadership cultures with an approach that blended insights from behavioral science, global organizational research, and trauma-informed leadership practices. She understood the future of work long before it became a trending topic.
Her board leadership mirrored that same depth. Whether advising the Justice Revival Board in Washington D.C., contributing to the Silicon Valley Executive Board of How Women Lead, or serving on the Advisory Board for the Center for Creative Leadership, Lori brought clarity, courage, and a rare global lens. As one board colleague described, “She brings a powerful mix of global perspective, cultural intelligence, and deep expertise in executive talent strategy. Lori elevates everything she becomes part of.”
Her influence expanded even further when she launched her globally ranked podcast, A World of Difference. With listeners in more than one hundred countries, the podcast became a platform where culture meets courage, inclusion meets action, and conversations spark global shifts in thinking. Guests regularly note her thoughtful preparation, empathy, and technical expertise, with one describing her as “a thoughtful host with a strong focus on human-centered leadership.”
Through every role, Lori has remained committed to aligning inner values with external action, an integrity that makes her a trusted advisor to leaders navigating complex change.
Transforming Leadership With Empathy, Strategy, and Courage
Lori’s greatest impact has been her ability to help leaders see what they cannot yet name. CEOs often turn to her when something feels off in their culture but remains invisible to internal teams. Through Organizational Readiness Assessments, leadership intensives, and ongoing advisory work, she uncovers the unseen dynamics that shape organizational health.
She understands the silent cost of unspoken fears, unaddressed tensions, and leadership blind spots. She knows how quickly trust erodes when employees do not feel safe. And she has the clarity to surface these truths in a way that invites courage rather than defensiveness.
As another colleague shared, “Lori’s leadership style is rooted in empathy, compassion, and integrity. She inspires you to be an advocate for yourself, to be resilient in adversity, and to never exchange your values for anything.”
Her clients often describe profound transformations. In one global enterprise, she helped leaders realize they didn’t have a retention problem but a trust problem. In another, she guided a leadership team to uncover behaviors that had been silencing high performers.
Lori’s impact stems from her belief that leadership is both deeply human and deeply strategic. She often reminds executives that people do not leave companies because of money. They leave when they stop believing they have a future there. She equips leaders to rebuild that belief.
Her personal philosophy echoes the words of Maya Angelou, which have guided her leadership journey for years: “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.” Lori has lived this truth repeatedly, often standing alone in rooms where speaking up carried personal risk. Her courage became a model not only for women but for anyone navigating systems resistant to change.
Leading With Humanity in a Transforming World
Today, Lori stands at the forefront of the future of work, advising CEOs, boards, and global organizations on how to build cultures that scale with both rigor and humanity. She believes that authenticity is no longer optional and that leaders who cultivate psychological safety, trust, and belonging will be the ones who succeed in an increasingly complex world.
Her work continues to expand globally, weaving together AI-enabled leadership development, cross-cultural communication, change management, and human-centered transformation. She partners closely with executive teams who want to do more than keep up with change. They want to shape it.
Lori’s guiding question, drawn from Mary Oliver, remains her compass: “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” For Lori, the answer is clear. She plans to spend it advocating for equity, leading with courage, building belonging, and helping leaders around the world create cultures where every voice has value.
Editorial Note
Lori Adams-Brown embodies what modern leadership demands. She is a strategist and a storyteller, a global thinker and a grounded listener, a builder of cultures and a champion of those whose voices need to be heard. Her journey reminds us that leadership is not defined by authority but by authenticity, courage, and the willingness to see what others overlook.
For executives and leaders reading this biography, Lori’s story offers a powerful invitation. Build cultures where trust lives at the center. Speak up when silence feels easier. Surround your leadership table with different kinds of minds. And lead in a way that reflects not only who you are but who you hope the world can become.
Because real leadership is not just about driving results. It is about shaping spaces where people flourish.
