Most people know me as a tech leader turned executive coach with a focus on design and experimentation. Decades of collecting gold stars and perfecting the art of high-achieving hustle crafted this polished, external-facing bio:

Tutti Taygerly coaches tech founders and leaders to break free from cookie-cutter leadership molds and embrace their own intuitive, high-impact style. She teaches on leadership, and, with a Silicon Valley design mindset, she empowers leaders to dream big, run iterative experiments, and harmonize their inner and outer worlds to achieve transformational results.

A fierce advocate for “others,” Tutti specializes in guiding women, people of color, immigrants, and the neurodiverse to own their stories, amplify their voices, and lead with unapologetic confidence. Before becoming a coach, she spent 22 years as a design leader at Meta, Disney, startups, and top-tier design firms where she learned firsthand the power of creativity and adaptability in fast-paced, high-stakes environments. Tutti holds a Symbolic Systems design degree from Stanford University, which shaped her unique blend of data-driven analysis and human-centered leadership strategies.

Tutti is also a writer whose bylines appear in Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, and Fast Company. Her book, Make Space to Lead: Break Patterns to Find Flow and Focus on What Matters, gives overachievers the playbook for shifting from “doing it all” to leading with ease and intention.

Born to Thai-Chinese parents, Tutti grew up across seven countries on three continents, giving her a deep cultural empathy that informs her coaching style. Now based in San Francisco, she juggles life as a parent to two teen daughters, a curious explorer of energetic practices, an obsessive reader, and a surfer looking for her next wave. Learn more at tuttitaygerly.com.

What most people don’t know is why I made a huge career pivot into working for myself as a coach, author, and speaker.

I was raised by an Asian tiger mom who believed that long hours and relentless effort were the key to success. Love and approval came when I excelled; disappointment and pressure followed when I fell short. She would lavish me with love and approval when I did well in school and when I filled my days with accomplishments. I absorbed these lessons and spent the first three decades of my life chasing achievement and collecting gold stars — editor of the school paper, high school valedictorian, a degree from Stanford University and multiple offers from top technology companies. I climbed the corporate ladder with speed, relentlessly seeking success, looking for the next raise and promotion, and switching companies quickly when that was the fastest path to my desired destination. Along the way, I presented product and design strategies at an early-stage Series B startup to board members from firms like Greylock and Accel, and at Facebook I supported teams shaping the future of video, including Facebook Watch and Facebook Live. These were products that redefined how billions consumed video daily. I told myself I was happy. I was passionate about design, mentoring hundreds of people, and launching innovative products that reached audiences worldwide. I had two young kids, an adoring husband, and a house in San Francisco. By all accounts, I had built the perfect life, the picture of success I’d worked so hard to create.

Until it wasn’t. In my early 40s, my carefully constructed life collapsed as my father-in-law passed away, my marriage fell apart, and my father died, all in the same year. Afterwards I spent months, and then years, in deep self-examination, questioning what I truly wanted and reorienting my life around an immediate north star: supporting my two young daughters while finding a profession that didn’t demand endless hours of being always-on and fighting fires to succeed. That reckoning eventually led me to this new career. I am an executive coach, but more importantly, I gained the freedom (one of my core values) to design a portfolio of work I love — coaching, writing, speaking, and continuing my passion for sparking change. Now, the transformations I spark come from guiding others to reflect, grow, and lead with greater purpose.

I’ve made my own career (and life) pivot, walking the path as a design leader, parent, and technologist embracing rapid change. I continue to learn the hard lessons about what truly matters. My own journey taught me that the hardest seasons can become the greatest teachers, especially when we directly embrace the challenge. Today, I draw on these lessons to help leaders strengthen their clarity, intuition, and capacity to lead in a way that’s true to their strengths and shadows.
My portfolio today spans executive coaching, keynote speaking, and writing—all with the same goal: to spark change and support leaders to trust themselves and grow into their strongest, most confident selves. You can learn more at tuttitaygerly.com or connect with me on LinkedIn: I’d love to continue the dialogue on leadership, transformation, and growth.