Born in Chicago to immigrant parents who arrived in the U.S. seeking better educational opportunities for their daughters, Tina Shah Paikeday grew up moving often and learning to adapt quickly. Those early experiences sharpened her ability to adjust to new environments and made her curious about how people succeed in different contexts. Over time, she also came to see the value of her unique perspective — and how the most effective leaders and organizations benefit from drawing on a wide range of ideas. “When we bring diversity to the table, we get to a better solution, whether that’s greater innovation or market expansion,” she explains. These lessons ultimately shaped her professional path: helping organizations unlock new possibilities by rethinking how they approach leadership and talent.
Tina built her expertise at companies like McKinsey & Company and Procter & Gamble, grounding her work in research-based insights. She later moved into entrepreneurship, leading a venture-backed startup and founding her own consultancy. Most recently, she served as partner and global practice leader at Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the world’s top leadership advisory and search firms. There, she worked closely with boards and senior executives on leadership assessment, succession planning, and organizational culture. “She contributed greatly to helping increase representation on corporate boards, and has spoken at many GSB- and Stanford-wide events on this topic,” notes Denise Peck, MBA ’85.
Today, Tina leads the Leadership Advisory Center of Excellence at Findem.ai, a growth equity-backed talent intelligence platform that helps executives use AI to make sharper, evidence-based people decisions. She’s also pursuing her PhD at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management, where her research explores how AI is reshaping leadership and talent choices. A central theme of her work is the idea that AI, rather than reinforcing bias, can help overcome it — especially in executive search. Throughout her career, Tina has held fast to one conviction: “I do believe that anything is possible, even that which has never been done before, and that I can be the change I want to see in this world.”
