With a doctorate in Sport & Performance Psychology and over a decade of consulting experience, Vanessa Akhtar has built her career on optimizing human performance. She has worked with organizations around the globe, spanning a variety of industries – including oil & energy, healthcare, education, pharmaceuticals, non-profits, consumer products, advertising, and philanthropic foundations. Previously, she taught at Boston University and worked with teams, coaches, and athletes – ranging from youth through to professional and Olympic-level – to help individuals reach the top of their game. At Kotter, Vanessa has two main areas of focus. She works on our most complex engagements, walking alongside clients in their transformation efforts. Additionally, she collaborates with Dr. John Kotter and a core team to drive our Research + Development efforts. She is passionate about helping individuals, teams and organizations thrive – through the use of research-backed, human-centric approaches. In 2018 Vanessa co-authored, "Change" with John Kotter and Gaurav Gupta.