Watch · Europa Wire
The Women Leaders Association, a publisher and events organization for women professionals with 43,000 members and over 130 regional chapters, has named Lesley Hoare, MSc, PCC, as the first official Coaching Partner for its Silicon Valley chapter. This appointment marks the launch of the association's Coaching Partners program in the Bay Area, providing members with access to coaches vetted for credentials, experience, and client results.
The Coaching Partners initiative addresses a key challenge for professional women: finding qualified, effective coaching. With coaching titles unregulated and quality varying widely, the program screens coaches on behalf of members, ensuring each has recognized certifications, substantial experience, and positive client feedback. This process aims to give members confidence when booking consultations.
Lesley Hoare's coaching approach is shaped by her belief that strong organizations are powered by great people. She is known for her enthusiastic and empowering style, focusing on the unique strengths and potential of each client. Hoare provides strategic guidance to executives and individuals, helping them achieve both career and personal goals, with a particular focus on women leaders.
Hoare's background includes coaching a wide range of professionals, from senior executives to individual contributors. Before starting her coaching practice, she held leadership roles at major technology companies. At VMware, she served as Vice President of Global People Development, overseeing talent advancement for a $7 billion cloud infrastructure business with 20,000 employees. She launched a global manager effectiveness program and led a transformation of the company’s performance rating process. At Oracle, Hoare was Vice President of HCM Transformation and Thought Leadership, advising executive clients across North America.
At Kimberly-Clark, Hoare was Vice President of Talent Management and Diversity and Inclusion, managing a team of 30 and a $10 million budget. She created a CEO succession planning process and led the recruitment and onboarding of 17 senior executives. At Hewlett-Packard, she ran global talent programs for 150,000 employees in over 170 countries, and after the merger with Compaq, she led the transformation of the company’s leadership and management development curriculum.
Hoare has also managed a business with full profit-and-loss responsibility, giving her insight into both commercial and people challenges faced by her clients. Her work has been recognized with a CLO Magazine Innovation Award and a European Top Achiever Award, and she has been a featured speaker on talent best practices and human capital management at events hosted by Evanta, HCI, Argyle, and Oracle.
Currently, Hoare leads Talent Consulting Group in Redwood City and coaches as a Master Coach with eVolv and as an executive coach with AIIR Consulting. She also volunteers as a coach for the Women's Impact Alliance and helps assess program applicants. Hoare holds a Professional Certified Coach credential from the International Coaching Federation, is a Foundations Certified Team Coach through the Global Team Coaching Institute, and earned an MSc in training and development from the University of Leicester.
"I believe in the potential of each person to learn, grow, and achieve career satisfaction, or a creative retirement, no matter the age or stage," said Hoare. "That belief gets continually reinforced by results. What I bring is a view from inside the rooms where these decisions actually get made. I have built the succession plans and run the talent programs, so when a leader is working out how to be seen, how to build her team, or what comes next, we are not theorizing. I am honored to bring that to the Women Leaders Association's Silicon Valley members."
Silicon Valley-area members can view Lesley Hoare's full profile, including her focus areas and credentials, or contact her directly through her profile page.
"Our members in the Valley are surrounded by advice. What they rarely get is a coach who has actually sat on the other side of the table, deciding who gets developed and who gets promoted," said Lydia Price, 2026 Volunteer Chair of the Women Leaders Association. "Lesley ran global talent for VMware, Oracle, Kimberly-Clark, and Hewlett-Packard. She knows exactly how those rooms work, and she has a stated interest in coaching women. That is a rare combination."
The Silicon Valley launch is part of a national rollout extending Coaching Partners across the association's network of more than 130 chapters, pairing each city's members with coaches selected for that market.
Coaching Partners supports the association's mission to provide professional women with both structural transparency and individual support. According to research from Pew and others, women continue to earn about 15 percent less than men on average. The association’s Glass Ceiling Score project ranks major U.S. employers on their promotion of women into management and executive roles. Coaching Partners adds a personal dimension, offering members proven coaching support to navigate their careers.
About Lesley Hoare
Lesley Hoare, MSc, PCC, is Principal of Talent Consulting Group in Redwood City, California, providing executive coaching, leadership development, and team coaching. She works as a Master Coach with eVolv and an executive coach with AIIR Consulting. Hoare is a Professional Certified Coach credentialed by the International Coaching Federation and a Foundations Certified Team Coach through the Global Team Coaching Institute. Her previous roles include VP of Global People Development at VMware, VP of HCM Transformation and Thought Leadership at Oracle, VP of Talent Management and Diversity and Inclusion at Kimberly-Clark, and senior program manager for executive and professional development at Hewlett-Packard. She holds an MSc in training and development from the University of Leicester.
About the Women Leaders Association
The Women Leaders Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and advancement of women in the corporate arena. With 43,000 members and more than 130 chapters in major cities, it is the largest publisher and events organizer serving women professionals. The association produces conferences, leadership programs, original research, and daily publications for its members. It also recognizes the top 50 business women in each city, publishes a Glass Ceiling Score ranking employers on the advancement of women, and highlights the best employers for women in each city.
Events Near You: https://WomanLeaders.org/r/
Best Employers Near You: https://WomanLeaders.org/r/GlassCeiling
Visit the Silicon Valley chapter: https://SVWomenLeaders.org
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Media Contact:
Lydia Price
Silicon Valley Women Leaders Association
Service@SVWomenLeaders.org
