Dr Kirsti Samuels
Kirsti works with leaders navigating complexity and pressure, helping them build the steadiness and judgment to act clearly in moments where there are no easy answers.
As a strategist, facilitator, and advisor, she has partnered with senior leaders in governments, multilateral institutions, research institutes, and mission-driven organizations to tackle high-stakes challenges - from post-conflict transitions to large-scale organizational change.
Fast facts
- Founder & CEO of KS Insight, a leadership and strategy consultancy based in New York City.
- Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, teaching leadership and management in high-pressure contexts.
- Former Executive Director of the Adaptive Leadership Network.
- 25+ years working with global leaders, from heads of state and ministers to CEOs and frontline reformers.
- Doctorate in Law from Oxford University; MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.
- Specializes in leadership through crisis, complexity, and systems-level change.
Leadership & advisory work
Kirsti is the founder and CEO of KS Insight, where she works with senior leaders and teams who are operating under pressure and leading through uncertainty. Her consulting and advisory work focuses on helping organizations read the systems they are part of, identify leverage points for change, and build the leadership capacity to act with clarity when the stakes are high.
She has advised presidents, ministers, and senior executives across sectors including government, global health, philanthropy, and research. Her clients have included the President of the Comoros Islands, the leadership of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, the World Bank, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, among others.
Teaching & frameworks
At Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Kirsti teaches graduate courses on leadership and management in moments of adversity and opportunity. Her teaching draws on decades of real-world experience in conflict-affected and politically complex environments, and on a body of original frameworks developed through practice.
She created the Insight 4D Framework, the Leadership Challenge Map, and the Insightful Engagement Protocol, which together provide leaders with a practical way to integrate self-awareness, systems thinking, and disciplined action. These tools underpin many of KS Insight’s leadership programs and are used by partners across sectors.
Background & training
Kirsti holds a Doctorate in Law from Oxford University, a Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Science and Law from Sydney University. She has also completed mediation training with the Swiss Government and coaching studies at NYU.
Before founding KS Insight, she served as the Executive Director of the Adaptive Leadership Network during its start-up years, building a global community of leaders experimenting with adaptive approaches to change. Her earlier roles included positions with the United Nations and other international organizations working on governance, peacebuilding, and institutional reform.
Perspective
Having lived and worked in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and North America, Kirsti brings a global perspective to questions of power, systems, and change. Her work is grounded in the belief that leadership is not about having all the answers, but about creating the conditions for people to think clearly, act courageously, and stay human in the midst of pressure.
