1. Michael Maffucci
Professional Biography
17270 Barberry Road; Milton GA 30004 Tel: +1 631 267-6349 Page 1 of 2
Senior Executive Coach
Senior Leadership Development & Talent Management Consultant
Mike aims at improving Business Results by maximizing the Leadership
Capability & Management Productivity of Executives, Leaders, & Organizations.
Recently, Mike has become a member of the Forbes Coaching Council, an invitation-
only community for leading business and career coaches.
Over the past 10 years, Mike has worked with many Fortune 500 clients, Mid-sized companies, and leading
international organizations such as the World Economic Forum.
Mike works from four fundamental principles:
1. Leadership is a relationship between a Leader and their Followers.
 Relationships that aren’t mutually beneficial quickly disintegrate into a zero-sum game.
2. Trust is the foundation of the most productive relationships.
 Lack of trust is like friction - a resistance that negatively impacts innovation, learning and
performance.
3. Leaders provide purpose & meaning to enable followers to move forward towards meaningful goals
 Organizations lose energy if they are not focused on a compelling vision for the future
4. Business Success requires leaders to effectively acquire and efficiently utilize the resources
(Capital, Human, Operational) needed to drive positive business change and performance.
 Ineffective resource utilization leads to inefficiency and impedes the ability of organizations
to adapt, grow and prosper over the long-term.
Senior Executive Coach
Mike works with executives in Europe, the Americas and Asia to improve their personal leadership
effectiveness and management capability as well as those of the teams they lead. These executives are
leaders across a broad array of industries including Financial Services, Technology, Chemicals,
Engineering, and Construction.
Mike believes that the key to a successful coaching engagement is grounded in improving the leader’s
willingness and ability to engage his key stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue that builds self-awareness and
self-confidence. The aim of the proactive and structured dialogue is to ensure that the leader is engaged in
his role as a leader and as a colleague by surfacing the behaviors, actions and incidents that impede both
individual as well as team performance.
This enables these leaders to develop a plan of action to:
 Leverage the aspects of their leadership, which are appreciated by their stakeholders (Strengths)
 Develop the skills and knowledge to improve the quality of the leadership relationship with followers
Another key focus is working with leaders to better understand how “Professional & Personal Interests”
impact how people act. This Deeper understanding facilitates the ability of leaders to explore & articulate
their own “Personal Interests” and, more importantly, those of their key stakeholders. The insights gained
from the exploration of interests enable executives to more effectively communicate and influence, navigate
conflict, and ultimately drive positive change in the organizations they lead.
Mike understands that behavioural change can be difficult, which is why he co-develops “behavioural
experiments” with his coaching clients. These “experiments” are designed for the leader to test and enhance
new leadership behaviors, which builds security and confidence. In addition, the experiments can be used to
test assumptions and explore the “Personal and Professional Interests” of their key stakeholders. The
insights gained help these leaders tailor their leadership strategy to drive change and maximize
performance.
Mike’s approach has consistently generated positive change and increased leadership effectiveness.
Recently, a senior Private Equity Executive in NY commented, “You are great at what you do and I am a
better leader today because of the work you did. My relationships with my fellow Partners on the
Management Team are much more productive and effective. Amazingly I’m now the one everybody
wants to work for!”
An Executive Committee Member of an Engineering Company said, “My relationship with peers is so
much easier and I feel so much more comfortable having difficult conversations and addressing
inter-divisional conflicts – it’s great!”

2. Michael Maffucci
Professional Biography
17270 Barberry Road; Milton GA 30004 Tel: +1 631 267-6349 Page 2 of 2
Recent coaching clients include:
 CFO for a leading telecommunications technology company
 COO for the Americas for the world’s largest Reinsurer
 CRO for one of the world’s largest Asset Managers
 CIO for a leading Quantitative Hedge Fund based in New York
 Strategic Client Sales Manager for a leading Technology Firm based in Silicon Valley
 Senior Analyst for Alternative Investments at the World Economic Forum
 COO for the leading packaging specialist in the Cosmetics Industry
Leadership Development and Talent Management Consultant
Mike also designs & delivers management & leadership programs for industries including Financial Services,
Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, & Construction. He has delivered these programs in Asia, Europe, and the
Middle East, and the Americas.
Mike has collaborated with many ‘world renowned’ academics such as Gary Hamel, CK Prahalad, Marshall
Goldsmith, Andrew Campbell, and Jay Conger among others.
Several of the senior leadership programs that he has designed & delivered have been featured in leading
business publications, such as Sloan Management Review, as well as written up as case studies by
prominent organizations such as The Corporate Leadership Council and EFMD.
Mike utilizes ten design principles when designing Leadership Development Programs.
1. Asking and Enquiring - Not Telling.
2. Involve Leaders in the Design & Delivery
3. Work on Real Issues
4. Co-creation with Clients
5. Live Testing & Experimentation
6. Challenge Orthodoxy via Discovery Learning
7. Time to Reflect & Think
8. Emotional engagement
9. Balance Theory & Practice
10. Respect Context
One of Mike’s most recent projects was the development and delivery of a six-month / three-module “Hi-
Potential Leadership Program” for a leading Wealth Manager in the UK. The program was sponsored by the
CEO and focused on helping each leader become more effective by leveraging their “specific behavioural
preferences and cognitive skills” to drive individual, team, and organizational performance.
Over 160 High-Potential Leaders attended the program across 8 cohorts.
The client organization has been impressed with the program’s impact. They reported that the participants’
Direct Managers reported “Significant Improvement” in the leadership effectiveness of their Direct Reports at
the six-month mark after they completed the program.
Other projects include:
 Design of a targeted Executive Transition Program for one of the world’s largest Pharmaceutical
companies.
 Design and deliver an MD Leadership Program for a NY-based Global Bank.
 Design and deliver a Leadership Program for High-Potential’s on Partner track for a leading financial
services consultancy.
 Design & deliver a Pipeline Leadership Program for the world’s largest Credit Card company.
 Design of a “Global Learning Strategy and Operating Model” for a leading financial services firm.
 Design and execute a “Strategic Talent Assessment” for Managing Directors within the Operations
division of a leading European Bank.
 Development of the Executive Talent Management & Development Strategy for one of the world’s
largest producer of TiO2.
In June of 2006, Mike resigned from Deutsche Bank where he was the Global Head of Leadership
Development and Talent Management.
At Deutsche Bank, Mike developed and implemented the Bank’s leadership model and talent management
processes. In addition, Mike was responsible for the introduction of the Bank’s global Leadership &
Management Curriculum. Over 4,500 leaders attended a Curriculum course per year across 16 countries
and in five languages. Finally, Mike personally ran the firm’s most senior leadership development program
for the two of the Bank’s CEOs.
Mike holds a BS in Physics from Franklin & Marshall College and currently serves on the boards of various
charitable and educational organizations in the New York and Atlanta areas.
Optimas Consulting, LLC
Leadership Development, Talent Management & Executive Coaching