Samuel Hon is a CEO, certified executive coach and ledaership instructor with more than 20 years of leadership experience across marketing, business transformation, and executive management. He partners with CEOs and senior leaders navigating growth, complexity, organizational change, and the personal pressures that often come with leadership.

Much of Samuel’s coaching is shaped by his own experience leading transformation from the inside. As former CEO of First Corporate Solutions, a nearly 40 year old risk management and regulatory technology firm, he led significant cultural and digital transformation while delivering the highest revenue and EBITDA growth in company history, achieving 3× revenue growth. Appointed to transform the organization, he oversaw all major business functions, including finance, technology, marketing, product, and operations.

That combination of operating leadership and coaching experience allows Samuel to work with executives not only as a coach, but as a trusted thinking partner who understands the realities of leadership firsthand. He has coached executives from some of the world’s most respected organizations, including Apple, Uber, Google, Nvidia, Nike, Salesforce, and Ernst and Young. Clients value his calm presence, strategic perspective, and ability to create honest conversations that lead to meaningful change.

Beyond his coaching practice, Samuel teaches leadership communication in the MBA program at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and has facilitated executive programs in organizational change at UC Davis. He also serves as a Faculty Coach, Mentor Coach and Certification Assessor at the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. He was the President of the American Advertising Federation - Sacramento. He also served on the board at the YPO - Pacific West, as well as the board of visitors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Samuel is also a contributing author to the leadership book "The Heart Work of Modern Leadership" by David Grossman, where he explores how leaders create lasting transformation through empathy, trust, and deep listening.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Samuel speaks English and Cantonese and brings a global, cross cultural perspective to his work. His coaching helps leaders lead with greater clarity, emotional intelligence, authenticity, and presence.

Samuel’s path has never followed a straight line.

He grew up in Hong Kong, shaped by a culture that values resilience, responsibility, and quiet determination. From an early age, he learned the importance of perseverance and accountability, lessons that would later shape many of his decisions and experiences.

As a first generation college student, he stepped into unfamiliar territory without a clear roadmap. Financial constraints were a constant reality. At one point, he balanced four jobs and internships simultaneously to support himself. These experiences were more than obstacles to overcome. They became the foundation of his discipline, humility, and resilience.

That sense of responsibility extended beyond himself. As his journey evolved, he took on the responsibility of supporting his brother’s college education and contributing to his parents’ retirement. These were not milestones he had planned for, but choices rooted in commitment and care. They profoundly shaped his understanding of leadership and responsibility.

Professionally, his career unfolded in equally formative ways. Over the course of more than 20 years, Samuel built a career in marketing and eventually worked closely alongside a successful founder. This long term partnership gave him a rare perspective into the realities of entrepreneurial leadership. He witnessed both its possibilities and its challenges. He saw how vision can inspire extraordinary growth, and how a leader’s unexamined identity can deeply influence decisions, relationships, and outcomes.

As his responsibilities expanded, so did the complexity of the roles he stepped into. Navigating transitions, expectations, and evolving identities was not always straightforward. Looking back, there are lessons he wishes he had learned earlier. Yet the uncertainty and difficulty of those periods became some of the most meaningful teachers in his journey.

A pivotal shift came when he was promoted to President. During this time, he was first introduced to coaching. What initially began as part of his professional development quickly became something far more personal. His coach awakened an awareness that felt deeply connected to his authentic values and sense of self. It introduced him to a different understanding of leadership, not simply as performance, but as presence, intention, and self awareness.

That experience inspired him to go deeper. Nearly 10 years ago, he traveled to Italy to receive formal training and become a certified coach. What began as curiosity evolved into a lasting commitment. Over time, he was invited to teach the art and science of executive coaching and leadership communication, helping others cultivate the same depth of awareness and capability.

Looking back, becoming a CEO was never the goal. It was not part of a carefully defined plan or ambition. Instead, it emerged through a series of decisions, challenges, and moments that required stepping into the unknown.

Across every chapter of his life, one consistent thread remains. Growth did not come from certainty. It came from a willingness to stay uncomfortable. To take on responsibilities before feeling fully ready. To remain open when opportunities appeared in unexpected forms.

The sacrifices, periods of strain, and repeated decision to move forward through discomfort became the foundation of his growth, both as a leader and as a person.

This is the perspective he brings to his work today.

He understands that leadership is not built solely through strategy or success. It is shaped through transitions, uncertainty, self reflection, and the courage to move forward without having all the answers.

For Samuel, growth has never been about control. It has been about openness, reflection, and the discipline to keep evolving.

And that is the work he now invites others into.