A new way of showing up
Helping North Carolina CEOs and founders grow and scale across the business lifecycle
Entrepreneurs, business owners, and decision-makers are creating a legacy whether they know it or not.
Companies don’t grow, let alone scale, without leaders bringing intention into their decision-making and operating structures.
But too often, those same leaders struggle to introduce the teams, tools, and principles needed to scale.
Instead, they guard the special sauce that makes their companies successful, and in turn, lose out on valuable time to make strategic choices.
Take the leap
True business value—and ultimately the possibility of a meaningful exit—happens when leaders scale their own entrepreneurship beyond what they can do alone.
As a team of strategists, confidants, and success architects, the Liberated Leaders team leverages expertise from companies like Accenture, Amazon, Apple, Fitbit, Getaround, Oracle, and Walmart, to help business leaders in the Carolinas intentionally build a legacy they’ll be proud of.
Credentials
Industries
Commercial construction, manufacturing, technology products and services, B2B and B2C products, retail.
Our Mission
Cultivate more courageous, empathic, and effective leaders in the world.
Our Philosophical Pillars
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Have the courage to be curious, vulnerable, and seek to know thyself. Doing what is right for the team and others is not always easy, it takes a choice to exercise courage. At times it is incumbent upon us to speak truth-to-power; those who truly deserve to lead appreciate this kind of courage. Have the courage to lead from where you are; leadership has nothing to do with titles or positions.
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As a leader, we should above all serve those that are in our charge. We have a responsibility to provide opportunities for growth and to give and receive feedback. When people know you are truly devoted to the team’s success and care about them as a person, they will give you some of the greatest feedback about your leadership and management. When they know you have their back, they have yours by bringing their best-self to the team.
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Teams require a vision that they believe in and are willing to work together to achieve even when times are really tough. It is the leader's responsibility to articulate the vision and facilitate the creation of common purpose and invite all team members to contribute to the journey. People often talk about having roots and wings, same idea here for teams and organizations.
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People want to excel and be valued. For teams to achieve mastery, they need a common language and a shared toolbox of methods, mechanisms, and frameworks to draw upon. We don’t care which tools and language a team decides to ultimately use, just so they come together and all agree upon a set.
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People and teams most often need to be liberated from limited thinking. We must liberate ourselves from the pre-conceived notions we have about groups of people and recognize when those are unconscious. One of the most common things teams need is to be liberated from - so much ambiguity they are unable to function at a high level.
Liberated Leader Team
Success Architects
Tina Dao, Founder
As a Success Architect and Fractional Chief Operating Officer at Liberated Leaders, I bring more than 25 years of leadership experience at companies like Amazon, Fitbit, and Walmart to the growth stories of North Carolina businesses—helping entrepreneurs, business owners, and decision-makers scale entrepreneurship, define technology strategies, and ultimately architect a business exit.
Before Liberated Leaders, I served as COO and VP of Global Business Operations & Strategy, Global Technology Platform, dividing my time between (a) evolved global governance and portfolio management for Walmart’s 2,800-person global technology platform organization, and (b) led a 250-person strategy and operations (BizOps) team in helping bring to life the company’s goal of “creating the next retail disruption.”
Prior to Walmart, I operated as vice president of employee experience and chief of staff to Getaround’s CEO, where I had a hand in enabling a future where all cars are shared. Getaround’s instant and keyless car-sharing mobility solutions work via patented hardware / software platforms and industry leading mobile apps that help communities around the world reduce their vehicle footprint and share underutilized resources.
Earlier, I held business operations and product engineering leadership roles at Fitbit, where I played a role in transforming and scaling hyper growth as the company matured from a 300-employee, pre-IPO wearables darling, to a publicly-traded, 1,900-employee powerhouse. My leadership at Fitbit ranged from advancing the company’s product development practices, materials, and manufacturing processes, to helping reinforce its market position as a consumer services and enterprise health brand.
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When I began my career, it was more hard hats than technologies, but the principles of rallying resources around a profit-focused goal remain central to building an operational backbone that efficiently scales companies through growth.
Recognized as a “force of nature” in my work across Europe, Asia and North America, I began my career in the U.S. Navy, where the men-to-women ratio was greater than 10:1. That experience made me a lifelong advocate for gender equality in technology.
Alan Fuhs
As a Success Architect at Liberated Leaders, I leverage 20 years of experience in technology leadership and consulting to help businesses optimize strategy, gain an edge, and scale their operations. I am a twice certified executive and leadership coach who firmly believes that true business transformation can only occur with mindful investments in people and technology.
Throughout my career, I've spearheaded digital transformation initiatives globally at companies like Accenture, Oracle, Relativity, and CAI, driving innovation and operational excellence for clients including the City of Chicago, Toshiba, Western Digital, Sherwin-Williams, and Best Buy.
I'm passionate about empowering businesses to harness the power of technology deliberately, through a cohesive strategy that considers all stakeholders. My approach is rooted in collaboration, strategic thinking, and a relentless focus on delivering results. I guide businesses through transformation by establishing a clear vision and leading people with compassion.
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While at Relativity, an industry-leading SaaS provider, I relocated to Europe to lead the IT global expansion, building regional operations from the ground up and establishing a global operating model that fostered efficiency, collaboration, and scalability across borders.
Prior to Relativity, I served as Director of Service Delivery at CAI, where I oversaw the enterprise application services for our flagship client, the City of Chicago. Through innovation and impeccable service delivery, we expand our services and profitability fivefold in a few short years.
My foundation in IT consulting, at Accenture, CAI, and as an independent practitioner, honed my skills in delivering value-driven solutions and optimizing business operations within diverse industries and markets.
Success Artisans
Michelle Augenstein
Michelle Augenstein, of Corner Office Image, will bring her expertise and experience to the Executive Presence and professional branding discussions and 1:1 sessions.
Growing up in a small Appalachian town, surrounded by cattle but yearning to be amidst city lights, she dreamed of her escape. Instinctually, she knew that how she looked, spoke, behaved and thought could change her life and plotted to leverage the annual sophomore class trip to D.C., to launch her grand plan; she stepped off that bus the person she was meant to be: a sophisticated city girl! After careful planning, shopping and lots of Aqua Net, the day arrived. Venturing through the city, she felt like herself for the first time and it was incredible. Sadly, it was short-lived and she boarded the bus back to her “real” life.
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When she started her first professional job (in D.C.!) she emulated the successful women around her; dressing in smart suits, striding into rooms with confidence and mastering a way of speaking that was both warm and concise. She discovered that despite her youth and inexperience, she had tremendous credibility. Doors opened, and she moved up the ladder, finally becoming her authentic self.
In CA many years later, she became the Executive Director of Wardrobe for Opportunity, a nonprofit agency helping low-income jobseekers get jobs, keep them and build careers. Each day, she saw the power of a strong professional image at play. Inspired by the potential of this work, she launched Corner Office Image in 2013. Her clients have nabbed promotions, launched new ventures and always leave a lasting impression.
