dWayForward

small shifts. significant growth

Customized Leadership & Executive Coaching Services

  • High-Impact Leadership Coaching:

    Coaching for leaders at all levels, to accelerate performance, whether they are aiming for a promotion, expanding their role, or focusing on specific leadership skills and competencies.

  • Career Strategy & Development:

    For professionals looking to gain strategic support in navigating their professional journey. This includes defining career goals, refining personal branding, sharpening interview skills, etc.

  • AAPI Leadership Advancement:

    Specifically designed for Asian American and Pacific Islander professionals, this coaching helps navigate the unique cultural and systemic dynamics that can hinder advancement.

  • Team Building & Group Workshops:

    Customized workshops that are designed to foster stronger team dynamics, improve communication, and unlock collective potential, leading to enhanced productivity within organizations.

About Deborah Way

asian woman

Deborah Way is the founder of dWayForward, an executive coaching and leadership consulting practice. She brings deep expertise in global financial markets, complex institutions, senior executive leadership, and business transformation, with a proven ability to identify and develop talent. With more than 25 years of experience spanning top-tier investment banks, executive search firms, and leadership advisory firms, Deborah has a track record of delivering results at every level.

She began her career at Goldman Sachs in fixed-income derivatives structuring and marketing, then advanced through senior roles at Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Over an 11-year tenure at Barclays, Deborah held a variety of leadership positions across global markets in New York and Singapore. While in Singapore, she built and led the firm’s first global cross-asset macro distribution team, managing a large, multicultural, multi-country team. She later returned to New York as Americas Head of Emerging Markets Macro Sales and LATAM Cross-Asset Sales.

In 2020, Deborah transitioned into executive search, first as Managing Director at Sheffield Haworth, and then as a Consultant at Spencer Stuart, one of the world’s leading executive search and leadership advisory firms. There, she placed C-suite and board-level leaders across global financial services, asset management, and private equity. At Spencer Stuart, Deborah was an active member of the Asian, South Asian, and Pacific Islander ERG and co-authored the thought-leadership piece: “Confronting the Model Minority Myth”.

Deborah holds a B.A. in Economics, with a mathematical approach, from Princeton University. She is a founding member of Chief, a private network for senior women executives. Deborah received formal training through the International Coaching Federation (ICF)-accredited program Center for Executive Coaching and is certified in the Hogan Assessment Suite.

Deborah resides in Manhattan where she enjoys strength training, baking, hosting dinner parties, and traveling the world with her partner. She also relaxes by binge-watching BBC crime and spy shows.

Why Partner with Deborah?

Unique Blend of Expertise:

Deborah brings a powerful combination of Wall Street experience, executive search insights, and her lived experience as a female Asian American leader to every coaching engagement, offering a truly distinct and valuable perspective.

Engaging & Empowering Process:

Deborah creates an environment where clients feel understood and thoughtfully challenged. They value her insightful perspectives and partnership. Her collaborative approach, combined with a unique sense of humor, encourages them to move beyond their comfort zones.

Customized & Results-Oriented:

Deborah's approach is highly personalized, leveraging tailored frameworks, tools, and assessments to establish clear short-term and long-term goals. She partners with clients to identify and reframe limiting beliefs, explore new possibilities, and create a practical action plan for confident progress.

Flexible Engagement Models:

Clients can choose between short-term (three to six-month, laser-focused) or longer-term (twelve-month or more) programs, and Deborah will design a progressive, curated, and personalized coaching experience built around their unique objectives.

Assessment Integration:

To enhance the discovery process, Deborah employs robust assessment tools, including the Hogan Assessment Suite and verbal 360° feedback. This comprehensive, multi-perspective approach offers a complete view of an individual's performance, behavior, and impact within their team and organization.

Excellence & Integrity:

Committed to the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Code of Ethics, Deborah's practice is founded on integrity, excellence, and collaboration, fostering strong partnerships and delivering exceptional service for her clients' growth.

What Clients Are Saying

“Deborah saw the C-suite potential in me that I couldn't yet see in myself. Her candid feedback, grounded in deep experience across Wall Street and global executive search, was a game changer. Within three months, I landed my first C-suite role ---thanks to Deborah's pivotal advice and guidance.”

— CIO of Fortune 500 Insurance Company

”Deborah has been an incredible asset to me as I’ve worked to expand my business. Her unique blend of patience, insight, and humor created a safe space for me to explore new ideas, confront limiting beliefs, and take action with confidence. She has a gift for asking the right questions at the right time—helping me break through roadblocks I didn’t even realize were holding me back. Thanks to her support and perspective, I’ve gained clarity, built momentum, and achieved goals that once felt out of reach. I’m truly grateful for her partnership on this journey.

— Business Owner and Former Assistant General Counsel

“I felt genuinely understood by Deborah. She has a sharp understanding of the pressures and dynamics in high-performance environments and she challenged me to think more strategically about how I show up as a leader. She guided me in reframing my beliefs, which led to a significant increase in my confidence and equipped me with the skills and mindset to perform at my best and find greater fulfillment.”

— Managing Director, Private Credit Asset Manager

Let’s Connect

Interested in working together? Fill out some info and I will be in touch shortly. I can’t wait to hear from you!