Chris Cancialosi

Chris Cancialosi, Managing Partner and Founder of gothamCulture, is a recognized expert in the fields of leadership and organizational development, with focus on the role of leaders in shaping high-performing cultures. Chris has worked with senior leaders across industries and sectors to design and deploy organizational transformation processes aimed at creating and sustaining effective large-scale change. Chris is an experienced advisor and executive coach with a reputation for providing critical insights and engaging customized solutions; he effectively combines his operational field and entrepreneurial experience with his knowledge of organizational psychology to provide unique practical support to his clients as they navigate today’s operational landscape.

Working with clients such as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Google, JetBlue Airways, Defense Logistics Agency, Marriott International, Nando’s South Africa, Sonos, and New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Chris has leveraged the concepts of human behavior to enhance business performance while improving people’s lives through association and collaboration. Knowing that an organization’s success hinges on its people, Chris finds distinct ways to engage both leaders and groups in ways that yield results.

Prior to founding gothamCulture, Chris held leadership positions in both internal and external consulting roles at JetBlue Airways and Human Performance Systems. His work focused on leader development and coaching, organizational culture, and performance improvement. Chris also served as a commissioned officer in the US Army, spending two years leading troops in combat operations in Iraq. Performing in leadership roles as a battalion operations officer and Blackhawk helicopter pilot, Chris has a unique perspective on operations and people that he brings to his current client work and research.

Chris served as a member of the adjunct faculty of the Department of Psychology at New Jersey’s Montclair State University in New Jersey for five years and supported the state’s first program minor in leadership studies. Chris is a regular contributor to Forbes and has also appeared in numerous media outlets such as Crain’s New York Business, Inc. Magazine Online, CEO.com, NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams, HR.com, and CEO.com.

Chris regularly presents at professional conferences and workshops. His research and writing are centered on organizational culture and customer loyalty. His volunteer work includes significant contributions of skills-based pro-bono work with non-profits through the Billion Plus Change program, GLAAD, and The Weekly Fight. Chris also serves on several business and not-for-profit boards. Chris holds a PhD in organizational psychology.