I became a leadership coach in 2011 to help the founders of my startup clients realize their full potential. Over the next decade, I transitioned out of corporate law into leadership coaching. I also became a leadership coach with the Center for Creative Leadership where I have coached executives since 2016.

Many of my clients are multi-cultural, multi-lingual global citizens. I am a dual citizen of the United States and Italy. My home comune is in South Tirol in the heart of the Dolomites, the unique German speaking province of Italy. I love improving my German, Italian, and Tirolean, and enjoy reading gialli, Italian murder mysteries. I optimize my presence and coherence for my clients by open water swimming in Tomales Bay.

Prior to starting the Center for Global Consciousness in 2017, I co-founded Chrysallis, a behavior change company, in 2010 (acquired by Aduro in 2016). I also founded Startworks Ventures, a benefit capital firm that provided seed capital to startups from 2007 to 2021.

In my 37-years career as a corporate lawyer, I founded Montgomery & Hansen, a prominent Silicon Valley corporate law firm (now M&H, LLP), co-managed the venture capital practice at a global law firm, and was managing partner of a full-service Silicon Valley law firm. I was co-chair of the legal working group behind California’s benefit-corporation legislation, a co-founding director and President of the Benefit Company Bar Association, co-founding director and Secretary of the Conscious Leadership Guild, and co-founding director of the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers.

I served on the advisory boards of B Lab Europe, Reporting 3.0, Vista Caballo, Epoch Pi, and Trimergence and was a Governance Fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors. 

I wrote Great from the Start: How Conscious Corporations Attract Success in 2012 and co-authored Net Zero Business Models: Winning in the Global Net Zero Economy in 2023.

I hold a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from the University of Redlands, a J.D. from Northwestern College of Law, Lewis & Clark College, and a B.A. in Studio Art from Stanford University.

The Center for Global Consciousness is a Certified B Corp and was recognized by B Lab in 2019 as Best for the World - Overall. It generally donates in excess of 50% of its net income to charitable causes.

e-mail: jmontgomery@lexultima.com