Dr. Leah Houde

Overview

Dr. Leah Houde is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Washington, D.C. office and a member of the Heidrick Consulting Practice.

Experience

Leah helps organizations align leadership, culture, and learning to achieve strategic goals. Prior to joining Hedrick & Struggles, she most recently served as chief learning officer for PwC in the United States, leading the growth and development of over 90,000 professionals in leadership, professional, technical, and digital skills.

She co-authored PwC’s global trusted leadership framework, launched leadership development programs, and built a network of over 1,200 employee activators. She developed PwC’s trust leadership institute, convening senior executives and board directors to address complex business challenges. She also led the firm’s AI upskilling strategy, achieving 100% engagement in AI tool use within the first year.

Prior to this, Leah was a founding member of Duke Corporate Education, where she helped organizations develop leadership and learning strategies to drive high performance. She contributed to the firm’s strategy, innovative design capabilities, talent development, and global growth. During her tenure, Duke Corporate Education was consistently ranked number one in its field.

Education

Duke University, Ph.D., Organizational Behavior

Duke University, B.S. Degree, Psychology