Dr. Paula Cruise

Dr. Paula A. Cruise is a distinguished global psychologist, thought leader, and executive coach with over 20 years of experience transforming organizations and developing elite talent across the financial, professional services, and technology sectors. Renowned for her human-centered approach, Dr. Cruise brings deep expertise in workforce strategy, organizational psychology, and behavioral science to drive enterprise-wide change and innovation.

With a rare blend of scientific rigor, practical expertise, and visionary leadership, Dr. Paula Cruise empowers individuals and organizations to thrive amid disruption and shape a purposeful future of work. Most recently she served as Senior Vice President and Head of Behavioral Science at Barclays where she established the bank’s first-ever People Science function in its 300-year history and served as a trusted advisor to global regulators including the UK’s Banking Standards Culture Board shaping industry standards for ethical practices in talent analytics and cultural transformation. In the US she was a Human Capital asset strategy expert at Deloitte where she designed AI-driven learning solutions and oversaw enterprise change management strategies for fortune 200 companies. Her leadership of post-merger talent integration, diversity and inclusion strategies and workforce readiness positioned clients for long-term success and sustainability. Earlier in her career Dr. Cruise led global HR strategy and talent initiatives as Director and Principal Consultant of People Portfolio Measurement Ltd where she built a $30M portfolio across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. She has also held pivotal roles with The Myers-Briggs Company, Alexander Mann Solutions and ACCA Global where she pioneered psychometric innovations and designed large-scale assessment frameworks still in use today.

A respected voice in academia and practice Dr. Cruise has published articles, technical manuals and invited talks on organizational trust, psychological safety and the future of work. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of London and completed post-doctoral research in Applied Psychometrics at the University of Cambridge. She is a Registered Psychologist with the American Psychological Association, British Psychological Society, Royal Society of Medicine and the Health Care Professions Council. She is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

An active contributor to industry standards and ethical practices, Dr. Cruise sits on advisory boards and committees for leading organizations such as the International Center for Coaching Psychology and advises on AI governance and workforce ethics through her work with the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP).