Loree Draude, Principal
Loree Draude brings over 30 years of leadership and training experience to her clients. As one of the first women to fly combat jets in the U.S. Navy, she understands the challenges of leaders supporting teams in high-performance environments. After earning a B.A. in Mathematics at the University of San Diego, she began her naval aviation career as a support pilot at VAQ-34, flying F/A-18 Hornets at NAS Lemoore, CA. When the Combat Exclusion ban for women was lifted, Loree transitioned to a combat jet aviation squadron where she flew the S-3B Viking and led divisions of sailors who maintain aircraft and weapons. Loree completed two six-month deployments to the Persian Gulf on the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Kitty Hawk, accumulating over 300 carrier landings.
After her naval service, Loree earned an MBA at the Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. She began her civilian career as a management consultant at Bain & Company, then went on to lead teams at startups and tech companies – including Google and Facebook – in marketing, operations, customer support and online learning organizations. In 2019, she became an executive coach and leadership consultant supporting leaders and teams in the tech industry. She is the host of the Supersonic Leaders and Teams podcast and a popular keynote presenter.
Loree wrote and performed a one-woman show called, “I Feel the Need,” about the various forms of flight in her life. She performed the show to a sold-out audience off-Broadway at the United Solo Theatre Festival in 2021 and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022. When she is not supporting leaders or speaking on a stage, she enjoys painting (www.encaustech.com), traveling, live music, yoga, hiking and flying.