Executive Leadership Coaching for High-Stakes Business Transitions

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Every strategy is a plan for the future. Every behavior is the future arriving.

 

Alina Doran works at the seam between them.

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As Founder & CEO of Highline Leadership, Alina partners with executives, founders, and teams at the inflection points where the old playbook stops working — reorganizations, layoffs, post-M&A integration, succession, expanded scope, and the high-visibility moments that define a career.

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She is also the creator of Animal Intelligence™, a behavior system that names the hidden patterns running underneath how leaders make decisions, build trust, and break under pressure. It has been taught at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, NY Tech Week's venture capital forum, and inside award-winning teams. Her TEDx talk — The Animal in the Mirror: How Smart Leaders Can Tame Self-Sabotage — is bringing the framework to a global audience.

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This Isn't About Feelings. It's About Results.

The work is human. The outcomes are measurable.

• A finance professional landed a role two levels above her previous title — and is now trusted and respected by the executive team in her CFO seat.

• A banking executive, after decades in corporate governance, pivoted to a senior cybersecurity role at the same level of seniority, for more pay, and is the person leadership now turns to.

• A founding team that avoided conflict and stalled on decisions rebuilt their relationship into one defined by candor, decisive decision-making, and intentional leadership.

• A fragmented, disengaged team became invested, cohesive, and accountable to one another.

• A CEO succession candidate is now recognized by the board as ready to take the helm.

 

Different industries. Different inflection points. Same pattern: the leader was already capable. The work was helping them become unmistakable.

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Why This Work, Now

We are in an era defined by AI and acceleration. The tools are getting faster. The decisions are getting harder. The leaders who will matter most are the ones who fortify and optimize the human skills technology cannot replace:

• Judgment under pressure

• Trust under scrutiny

• Clarity under noise

 

That is the work. That is why Highline exists.

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Proven Leadership Experience Across Global Organizations

Before founding Highline, Alina spent 25 years inside Disney, Paramount, Kaseya, and The New York Times — leading Finance, Business Development, and Operations through transformational moments:

• Global launch of Disney+, a streaming platform serving more than 180 million subscribers

• An IPO 

• Integration of more than eleven leadership teams post-acquisition

• Cross-functional teams through operational and cultural change

 

Executives called her the Swiss Army Knife — the person brought in when the stakes were highest, the path was unclear, and the people problems were tangled into the business problems.

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Who She Works With

Leaders and teams at J.P. Morgan, Tesla, Strava, Bank of America, Tabor Asset Management, and the Office of the Surgeon General of California. Founders scaling from Series A through exit. Executive teams navigating:

• Reorganizations and layoffs

• Post-M&A integration and disorientation

• Succession and CEO transitions

• High-stakes visibility moments

• Cultural rebuilds and team realignment

 

Credentials

Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CTI — the gold standard) • Accredited by the International Coaching Federation • Certified in Hogan Reputational Assessments • Trained in somatic coaching through Core Energetics and Positive Intelligence • CPA (NY) and CGMA • BS Finance & Accounting, NYU Stern • Leadership Fellow, NYU Stern MBA program • Advisor, Cornell Tech MBA program • TEDx speaker

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The Personal Part

Alina was born in Kyiv and came to this country as a child. She trained as a classical pianist before she ever opened a spreadsheet, and she still believes the most important thing about a leader is whether they can hear what isn't being said. She's a mother. She's a New Yorker. And she started Highline because the work found her — and after years of resistance, she realized the only thing scarier than answering the call was not answering it.