Victoria Woo

Adjunct Professor, Presidio Graduate School

Victoria Woo, Ph.D. is a serial entrepreneur with almost 30 years of experience in start-ups, international management, and academia. In addition to her position at Presidio, Victoria teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford University in the department of Management Science and Engineering. During the past decade, much of which was spent working and living in Asia, her focus has been on bridging the academia and business communities by co-designing custom executive programs at INSEAD and Harvard, where she helped Fortune 500 clients curate learning journeys for C-suite, senior leaders, and high-potential managers. She also has facilitated dialogue and cooperation among worldwide business partners, school alumni, and corporate clients. Currently, she devotes her time to producing content on entrepreneurship and sustainability.

On the academic front, Dr. Woo continues her research into factors that contribute to sustaining and attaining eudaimonia (Aristotle’s idea of designing a life well-lived). Her work identified TQ (Transformation Quotient) and posited the formula IQ*EQ*TQ to increase one’s resilience and thrive in the highly complex and dynamic world in which we live and work. She believes harnessing the transformative power of change can help enhance individual well-being. Her research, including TQ™ and Thriving Transitional Experiences™, is discussed in Chapter 4 of Human Capital and Assets in the Networked World.

Dr. Woo is an advisor at blackbox.vc, a non-profit organization serving the global entrepreneurial ecosystem and a member of the mentoring team at FoundersHK. Across both roles, she advises early-stage startups on building positive cultures and a go-to-market strategy. She is also on the advisory board of Invoking the Pause, a non-profit investing in bold ideas, cultivating collaborations, and funding strategic “pauses” to advance climate challenge solutions. Dr. Woo is the creator of the pod course ”Everyone is an Entrepreneur”, available on the Himalaya podcast platform. She also founded the Marin Chapter of the Awesome Foundation, which funds local charitable causes in the Bay Area.

Since 2020, she has led an international team of researchers and professionals to develop educational content to help professionals learn about high-impact, innovative collaborations to build a sustainable future. RESET, Responsible Enterprises for Social and Environmental Transformation, aims to inspire change and share stories of companies combining sustainability and profits today. A forthcoming publication on the emergence of the Zebra Unite movement will chronicle the origin of the need for values-driven organizations that strive to create long-term, financially- and socially- sustainable solutions to wicked problems facing a community or ecosystem by navigating local and distal stakeholder groups, embracing the Zebra mindset of a more inclusive, equitable, and an ethical environment by catalyzing community, capital, and culture to build businesses that are better for the world.  I believe everyone has a responsibility to innovate for a better future, and we aim to inspire people to do so.