Nayla Rizk is a member of the firm's Technology, Communications & Media Practice in North America, as well as the Private Equity Practice and the Business & Professional Services Practice. She is also a leader in the firm's Board Services Practice on the West Coast. Nayla has placed key executives at Fortune 100 through start-up companies in the software (both SaaS and on-premise), digital media, communications systems and services, technology systems (including cloud computing), and professional and business services sectors. Nayla previously ran the Technology, Communications & Media Practice in North America and led the firm’s nominations committee.
Before joining the firm in 1995, Nayla served as director of strategic planning and re-engineering at Network Equipment Technologies. She drove strategic and tactical planning, and revamped the company’s order fulfillment process. Nayla previously served as an engagement manager with McKinsey & Company in New York and began her career as an operations research analyst for Chevron U.S.A. in San Francisco.
Nayla's interest in foreign policy has inspired her participation and leadership roles in a variety of organizations. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; trustee of the World Affairs Council of Northern California; former member of the Pacific Council on International Policy; former board member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association; and former board chair of the Harvard Business School Club of Northern California.
Nayla graduated from Cornell University, where she earned a B.S. degree in operations research and industrial engineering, and from Harvard Business School, where she earned an M.B.A. She is fluent in French and Arabic and speaks conversational Spanish.