hello!
I’m Amy Bonsall—sharp questioner, creative nudger, architect of brave experiments… and liminal guide.
I’m a former IDEO and Old Navy executive, Harvard Business Review author, and coach to high-achievers navigating the messy, meaningful space between what was and what’s next.
At IDEO, I spent a decade leading the creation of new ventures across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the U.S., in a practice I built called venture design. I also led global client relationships for companies like Google and John Deere. At Old Navy, I sat on the executive team and co-led the creation of a multimillion-dollar business focused on body equity.
I started my career as an engineer, earned an MBA, and have since worked across six countries and four continents—including Lausanne, London, Melbourne, Singapore, and San Francisco. All told, I’ve moved over 20 times and reinvented my career often enough that “what’s next?” became more than a question—it became a skillset.
I’ve been published multiple times in Harvard Business Review, featured in Entrepreneur, spoken at SXSW, and co-lead a popular IDEO U course on Designing a Business.
But none of that means I’m immune to liminal moments.
I’ve navigated moves, reinventions, and endings that changed everything—personally and professionally. I’ve stood at the edge of what’s next more times than I can count.
Recently, I learned we spend about 70% of our lives in transition.
I know—I thought the same thing: only 70%?
It turns out, the in-between isn’t a detour. It’s most of the terrain.
And like waves in the ocean, new liminal spaces just keep rolling in.
Over the years, I’ve found that navigating change with clarity and creativity doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intention. Design. Support. A nudge. A pause. And sometimes, a well-placed experiment that shows you the way forward.
That’s what I now help others do—through coaching, cohort experiences, and a mindset rooted in design thinking, somatics, mindfulness (I trained with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach), and what I’ve learned the hard way (and sometimes the fun way).
Because if we’re going to spend this much time in the in-between… we might as well get good at it.