SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 13, 2026--
Daversa today announced the promotions of Hannah Doherty and Lisa Stenson to Managing Director, recognizing their track records of building transformative executive teams for some of the most ambitious companies across consumer and technology.
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Both leaders have established themselves as trusted partners to founders and executives navigating pivotal stages of growth. From emerging consumer brands challenging established industries to technology platforms redefining how the world operates, Doherty and Stenson have built reputations for identifying exceptional talent, cultivating lasting relationships, and delivering leadership that moves businesses forward.
Hannah Doherty: Building the Leadership Behind Culture-Shaping Consumer Brands
Based in Daversa's New York headquarters, Doherty has built a national reputation for connecting disruptive consumer companies with the executive talent required to break through, scale, and lead their categories. Known for her tenacity, precision, and sharp instincts, she has become a trusted advisor to founders and leadership teams navigating some of the most competitive markets in consumer.
Her portfolio spans incubator-stage ventures including Tally Health and Magnolia-Star Baking Co., breakout brands such as Liquid Death, [solidcore], Mila, and Recess, and established category leaders including Thorne and Wedgewood Pharmacy. Her work also extends to digital-first businesses and transformations at companies such as Empower Retirement and Tinder.
Across these businesses, Doherty brings an ability to recognize the leadership qualities that distinguish companies capable of creating enduring brands from those simply capturing a moment. Her approach is rooted in deep market knowledge, relentless execution, and an understanding that the strongest executive partnerships are built on trust long before a search begins.
A natural connector, Doherty has cultivated an extensive network of founders, investors, and executives, frequently bringing industry leaders together to exchange ideas and build relationships. Her promotion reflects both her impact on the consumer ecosystem and her ability to turn meaningful connections into transformational outcomes for clients.
Lisa Stenson: Scaling the Technical Leadership Behind the Next Generation of Technology
A Bay Area native, Stenson has built her career at the intersection of technology, talent, and company building. As a key leader in Daversa's technology practice, she specializes in VP- and C-suite-level engineering and product leadership, partnering with companies seeking the technical vision and operational expertise required to scale.
Her track record includes executive placements at some of technology's most recognized and disruptive companies, including Uber, DoorDash, Chime, Function Health, Nubank, Plaid, Iterable, and SoundCloud.
As technology companies navigate increasingly complex demands around innovation, product development, and scale, the ability to recruit exceptional engineering and product leaders has become a defining competitive advantage. Stenson has distinguished herself through a combination of technical market fluency, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to execution.
Known for her high-touch, relationship-driven approach and genuine intellectual curiosity, Stenson has built trusted partnerships with clients and candidates alike. Her ability to understand the people behind the technology, anticipate evolving leadership needs, and connect companies with executives capable of driving meaningful impact has made her an integral leader within Daversa's technology practice.
"Hannah and Lisa have earned this through consistent performance, exceptional judgment, and the trust they've built with some of the most ambitious companies in the market," said Paul Daversa, Founder and CEO of Daversa. "Hannah has an instinct for the people and brands that will shape the future of consumer, while Lisa understands what it takes to build world-class technical leadership at scale. They bring different expertise but share the same relentless commitment to their clients, their craft, and our firm. I'm incredibly proud to recognize them as Managing Directors."
Together, their promotions reinforce Daversa's commitment to developing leaders with deep sector expertise, enduring industry relationships, and a proven ability to deliver in the moments that define a company's trajectory. As the competition for exceptional executive talent continues to intensify, Doherty and Stenson will play important roles in expanding the firm's impact across the consumer and technology ecosystems.
About Daversa
Daversa is the executive search firm shaping the future of everything. For nearly three decades, we have partnered with the most ambitious founders and leading investors to unlock the top 1% of executive talent.
The executives we place change industries, create categories, and leave legacies. We are a mission-driven team of disruptors, thought leaders, and risk-takers powering the companies changing the world we live in.
For more information on Daversa, please visit daversa.com.
Hannah Doherty (Left) and Lisa Stenson (Right)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House publicly asked for U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation on Tuesday as she faced mounting accusations of improper conduct, and she announced within two hours that she was quitting, ending days of talk and speculation about her professional fate. Guilfoyle insisted that she would “vigorously defend” herself.
President Donald Trump's administration had said earlier Tuesday it had asked Guilfoyle to leave her post after she faced severe criticism over allegations she engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.
That revelation came in response to a question to freshly minted White House press secretary Katie Zacharia at her first media briefing Tuesday morning. Zacharia said Guilfoyle “has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”
"She went to Greece. She was doing a good job, but we didn’t like what we were reading," Trump said just after Guilfoyle's resignation, which was posted on her X account. He said he had not spoken to her but "she will not be there.”
Guilfoyle’s departure comes after its possibility was previewed to The Associated Press over the weekend and Trump registered his unhappiness on Monday at reports about her alleged conduct. Those comments came a day after the AP, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct.
In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the Republican administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.
Guilfoyle addressed the accusations directly in her resignation post on X, saying, “These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity.”
“I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional,” she said. “I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”
In a statement released late Sunday, Guilfoyle's lawyers denied that she had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from a Trump donor was payment for services — public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination — that had not been paid.
The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations of impropriety related to Guilfoyle’s travel on private planes, saying that before every such trip she “sought, obtained and followed State Department guidance and followed the Department’s travel regulations."
They did not immediately return calls Tuesday.
After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations. Last week, Rubio said: “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”
But after another report appeared later, Rubio — speaking Thursday before leaving Athens — berated journalists for asking about the allegations. He said that he didn’t know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not confirm them.
“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart, looked on.
A second U.S. official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general was looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last month and have since multiplied.
The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun. Inspectors general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints against staffers, and many times those inquiries do not result in a full-on investigation, which can result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. The State Department has declined to comment on a potential IG investigation.
There was no immediate response to Zacharia's statement from the Greek government or Cabinet members.
Ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, Greek opposition parties had called on the Foreign Ministry to summon Guilfoyle to respond to the allegations made against her. “This, most importantly, is an issue of national dignity,” Sia Anagnostopoulou, a former deputy foreign minister, said in parliament Friday. Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis responded that Guilfoyle had been treated “the same way as every other ambassador” and argued that an official summons had not been necessary.
Hours earlier, Guilfoyle had posted photos of her meeting this week with the Spanish ambassador to Athens as well as birthday wishes for Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, accompanied by Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” from the 2023 soundtrack of the movie “Barbie.”
Greece has taken on an increasingly important and influential role because of its geographic location in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly on energy issues as the war with Iran has spiked global oil prices. Besides the vast number of Greek-registered oil tankers that regularly ply the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, Greece is well positioned to be a pipeline conduit for liquefied natural gas imports into the Balkans and beyond.
As the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Guilfoyle had put an emphasis on energy issues, although her close association with executives in that sector was part of what got her into trouble.
The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as the ranking member on the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have already called for an investigation into Guilfoyle.
Since late September, the Journal has detailed numerous accounts of questionable conduct by Guilfoyle. Its first report said that she had told guests at a reception that the United States could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.
While Rubio was in Athens, the Journal reported — citing text messages — that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor and supporter to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.
The Journal then reported that Guilfoyle had been enraged about not being invited to a Greek-themed event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year and demanded to attend while boasting about luxury travel to France with energy company executives.
Another report, from the British tabloid The Daily Mail, said that Guilfoyle had alienated staff at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and had pushed the bounds of behavior appropriate for the top representative of the U.S. government to Greece.
Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was married to Democrat Gavin Newsom when he was San Francisco's mayor, before he became California's governor. She later was engaged to Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.
AP journalists Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Darlene Superville at the White House contributed.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during the opening Session of the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue next to U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks as President Donald Trump listens at a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks during the Republican National Convention, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks as President Donald Trump listens at a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks as President Donald Trump listens at a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle speak during a dedication ceremony at the chancery of the U.S. Embassy, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
