James Sayno

James Sayno is the Head of Talent at the Augusta National Golf Club and an independent consultant focused on developing high performance cultures in world-class organizations.

A leader in the people side of the sports industry, James has advised, developed and coached chief executives, elite performance professionals, and premier specialists across many varied disciplines.

James played a role in leading the talent strategy aimed at preparing Team USA to win a record number of medals during the 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympic Games. Considered a "moonshot" by the high performance team, the work to assemble the best specialists in each field and position them at the point of maximum efficacy in the development process across dozens of sports was unparalleled in recent decades and led to 121 Olympic medals, considered the best performance by Team USA at an Olympic Games in modern history.

James has crafted and successfully built a variety of functions at top organizations including a graduate student talent acquisition program at a Big Four consultancy, a business analyst function at a leading insurer, a human resources department and corporate learning organization at a top non-profit sports entity, an engagement function at the biggest sports marketing and apparel manufacturer, and a talent function at the world's most respected sports and hospitality brand.

"It's all about people; finding them, inspiring them, unleashing their abilities, and positioning them at the right place and right time to make the maximum impact. That is the essence of talent strategy and the only way an organization can develop a culture of high performance."