Banu Tomruk is a Certified Professional Coach, HR Executive, and Next-Gen Career Champion based in West New York, NJ. She is the Founder of Ascend, a coaching practice dedicated to helping emerging leaders and early-career professionals gain clarity, confidence, and direction as they build meaningful, purpose-driven careers aligned with who they truly are.
Born and raised in Turkey — and having lived and worked across Europe, Singapore, and the U.S. — Banu brings a deeply multicultural lens to her coaching and leadership work. She holds an MBA from the University of Leicester with a specialization in Employee Relations, and she coaches in both Turkish and English.
With over 25 years of global HR leadership and 15 years of coaching experience, Banu has supported teams across more than a dozen countries, working extensively in the tech industry at organizations including Amazon Web Services, Atos, and Orion Innovation. Often the only woman in the room, she learned to navigate complex, high-stakes environments without compromising her authenticity. Her leadership philosophy is simple and powerful: “Real leadership is showing up as your authentic self — not trying to fit into someone else’s mold.”
In 2026, Banu begins her term as the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging (DEIJB) for the ICF NYC Chapter. Her commitment to inclusion is not theoretical — it is personal. As a woman, a Muslim, and an immigrant, she has lived the realities of representation, belonging, and navigating systems not built with her in mind. Throughout her HR career, she led multicultural teams, shaped global DEI strategies, built inclusive talent ecosystems, and designed leadership programs that helped people from all backgrounds rise and thrive.
Beyond her professional world, Banu is a proud mom to an endlessly curious young adult, someone who continues to teach her about purpose, humor, and growth. Her happy place is the kitchen — usually with her furry sous-chef Dost waiting for a taste test. Yoga grounds her, road biking energizes her, and when it’s time to unwind, she loves a good mystery — the more clues, symbolism, and Dan Brown–style twists, the better.
Banu brings warmth, cultural intelligence, and a powerful sense of purpose into every room she enters — championing voices, elevating stories, and creating spaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.