Ariane Willson

Meet Ariane

Ariane Willson is an Implementation Associate at McChrystal Group, where she leverages her background in education development, client management, and social psychology research to design and execute McChrystal Group’s strategy and leadership development interventions.

What did you do before joining McChrystal Group?

Prior to joining McChrystal Group, I spent most of my career working on cross-cultural education engagements abroad. I was a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic and completed a fellowship in college consulting in Hanoi, Vietnam where I developed bespoke courses in philosophy, art history, and languages for my students. Most recently, I built an agile training program at a behavioral health technology startup. I have experience building HCM competency models and developing change management and L&D strategies rooted in impact measurement. I also partnered with professors in the Peabody School of Human Development at Vanderbilt University to design undergraduate courses in leadership theories, DEI studies, and women in business.

Why did you join McChrystal Group?

I joined McChrystal Group to combine my love of learning and psychology with best practice implementation at a firm with deeply rooted values and a passion for people's well-being in the workplace.

What are your favorite books (besides Team of Teams!)?

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• Poems and letters by Rainer Maria Rilke
• Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
• The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing
• To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins,
• In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan,
• The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
• And crime thrillers by Tana French and Richard Osman.