Who we are

Bob Murata is the Founder and Owner of People Centered Coaching. He’s been working in Silicon Valley for over 20 years. He is a fully trained Co-Active Coach and has given group workshops all over the world since 2015.

His unique take on coaching blends his broad experience working in the excitement and pressures of the technology industry, and mixes it with a deep passion for people and interpersonal connections.

Background

After graduating from Stanford University with undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science, Bob spent his first eight years as a User Interface Designer and Manager. He then made a big career change to become a Engineering/Technical Program Manager after learning about his Strengths from Tom Rath’s book “Now Discover Your Strengths.” He’s been a Director of Program Management since 2015.

Moving into Program Management enabled Bob to weave together his personal Strengths (Harmony & Focus) with his professional and educational experiences. What resulted was an ideal job fit – something he was born to do! He’s had opportunities to work on company acquisitions, 1.0 startup projects, core infrastructure overhauls, and broad initiatives that spanned business units (and once even the entire company). Through those experiences he’s fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with executives of all levels (VPs, SVPs, EVPs, a CEO).

Coaching

During that professional journey, Bob found himself mentoring more and more co-workers throughout his company. He wanted to pass along his learnings over the years and he developed a series of workshops that have been delivered to hundreds of people across the globe. Nothing gives him more excitement and pleasure than seeing that moment when a “light bulb” goes on for a mentee or workshop participant, and he knows that person will never see the world the same away again.

Those passion projects turned into a passion career. Bob still works in the industry while also coaching. He’s still dealing with big projects, deadlines, and executives – work pressures aren’t something theoretical, but something real and present that he understands and can empathize with.

Personal

Bob is also blessed to have been married for over 25 years and has two adult grown daughters. Some of his biggest growth has been through those foundational relationships over the years: from being a newlywed, to a new parent, to being a parent of a special-needs child, to ultimately being an empty nester. His personal faith guided him during some of those turbulent times and transitions.

Bob loves connecting with people, listening to what’s really going in their heart of hearts (whether it’s personal or professional), and encouraging them to be able to tackle the challenges that lie ahead so they can get where they want to go.