About Me

Meet Barbara Roos

(pronounced "rose")

I didn’t set out to build a consultancy around AI. 

 

But over the last decade working inside large, complex organizations, I kept seeing the same pattern: when technology moves fast, strategy and narrative often fall out of sync. Leaders make decisions before alignment forms. Teams feel pressure before they understand direction. Credibility erodes quietly, long before anyone names it.

 

AI accelerates that dynamic.

 

Through Trailhead Communications, I partner with leaders navigating how AI reshapes strategy, credibility, and story — helping them align around reality and move forward with clarity and purpose.

My Background

In 25 years of strategic communications and organizational transformation, including 7+ years in senior leadership roles at Intel, I learned that real change doesn’t happen because a strategy deck exists. It happens when leaders see the system clearly, speak honestly about tradeoffs, and build trust under pressure.

 

At Intel, I led initiatives affecting 5,000+ employees, stood up a Center of Excellence for change and program management, and supported $100M+ in revenue enablement and $11M in cost savings. The lesson wasn’t just scale — it was alignment.

 

Transformation succeeds when strategy and story move together in reality, not just in slides.

What I Bring

I’m drawn to complexity. I see strategy, politics, emotion, and incentives in the same frame — and I help leaders understand what’s actually driving (or blocking) change.

 

I’m known for:

  • Bringing clarity to ambiguous situations and creating alignment in challenging environments

  • Naming what others sense but don’t articulate — the hidden resistance, the misalignment between message and reality, the tension between ambition and capability

  • Building practical systems that make transformation tangible: leadership alignment sessions, change champion networks, enterprise-wide playbooks

 

In the AI era, where expectations accelerate and ambiguity multiplies, that integrative lens becomes essential.

Who I Work With

I work with builders: people creating, scaling, or transforming something meaningful. That includes:

  • Business leaders aligning their organizations around AI strategy and accountability

  • Marketing and communications leaders under pressure to move faster without losing trust, authenticity, or strategic influence

  • AI-driven founders turning innovation into credible market proof

 

I work best with leaders who want a peer-level collaborator: someone who will question assumptions, name what’s real, and help them move forward deliberately in high-stakes environments.

 

I’m not a fit if you’re looking for surface-level messaging, quick fixes, or someone to execute a plan without asking whether it’s the right one.

Testimonials

Mark Hocking

Former VP of Sales Excellence, Intel

Barbara is an excellent leader. She quickly learns issues from all sides and builds change and communication strategies that align business goals with what people on the ground truly need. Her team consistently gave her top scores because she created clarity and support in an environment of rapid change. Barbara brings people together, builds trust quickly, and drives high-quality work to completion.

Laura Barbaro

Former VP of Customer Experience, Intel

Barbara was brilliant in building our customer advocacy and customer-first culture strategies that inspired our customers as well as our employees. Her staff and co-workers consistently raved about her leadership style and coaching. She’s collaborative, always looking for ways to build a win-win, and she listens and follows through on her promises.

Amit Perry

CEO & Co-Founder, ApplAI

Barbara has been a game-changer for our team. She excels at turning complex ideas into clear, actionable strategies and communicating them even to those unfamiliar with the subject. She’s a strategic thinker, a strong leader, and someone who improves outcomes simply by being in the room. Her impact on our group’s success cannot be overstated.

Pete Kronowitt

Founder, Face the Music Collective

Barbara provided invaluable knowledge which allowed us to jumpstart a seemingly impossible project. Our entire team was guided to become more productive and skilled in a short amount of time. Barbara also helped assess how to practically use and understand AI and its limitations. What truly set her apart was the thoughtful preparation she brought to every session, ensuring our time together was consistently focused and impactful.

Lina Stukov

Former Senior Sales Leader, Intel

Barbara leads change initiatives with exceptional skill and dedication. What stands out most is her ability to connect with sellers in a way that makes complex changes easy to understand and adopt. Her clarity, empathy, and communication style helps build trust and engagement across teams.

Gareth Williams

Digital Transformation Consultant

Barbara is that rare partner who thinks strategically and can also activate that strategy with effective change management and communications frameworks. She turns complex, enterprise-scale change into something people can understand and act on. Barbara brings sharp thinking, clarity, and incredible stakeholder focus. If you need a strategic partner to clarify and lead major change that sticks, she’s exactly who you want.

Isabella Villegas-Torres

Global Sales Enablement, Civica

Barbara has a natural talent for organizing large, complex teams and objectives with remarkable clarity. Her attention to detail, people-first approach, and ability to streamline processes while keeping morale high make her an invaluable leader.