Work Smart Series: Everyday Leadership Through a Virtual Lens

Eileen’s passion for leadership effectiveness brought her to Vantage in 2014. Eileen advises organizations in the areas of leadership assessment, development, coaching, and talent strategy, with a focus on utilizing scientific, evidence-based practices to activate an organization’s leadership talent. Her goal as a coach is to assist clients in developing a better understanding of themselves as leaders, and to help them reframe how they approach their work. She works across a wide range of businesses and industries, including family-owned and Fortune 100 organizations, packaging, manufacturing, financial services, technology, and retail. As a Partner, Eileen focuses on strategy, operations, and building the Vantage brand with the businesses we serve. She also serves as the Practice Leader for Vantage’s New Products for Clients Success, where she is at the forefront of product innovation and customization of our services to continue to add unique value for our clients.
Eileen completed her Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from DePaul University, where she focused on the impact leaders have on their employees’ work-life balance. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Tulane University and then went on to pursue a Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The University of West Florida.
Originally from Florida, moving to Chicago has been one of life’s toughest challenges! Eileen enjoys experiencing all the city has to offer, including live opera and orchestra performances, food truck festivals, Lake Michigan boating, and the lakefront bike path.

Mariangela Battista, Ph.D. is the Principal of Sirena Consulting, LLC a boutique consulting firm focused on Human Resources, executive coaching and leadership development. Most recently she was Vice President of Global Talent Management for IGT, PLC a global lottery and gaming organization where she had strategic oversight and accountability for all global people processes including talent acquisition, performance management, succession planning, learning and development including management and executive development, selection and assessment, culture, engagement and employee communication. Prior to IGT, Mariangela was Chief Talent Officer at XL Catlin, a global insurance firm. She was also VP of Talent and Organizational Capability at Pfizer, Inc. where she was responsible for the research center of excellence, including all engagement research; manager development and capability including assessments and organization-wide change management practices. In her thirty plus year career, Mariangela has also been part of the HR function of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG), American Express, and IBM.
She is co-editor of two SIOP Professional Practice Series volumes, Pulakos, E. & Battista, M. (Editors). Transforming Performance Management: Lessons Learned and Next Steps. New York: Oxford University Press. (March 2020) and Feinzig, S. & Battista, M. (Editors). The Changing Leadership Landscape: New Challenges, New Expectations, New Actions. New York: Oxford University Press. (July 2026).
Mariangela earned a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the City University of New York. She is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and is the current Chair of the Friday Group, a NY-based consortium of Industrial-Organizational Psychologists.