Ask a Chief of Staff is a boutique executive search and career platform connecting exceptional Chiefs of Staff with visionary leaders. Through our executive search firm, we help companies find the right strategic partner to work alongside their leadership teams. Through our community, we give current and aspiring Chiefs of Staff access to mentorship, career opportunities, practical resources, and a trusted network of peers who understand the role.

We exist to help more people step into strategic leadership and succeed once they get there, while building a more connected, collaborative future for the Chief of Staff role.

Clara Ma is the founder and CEO of Ask a Chief of Staff, a platform that helps rising operators—especially women and people of color—step into strategic leadership roles. Formerly a Chief of Staff at Hugging Face, Clara draws on a decade of startup and recruiting experience to run an executive search firm, mentorship community, and career development platform that has placed over 50 Chiefs of Staff and reached 60,000+ professionals.

Through Ask a Chief of Staff, Clara is creating clearer pathways into one of today’s most influential leadership roles through community, mentorship, leadership programming, and career opportunities. Her work is rooted in the belief that the Chief of Staff role can be a powerful launchpad into executive leadership—and that more women deserve access to the networks, resources, and opportunities to get there.

Clara and her work have been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, and Business Insider. She is a 2025 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow, an Inc. Female Founders 500 honoree, and an Entreprenista 100 Award winner.