One of the reasons people get overwhelmed by chess so quickly is because there are so many potential moves you could make. But that’s also what makes the game endlessly fascinating. Each move carries possibility. Each decision shifts the entire landscape of the board.
Take a look at this position. So many potential moves. All leading to very different outcomes.
Do I move the queen to threaten the king - a direct attack? Do I capture on g5 and take what I can get? Or do I wait, maneuver, and build something slower - more strategic?
In life, we often find ourselves in similar moments - standing before the board, surrounded by options that could each lead us down a different path. The beauty, and the challenge, is learning to trust your intuition, to play boldly, and to see opportunity not as chaos, but as creation.
Audrey Russo’s story is no different.
I’ve heard Audrey tell her story many times, and each time I’m struck by the new reflections she uncovers - how the same set of moves, retold with wisdom, can reveal entirely new lessons.
As I’ve grown in my own career, I’ve turned to her often for perspective. Her ability to pause, reflect, and reframe is grounding - a reminder that leadership, like chess, is about returning to the game, studying your past moves, and asking not just what you did, but why.
When Audrey first came to Pittsburgh, it wasn’t part of some grand design. She had already built a successful career in corporate leadership - first at Reynolds Metals, then Alcoa - the kind of global roles that offer structure, security, and predictability. But life, like chess, rewards those who are willing to see beyond the expected sequence of moves.
After Alcoa acquired Reynolds, she and her family relocated to Pittsburgh. What she didn’t know at the time was that this move - which could have been just another line on her résumé - would become one of the defining chapters of her life.
After several transformative years at Alcoa, Audrey made another pivotal move - she chose to take an exit package. It wasn’t an easy decision; walking away from corporate security rarely is. But true to her nature, she saw it not as an ending, but as an opening. That choice led her to MAYA Design, a Pittsburgh-based innovation lab that would completely reshape how she thought about technology, design, and human connection.
As Audrey often says, “I got my PhD in real time at MAYA.” It was there that she immersed herself in systems thinking, design strategy, and the art of translating complexity into clarity. Or as she likes to call it, “MAYA was a gift.”
Those years prepared her for everything that came next - not through theory, but through experience. They gave her a new lens for understanding people, patterns, and possibility. And when the opportunity came to lead the Pittsburgh Technology Council, she was ready to bring all of that learning to the broader ecosystem.
As Audrey puts it, “Pittsburgh was keeping me.”
That line has always stayed with me. Because it captures the heart of what leadership - and belonging - really mean. Sometimes, we think we’re shaping a place or a community, when in truth, it’s shaping us.
When Audrey and I first met, I was set on leaving Pittsburgh, too. But she helped me see the city differently - not as a place to outgrow, but as a place to build from. She reminded me that roots don’t limit us; they give us leverage.
Audrey didn’t just adapt to Pittsburgh - she reimagined what Pittsburgh could become. When she took the helm of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, she stepped into a landscape that was still rediscovering itself, a city once defined by steel and smoke now quietly building robots, startups, and software. It was a region ready to evolve, but in need of someone who could see the full board.
Under her leadership, the Tech Council became a connector, a storyteller, and a catalyst. Audrey helped the region understand that technology isn’t a single sector; it’s a mindset. It’s the way we think, solve, and create - across manufacturing, healthcare, education, and art. She brought together unlikely players, reminding everyone that innovation doesn’t live in isolation.
Her move that mattered wasn’t simply accepting the job - it was redefining what it meant to lead. She could have stayed in the structured world of global corporations, but instead, she chose to build something uncharted: a community of innovators, dreamers, and builders who believed Pittsburgh could once again make things that matter.
Every move she’s made since has reflected that same clarity and courage - to listen deeply, to stay curious, to build bridges where others saw boundaries.
When I think about Audrey, I think about what it means to play the long game: to build not just for yourself, but for the generations who will one day take your place at the board.
Her story reminds me that the moves that matter most aren’t always the boldest or the loudest. Sometimes, they’re the quiet choices: the ones that root us, steady us, and invite us to see possibility where others saw decline.
Pittsburgh didn’t just keep her - it flourished because of her.
And that’s the lesson: sometimes, the bravest move isn’t to leave or to leap, but to stay - and to help the place you’ve landed become something greater than anyone imagined.