By: Travis Mane

Leadership is rarely a straight path. For many, it is a journey filled with unexpected turns, hard-earned lessons, and defining moments that shape businesses and the people who build them. Few understand this better than Eryn Anitavi, the CEO and Founder of Sapphire Partners, a company that has transformed the landscape of executive support.

A Vision Born from Experience

Eryn Anitavi’s story is anything but conventional. An autistic and intensely creative strategist, her entrepreneurial path began at just ten years old. By sixteen, she had co-founded her first official company. Sapphire Partners, her fifth venture, was born out of a simple request at a networking event: “Could you spare five hours a week to help me with my business?” That single ‘yes’ became an enterprise that now provides premier executive support and chief of staff services tailored to visionary leaders—particularly neurodivergent ones.

The Role of Executive Support in Leadership Success

Anitavi believes that executive support is more than just administrative assistance—it is the backbone of sustainable leadership. From overwhelmed entrepreneurs to high-level executives, many struggle to balance vision with execution. That’s where Sapphire Partners comes in, helping businesses integrate AI, automation, and human expertise into their operations through its service model.

One of its ambitious projects is the development of a predictive energy management algorithm designed to help leaders understand and optimize their productivity patterns. Sapphire Partners also employs its proprietary Clarity Matrix™, a structured goal strategy method that could potentially rival well-known systems like EOS.

Overcoming the Challenges of Entrepreneurship

Building a business is an exercise in resilience. Anitavi’s leadership journey is marked by moments that tested her resolve—running payroll for eight employees and realizing their livelihoods depended on her, hiring missteps that led to costly lessons, and financial setbacks that could have ended everything.

But instead of retreating, she embraced these challenges. Discovering stoicism through The Obstacle is the Way reframed her perspective, teaching her to view obstacles as opportunities. This philosophy has become central to her approach, pushing her to take risks, refine strategies, and continuously innovate.

The Intersection of Neurodivergence and Leadership

What sets Sapphire Partners apart isn’t just the services it offers—it’s the philosophy behind them. Anitavi is deeply committed to supporting neurodivergent leaders and helping them have the right tools to bring their ideas to life. She firmly believes that no visionary should be made to feel like they are ‘too much’ for the business world.

Her approach prioritizes structure without stifling creativity, understanding that neurodivergent leaders often thrive when their strengths are acknowledged and their challenges accommodated. This perspective fuels the company’s educational arm, The Sapphire Academy, which trains executive support professionals to meet the unique needs of innovative thinkers.

Shaping the Future of Business Strategy

Looking ahead, Anitavi sees Sapphire Partners growing its influence, not just through executive support but by contributing to evolving leadership practices. She argues that venture capital firms should mandate executive support for funded founders, helping them have the necessary infrastructure to scale successfully.

Beyond Sapphire Partners, her ambitions include Sapphire Technologies—a new endeavor focused on AI-powered leadership tools. She also dreams of establishing the Sapphire Castle in Europe, a retreat and think-tank space designed to nurture her team and their clients.

The Road to Recognition and Influence

Anitavi’s career includes a range of experiences, from selling her first business as a teenager to receiving speaking invitations. She has navigated the challenges of business ownership, making decisions such as stepping away from an investor due to misaligned visions and exploring new approaches to executive support.

She’s also had her share of unconventional experiences—from wrestling Vikings (and breaking her ankle in the process) to navigating Paris in a wheelchair to optioning a screenplay in Hollywood. These experiences, she argues, are all part of the bigger picture: leadership is about adaptability, resilience, and the ability to think beyond conventional limits.

Lessons in Leadership and Executive Support

At the core of Anitavi’s philosophy is a belief in building sustainable, long-term success. Some of her most resonant insights include:

“Your team is your most important client/customer.” A business can survive losing a customer, but losing the right team member can be catastrophic.

“Work should happen at the speed of life.” Balance isn’t about working less but about integrating work into a fulfilling life.

“You can’t do for your executive what you don’t do for yourself.” Adequate executive support starts with self-awareness and structure.

“When you build for the minority, you make it better for the majority. When you build for the majority, you alienate the minority.” Inclusive business practices benefit everyone.

A Future of Innovation and Advocacy

In the years ahead, Anitavi’s focus extends beyond Sapphire Partners. She’s determined to take the stage—literally—expanding her work in public speaking to address leadership, neurodivergence, and the evolving role of executive business support. She has her sights set on a TEDx talk, a global reach for Sapphire Academy, and initiatives designed to reimagine workplace structures to serve neurodivergent professionals better.

Sapphire Partners isn’t just a business—it’s a movement. And under Anitavi’s leadership, it’s poised to redefine the future of executive support, proving that every visionary may thrive with the right systems in place.

Published by Anne C.