Lesley Gadson

Lesley Gadson is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Faith Intelligence™, a faith-based technology company pioneering the future of Guidance Systems™—intelligent platforms designed to help ministries, schools, businesses, athletic organizations, and communities provide proactive guidance, personalized support, accountability, and meaningful human connection at scale.

Faith Intelligence™ develops Guidance Systems™ that extend care beyond physical interactions, empowering organizations to engage, encourage, and support the people they serve every day. The company is the creator of One Eighty Coach™, a personalized coaching and support platform, and the technology powering 180 Elite Performance™, a comprehensive athlete development ecosystem that transforms how athletes train, develop, build their personal brand, prepare for recruiting, and succeed beyond sports.

Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, Lesley brings more than 15 years of experience in wealth management, corporate performance coaching, leadership development, operational strategy, and organizational growth. Throughout her career at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, she partnered with executive leaders and financial advisors managing billions of dollars in assets, helping organizations strengthen operations, develop leaders, improve communication, and build scalable systems for long-term growth. She served as Chief Operating Officer of the Financial Advisor Leadership Council at Merrill Lynch and Co-Chair of the Black Professional Group at Bank of America.

Before her corporate career, Lesley developed the discipline, resilience, and leadership that continue to shape her work as an entrepreneur through athletics. A former NCAA Division I basketball player at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), she later completed her education at Southern Wesleyan University, studying biology and psychology. Today, she is a Tech Founder and basketball trainer dedicated to developing the next generation of athletes through elite skill development, leadership, discipline, character, and faith.

Through Faith Intelligence™, Lesley also leads the vision behind 180 Elite Performance™—a comprehensive athlete development platform that integrates elite basketball training, recruiting, personal branding, NIL readiness, career development, wellness, leadership, and personalized performance technology into one complete ecosystem. Powered by Faith Intelligence™, the platform equips athletes with customized development plans, actionable insights, and the tools they need to excel in competition, college, professional careers, and life beyond the game.

Beyond business, Lesley is passionate about coaching basketball, training athletes, mentoring youth, teaching Bible studies, and helping people discover and fulfill their God-given purpose. Through Faith Intelligence™, she is pioneering a new generation of Guidance Systems™ that help people grow spiritually, personally, professionally, and athletically while enabling organizations to deliver personalized support at scale.