ABOUT ME
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I've spent my career on both sides of leadership. I led in business first, then spent the last decade helping leaders become better leaders.
You understand operations because you've lived operations. Nine years inside Kraft and Alliant Foodservice taught me how a $323 million business actually runs, from the warehouse floor to the P&L.
You understand sales because you've carried a quota. I managed a stagnant $2M territory at Dreyer's and turned it into the top-performing region, one account at a time.
You understand procurement because you've negotiated contracts. I ran vendor negotiation and category management for a business moving $14M in inventory across 2,000+ line items, with a 99.8% service level to show for it.
You understand marketing because you've owned strategy. I built the brand, the market penetration plan, and the customer acquisition strategy for a technology company I co-founded from nothing and scaled to multiple locations over twelve years.
You understand leadership because you've led people. I developed 23 buyers and 5 category managers into a team that drove 20% sales growth, then spent eight more years running an international real estate practice, closing cross-border deals across two countries and two cultures.
You understand coaching because you've coached over 1,200 leaders. Since 2017, I've logged more than 12,000 hours with executives at Google, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, and Genentech/Roche, and with plenty of first-time managers who needed the exact same thing the C-suite does: someone who'd actually name what was going on.
That combination is difficult to find. Most coaches come at leadership from psychology or facilitation. I come at it from having owned the budget, missed the number, and had to explain why to a room that was counting on me.
None of that happens in a vacuum...my four kids, my two sons-in-law, and my granddaughter will tell you I disappear onto an Arizona trail most weekends, that I'm the one testing a new recipe on a Sunday instead of ordering in, and that a family trip isn't really a vacation for me unless I've built in room to slow down. That's not separate from the coaching. It's the same instinct: notice what's actually going on before you decide what to do about it.
I've led people. I've led businesses. It all starts the same place: how you lead yourself.
If you'd like to learn more about Kristen's background and experience, click here.
