Karen Kane is an experienced business leader and strategic advisor who has worked with chairmen, CEOs, and boards. She has expertise in crisis and reputation management, strategic stakeholder campaigns, employee communication, integrated marketing, and executive coaching. Kane brings deep experience developing and executing complex communication programs and has worked on issues such as financial literacy campaigns, corporate social responsibility, and governance.

1. Karen Kane Consulting
Capabilities
2015

2. Karen Kane
Business leader and strategic partner
• Advisor to Chairmen, CEOs, corporate boards and senior leaders
• Former SVP Corporate Affairs Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Board
Secretary
• Highest ranking woman officer at the Chicago Fed at the time
• Recruited to re-engineer corporate affairs; completed a year earlier than projected at a
cost savings of $1 million
• Critical role during 9/11 attacks, developed crisis plan for Federal Reserve System
• Initiated MoneySmart Week, citywide financial literacy program, now national in scope
and underwritten by MasterCard
• Opened a new Visitors Center; Wrote and produced award-winning film, The Power of
Money

3. 'On demand‘, customized expertise
• Deep corporate communications experience
• As a staff member and an outside consultant
• Project development/project management
• Strong capability for developing full-scale plans
• As lead project manager or fill-in resource when internal staff is spread thin
• Partner in execution
• Doing whatever needs to get done
• Team player
• Adept at working behind the scenes to bring projects to completion

4. Critical skills and experience
• Crisis and reputation management
• Strategic stakeholder/community campaigns
• Employee communication and engagement
• Integrated communication and marketing
• Executive communication in a social media and mobile world
• Agile, deadline-driven writer; “The Content Creator”
• Corporate Social Responsibility dating back to the ‘90s

5. Crisis and reputation management
• Key leader in crisis management at the Federal Reserve during 9/11
• Led development of crisis communication plan for the Federal
Reserve System
• Skilled at evaluating and appraising internal and external environment
from perspective of diverse stakeholders
• Work with CEOs and other leaders to understand and manage the
24/7, always-on forum

6. Corporate governance expert
•Frequent speaker in governance forums;
contributor to publications
•Author of the book, “Voices of Governance: Why
Oversight Is Important to All of Us”
•NACD Governance Fellow
•Currently working with the Chairman of a global
joint venture on corporate governance

7. Strategic stakeholder campaigns
Stakeholders have grown in diversity, number and importance
• Develop programs based on
• Knowledge of issues
• Strategic monitoring
To anticipate and leverage new opportunities
• Proactive campaigns
• MoneySmart Week
• Opening of new Money Museum
• Managing crises
• “Know them before you need them”
• Walking in stakeholders’ shoes

8. Employee communication and engagement
• Adept at developing plans for keeping employees informed during
crises and transitions
• Anthrax threat at the Federal Reserve
• Acquisition of CNA by Allstate
• Creative employee engagement solutions
• Surveys and meaningful follow-up
• Employee recognition
• annual reports
• videos
• Developed, piloted and launched an employee suggestion recognition
program for a waste company’s 5,000 employees in 500 district
locations

9. Experienced executive coach
• Work with CEOs, CIOs and C-suite executives to improve
executive presence
• Selected by the University of Chicago as one of seven partner
firms to provide executive coaching to faculty and staff

10. Integrated communication and marketing
Develop and execute complex programs
• ‘Orchestra leader’ who brings together diverse elements for the greatest
impact
• Skill and experience to anticipate and manage many moving parts
• Convened the first MoneySmart Council that created the foundation for a city-wide
financial literacy program with 100 partners and 700 events the first year
• Federal Reserve of Chicago launch of new Money Museum including events with
Chairman, production of a new movie, The Power of Money, which won a Bronze Telly
• Developed pro bono plan for premier Chicago non-profit

11. Executive communication in a social media
and mobile world
• Developed “True Talk”, a framework based on work with Second City
to help leaders make the most of impromptu conversations and small
group meetings
• Work with CIO to add professional presence to his operational
leadership
• Developed plan for building reputation outside the company
• Improved speeches and forums for Chicago Fed president

12. Consummate writer and editor
• Adept at utilizing traditional and social media to inspire, persuade and
engage key constituents
• Regular contributor to Briefings on Leadership + Talent, Korn/Ferry
Institute quarterly publication
• International distribution to CEOs and directors
• Award-winning staff writer at Houston Chronicle, Boston Globe,
Vineyard Gazette
• Former major metro daily editor
• Lifestyle editor of Houston Chronicle
• Produced 9 sections a week
• Led 25 reporters, designers and copyeditors of award-winning sections

13. Corporate social responsibility
• Key role in facilitating activist shareholder meeting with management
of a global waste company at the the height of environmental
activism
• Wrote and managed company's first environmental health and safety
report
• NACD Governance Fellow, author of "Voices of Governance: Why
Oversight Is Important to All of Us", frequent panelist and writer on
stakeholder issues

14. Global perspective
• Communication leader in international companies
• Working with global partners, developed and distributed press releases,
handled major recall of satellite product in South America, managed
communication of remedial actions
• Diverse consultant assignments for international asset management
firm
• Current work on a global joint venture
• Advise chairman
• Work with JV staff to draft minutes, develop board policies and committee
charters