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
