Karen Kemerling PhD
Accomplished C-Suite executive and board advisor with leadership spanning small to mid-market organizations ($5M - $500M) across technology, financial, government, and nonprofit sectors. Governance background includes more than a decade of service on nonprofit, educational, and leadership-development boards, including roles as Audit Committee Chair and Chair of a Technology Review Board.
Former President of a FinTech 1031 IRC and escrow company managing over $1B in client deposits with prior COO and CIO roles in both global and privately held organizations. Founder and CEO of K2 Leadership Development, advising companies including Google, Vodafone, Wesco, Vibram, Medtronic, and First American Financial.
Engineer and PhD in Organizational Development with 30+ years of experience bringing order to chaos across growth, M&A, and complex change - aligning people, process, and technology. Expert in optimizing productivity and collaboration within remote and global organizations, leveraging research-based frameworks to enhance engagement, accountability, and performance.
Recognized by the Denver Business Journal as one of Denver’s Top 3 Businesswomen and nominated as CIO of the Year. Combines business acumen with neuroscience-based leadership and psychological-safety frameworks to strengthen board effectiveness and decision-making - resulting in higher retention of key employees, increased efficiency, and cost savings that eliminated the need for additional hires.
"Through the CDI Board Training, I have learned so much about the in's and out's of board governance and how to lean into my strengths to show up confident and ready to make a difference!"
Karen Kemerling