Karen Mildenhall, Finance Expert in Phoenix, AZ, United States
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Karen Mildenhall

Verified Expert  in Finance

Growth Expert

Location
Phoenix, AZ, United States
Toptal Member Since
June 6, 2022

Karen is a Fortune 500 transformative corporate executive with over 20 years of expertise leveraging the connection between strategy, risk, operations, people, customers, communications, and P&L management while leading and advising senior leaders on large-scale strategic and operational change. She established a track record of collaboratively leading globally diverse teams to create groundbreaking change in over a dozen industries. She has a dozen business turnrounds in her career.

Business TransformationPost-Merger IntegrationManagement ConsultingPost-merger IntegrationMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Business DevelopmentCorporate GovernanceDue Diligence ConsultantDue DiligenceCross-border M&AValuation

Career Highlights

President | CEO
KM Leadership Solutions
Executive Vice President | Resident Managing Director
Aon
Managing Director
Marsh

Education Highlights

Bachelor of Science Degree
Brigham Young University

Certification Highlights

Certificate in Private Company Board Governance
Private Directors Association
International Mergers & Acquisitions Expert (IM&A)
Institute for Mergers and Acquisitions
Certified Professional Coach
Center of Coach Certification – ICF accredited

Case Studies

Work Experience

President | CEO

2015 - PRESENT
KM Leadership Solutions
  • Led the post-merger integration of an advertising company of two competitors. Evaluated, planned, and designed the parent company and Newco's HR, IT, operations, services, and production. Trained process design teams and completed PMI in six months.
  • Re-energized an end-to-end system implementation previously stalled for 12 months. Identified problems, sticking points, and issues and facilitated teams creating solutions. Completed the project within the original timelines and budget.
  • Evaluated a real estate management company to prepare for due diligence. After end-to-end evaluation, I delivered recommended changes to increase business valuation by 20%. The owner implemented the changes and kept the business.
  • Designed and implemented the new global structure of a company to support its rapid growth strategy by focusing on simplicity and leveraging its strengths. The company is seeing up to 60% growth in some locations.
Focus areas: Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Change Leadership, ESG, Executive Coaching, RFP Negotiation, System Implementation, Price Negotiations, Strategy, Consulting, Customer Service, Profit & Loss (P&L), Organizational Change Management (OCM), Public Speaking, Change Management, Post-merger Integration, Customer Journeys, Customer Research, Board Governance, Board Development, Board Reporting, Decision Modeling, Due Diligence, Leadership, Project Leadership, Team Leadership, Team Mentoring, Team Management, Sales, Process Flows, Process Mapping, Work Process Design, Process Design, Risk, Corporate Governance, Corporate Culture, Culture Development, Business Strategy, Business Development, Business Consulting, Management Consulting, United States, Target Operating Models, Business Models, Organizational Design, Stakeholder Interviews, Stakeholder Engagement, Implementation, M&A Strategy, Program Management

Change Program Lead and Culture Strategist

2023 - 2024
Owens Corning - Manufacturing Operations
  • Advised team leaders for the enterprise-wide New Hire Task Force, helping them navigate the complexity of the project and the differing agendas of key executive leaders.
  • Helped task force leaders to organize, prioritize, and the project. This enabled them to execute plans that positioned US plants to have remarkably improved onboarding and training for new hires.
  • Delivered just-in-time leadership coaching to project leads as they were grappling with diverse expectations across the senior leadership team.
  • Offered ways to apply change management principles to help plants prepare, execute, and sustain proposed changes from the task force.
Focus areas: Change Management, Coaching

Executive Vice President | Resident Managing Director

2008 - 2013
Aon
  • Turned around the chronically worst-performing office in the US. Deep double-digit negative margins sustained 25% within one year and a 25% compounded growth rate for four years.
  • Designed and implemented the net promoter score (NPS) process for AZ operations. Created high-performing service teams receiving a cumulative 9.5 client NPS for three years. This resulted in over 90% client revenue retention year-over-year (YoY).
  • Evaluated target company risks for confidential private equity (PE) firms. Implemented post-merger risk management and employee benefit programs for 30% of the PE targets acquired.
  • Integrated a post-merger risk management program for an M&A carve-out in Asia-Pacific. Trained the acquired company's finance staff on risk management solutions and processes and negotiated a $50 million recovery from post-deal earthquake damage.
  • Overhauled processes and workflows to streamline work and utilize available technology while using design thinking. This included customer service process design, sales process design, and process implementation.
  • Negotiated a fast $50 million claims payment within a fiscal year quarter for a global tech company impacted by an earthquake in Japan. Major claims payments for most catastrophic losses often require years to negotiate.
Focus areas: Change Leadership, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Customer Service, ESG, RFP Negotiation, Pricing Strategy, System Implementation, Price Negotiations, Strategy, Risk Assessment, Consulting, Profit & Loss (P&L), Public Speaking, Change Management, Post-merger Integration, Sales Process Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Board Presentations, Board Reporting, Board Governance, Sales, Salesforce Knowledge, Process Design, Process Flows, Executive Coaching, Executive Presentations, Senior Executive Management, Senior Executive Recruiting, Executive Reporting, Execution Risk, Global Risk, Risk, Corporate Governance, Business Consulting, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), Decision Modeling, Decision Support, Due Diligence Consultant, Due Diligence, Team Leadership, Team Management, Global Team Management, Business Continuity, Process Improvement, Salesforce, Cross-border M&A, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Strategy, Executive Consulting, Transformational Leadership, Business Transformation, Operational Risk, Corporate Culture, Culture Development, Board Development, Board Decks, P&C Insurance, P&L Management, P&L Forecasting, Business Strategy, Business Development, Post-Merger Integration, Management Consulting, United States, Target Operating Models, Business Modeling, Operating Models, Organizational Design, Industrial & Manufacturing, Stakeholder Interviews, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Implementation, M&A Strategy, Corporate Development

Board Chair

2008 - 2012
American Red Cross
  • Provided critical strategic leadership for the board and chapter operations during unprecedented national, regional, and local changes. Advised American Red Cross C-suite on changing priorities.
  • Increased board engagement at 100% in donations and critical activity participation. Updated board governance practices, board development, recruiting, and performance measures.
  • Terminated chapter CEO, led new CEO selection, and changed chapter leadership team. Created a new chapter strategy resulting in nearly 100% fundraising improvement, community service delivery, and KPIs.
  • Developed a women's philanthropic group called Tiffany Circle, inviting high-net-worth women to participate in Chapter fundraising. Established over $1M in new local funds from members. Helped the British Red Cross launch its Tiffany Circle.
Focus areas: Board Governance, Board Reporting, Board Presentations, Board Development, Change Leadership, Change Management, Organizational Readiness, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Customer Service, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Executive Coaching, Senior Executive Management, Executive Presentations, Consulting, Media, Interviews, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), Public Speaking, Public Sector, Process Improvement, Leadership, Leadership Strategy, Team Leadership, Transformational Leadership, Operational Risk, Business Strategy, Business Development, United States, Target Operating Models, Business Modeling, Business Transformation, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Interviews, Implementation, Corporate Development, Program Management

Managing Director

1998 - 2008
Marsh
  • Recommended Marsh's US M&A strategy for middle-market growth.Created a separate company, funding, and strategy to acquire companies in the US. This plan resulted in approximately $2 billion in annualized revenue.
  • Consulted four publically traded global companies in M&A risk and post-merger integration for deals impacting over a $6 billion market capitalization.
  • Acted as the executive leader for the US middle-market insurance services with over $500 million in annual revenue and approximately 1,800 colleagues. Implemented TOM and design thinking practices.
  • Owned profit and loss responsibility and achieved 13% YoY growth. Led a team to simplify operations, processes, and systems in a matrixed organization.
  • Served as the executive leader and negotiator of the US number two brokerage center, delivering brokerage services for 1,000 clients from five branch offices in the Western US.
  • Led 25 insurance brokers and achieved a 48% YoY adjusted growth rate of $360 million with top insurance carriers and over 1,000 specialty global insurance companies.
  • Provided internal coaching, training, and consulting with VP level and higher for five offices regarding pricing services strategies and negotiation tactics. Increased engagement pricing by 3–5% while other markets experienced price decreases.
  • Provided risk evaluations and strategies with the Fortune 1000 and middle-market companies, including the board of directors presentations.
  • Provided executive redirection to national IT projects for the middle-market segment in the US. This included current workflow evaluation, process redesign, and implementation. Corrected previously had significant scope creep and budget overruns.
  • Created national subject matter expert practice for worker's compensation risk. Provided thought leadership, problem-solving, business development resources, and client retention support to over 40 US offices.
Focus areas: Change Leadership, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Consulting, Risk Assessment, Customer Service, Strategy, Price Negotiations, RFP Negotiation, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Executive Coaching, Pricing Strategy, System Implementation, Profit & Loss (P&L), Public Speaking, Change Management, Post-merger Integration, IT Project Management, Process Design, Process Mapping, Board Governance, Board Presentations, Board Decks, Executive Reporting, Executive Presentations, Executive Consulting, Senior Executive Management, Senior Executive Recruiting, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), Corporate Governance, Due Diligence, Leadership, Team Leadership, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Cross-border M&A, Team Management, Team Building, Teams, Global Team Management, Transformational Leadership, Operational Risk, Board Reporting, Corporate Culture, Culture Development, Business Consulting, Business Continuity, Customer Success, Customer Journeys, Sales Strategy, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Business Transformation, Board Development, Decision Support, P&C Insurance, P&L Management, P&L Forecasting, Business Development, Business Strategy, Post-Merger Integration, Management Consulting, United States, Target Operating Models, Business Modeling, Business Process Modeling, Organizational Design, Industrial & Manufacturing, Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Interviews, Stakeholder Engagement, PMI, Implementation, M&A Strategy, Corporate Development, Program Management

Commercial Business Executive | Regional Commercial Lines Manager | National Product Manager

1992 - 1998
USF&G Insurance
  • Designed, developed, and executed US business strategy for acquiring and retaining large commercial accounts. Turned loss leader product into 35% net profit in less than 12 months and created 31% net profitability improvement across all operations.
  • Managed $250 million in commercial business in 24 western states. Created the top-performing region for profitability and service. Simplified processes and procedures for field offices and increased profitability and growth by over 15% in 12 months.
  • Led two US offices simultaneously, including the AZ, NV, UT, and ID territories, and turned the poorest performing office into a top-rated growth, profitability, quality, and service. Delivered 60% growth YoY for AZ and NV.
  • Spearheaded the post-merger integration management when the company was acquired. Led employee selection and integrations for the AZ, NV, UT, and ID offices. Retained all the acquired company's employees for more than three years post-integration.
Focus areas: Change Leadership, Change Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Post-merger Integration, Customer Service, Price Negotiations, Strategy, Board Presentations, Business Consulting, Safety, Process Flows, Work Process Design, Corporate Governance, Executive Consulting, Executive Reporting, Senior Executive Management, Senior Executive Recruiting, Executive Coaching, Executive Presentations, Board Reporting, Business Continuity, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), Team Building, Team Leadership, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Leadership, Project Leadership, Process Design, Process Improvement, Sales, Leadership Strategy, Leadership Training, Transformational Leadership, Operational Risk, Corporate Culture, Culture Development, Customer Journeys, Customer Success, Customer Analysis, Pricing Strategy, Business Transformation, P&L Management, P&C Insurance, Business Development, Business Strategy, Post-Merger Integration, Management Consulting, United States, Target Operating Models, Business Modeling, Business Process Modeling, Organizational Design, Industrial & Manufacturing, Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Mapping, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Interviews, PMI, Implementation, M&A Strategy, Program Management, Compliance Training
1994 - 1995

Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA)

Loyola University of Maryland - Baltimore, MD, USA

1980 - 1984

Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Sciences – Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health

Brigham Young University - Provo, UT, USA

JULY 2022 - PRESENT

Certificate in Private Company Board Governance

Private Directors Association

JUNE 2022 - JUNE 2024

International Mergers & Acquisitions Expert (IM&A)

Institute for Mergers and Acquisitions

SEPTEMBER 2016 - PRESENT

Certified Professional Coach

Center of Coach Certification – ICF accredited

JULY 1991 - AUGUST 2006

Certified Safety Professional (Retired)

Board of Certified Safety Professionals

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