A 25-year partner for senior leaders, teams with aggressive goals, and PE portcos
Former Center for Creative Leadership, Forum, PwC, Oracle, Dartmouth Health, Kaiser, Accenture
Organizational and clinical psychologist, creator of 6-month Transition Acceleration Coaching (TACⓇ), executive and senior team coach, Univ of Denver faculty, AI founder
2025 Client Endorsement
"Simply put, Kelly’s the real deal. I’ve been through several executive coaches over the course of my career, and all paled in comparison. Kelly has the right combination of her own executive experience, a pragmatic evaluation framework that blends qualitative and quantitative, and is a keen observer to boot. You’re certain to leave a better executive with actionable insights. I was so impressed by her approach that I’m planning to leverage her services for my own senior leadership teams." -- Joe Diamond, Axonius
Welcome. I'm glad you're here.
Senior leaders don't hire me because they want a coach. They hire me because something important is on the line — a new role, a broken team, an aggressive goal, a high-stakes hire — and they need results, not reflection exercises.
After 30 years working exclusively at the senior level — coaching nearly 3,000 executives, building and repairing 75+ teams, and training leadership cohorts through CCL, Forum Corporation, Oracle Consulting, and others — the work is faster and sharper because of one thing most business coaches don't bring: a psychology doctorate applied entirely inside organizations.
That means pattern recognition that goes beyond the surface. Leaders understand not just what to do differently, but why they've been doing it the other way — and that's what makes change stick at the top.
The result is accelerated performance. In new roles. In teams that need to move faster. In transitions where the margin for a slow start is zero.
The clients who call:
-
PE firms assessing final-round CEO and SVP candidates — and protecting their investment with a structured onboarding plan from day one.
-
Financial services organizations navigating leadership transitions at speed.
-
Senior leaders and their teams across financial services, manufacturing, energy, technology, and healthcare — industries where the cost of a slow or failed transition isn't abstract.
Transition Acceleration Coaching (TAC) is the flagship engagement — a high-intensity, structured program for leaders in the first 180 days of a high-scope role, and for the teams they inherit or build.
Selected K2 Client List
.png)
K2 Services
%20Plan%20(3).jpg)
%20Plan%20(2).jpg)
%20Plan.jpg)
TACⓇ, Executive Coaching and Assessment
Organizational Development and Leadership Training
Podcast Guest
Speaking
Executive development and career coaching services with a focus on mid- and senior level leaders seeking an experienced and psychologically-grounded approach to growth. Sliding scale for early career professionals.
Transition Acceleration Coaching (TAC®)—6-month framework to accelerate success for newly promoted and post-acquisition leaders
CEO and C-suite psychological assessment for industry and private equity clients
Hogan Suite certified for senior hiring, development, and succession decisions
Expert in high-stakes transitions, executive readiness, and organizational fit
Pragmatic extension of your team to build out and modernize your talent and org development strategy in innovative ways.
Training for your leaders, embedding your own models or using a blended co-design approach tailored to your org's culture and values.
Speaking services on effective management of Gen Z workers, building the reputation you want at work, career success tactics, innovative proactive performance management, mature team leadership, dealing with the narcissistic leader or peer, and conversational AI in practice.
In The News
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Dr. Kelly Kinnebrew
Biography
.png)
.png)
Dr. Kelly Kinnebrew is an organizational and clinical psychologist with 30 years of experience coaching senior leaders through high-stakes transitions.
She is the founder of Minerva, an AI platform designed to help the most important workplace conversations go well, and serves as a leadership professor in the University of Denver’s Transportation and Supply Chain Executive Master's Program.
Kelly has consulted across industries including financial services, tech, healthcare, pharma, medical devices, applied research, insurance, government, retail, global food service, and precision manufacturing.
​
She is a sought-after speaker and podcast guest, a published expert most recently featured in Forbes, and a grant awardee through the U.S. National Science Foundation’s tech innovation program. She is currently co-authoring a book on how to lead yourself out of a mental health crash.
Kelly holds a PhD in clinical and organizational psychology from the University of Denver, a master’s in psychology from Wright State University, and a BA in business administration from the University of Portland.
​
Her past roles span consulting, operations, and training with the Center for Creative Leadership, Oracle Consulting, Forum, PwC, KPMG, Dartmouth Health, Right Management, and Accenture.
​
She is the creator of the Transition Acceleration Coaching (TAC®) program—a 6-month framework that helps newly promoted and post-acquisition leaders align quickly, gain traction, and deliver results.
​
Kelly has deep expertise in cross-border leadership, managing Gen Z, and guiding mid-stage startups through talent and product strategy decisions.
Key Partnerships and Ongoing Clients
