Karen Watai

Karen J. Watai is the President of KWA Leadership Consulting, specializing in executive coaching, facilitation, and customized training. She works closely with her clients to develop their personal and organizational leadership through the innovative design of results-oriented practices and learning experiences.

In addition to the broader leadership arena, Karen focuses on the specific challenges of personal and organizational leadership in environments characterized by a diversity of cultures, gender, and work styles. She collaborates with Professor David A. Thomas on programs based on his book Breaking Through – the Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America. One of these programs received an International Innovation in Diversity Award from Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Karen has also been a coach for the Global Institute for Leadership Development and Harvard Business School Executive Education, and is currently the Lead Facilitator for the IAB Education Foundation's iDiverse Task Force. The Task Force is focused on increasing diversity and inclusion within the digital media, advertising, and ad tech industries.

Prior to founding KWA Leadership Consulting LLC, Karen was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs where she executed transactions in the Private Finance Department and was a relationship manager in the Capital Markets Department. She also worked in the Management Development and Training Department where she designed, developed and delivered major initiatives including mentoring, diversity, compliance, and business programs. Karen left Goldman Sachs to become a partner in the Exeter Group of Funds, a private mezzanine and equity investment firm.

Karen holds a J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, as well as an A.B. from Harvard University. She has received the Master Certified Coach designation, the highest credential awarded by the International Coach Federation. She is certified in the Hogan Assessment Systems, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the PDI Profilor. KWA Leadership Consulting is certified as a Minority Business Enterprise.

Karen has coached and/or trained individuals from a variety of organizations including:

• Goldman Sachs

• New York Life

• Kaplan Inc.

• Comcast

• Prudential

• HSBC

• BET Networks

• Tory Burch

• DLA Piper

• Dream, formerly known as Harlem RBI

Her clients include:

• Corporations

• Professi