Ketchum Promotes Partner Amanda Kowal Kenyon to New Global Role of Chief Employee Experience Officer
Amanda Kowal Kenyon, partner and chief organizational effectiveness officer for leading global communications consultancy Ketchum, takes on the newly created role of chief employee experience officer. With this elevated role, Kowal Kenyon brings her deep expertise in management consulting and organizational psychology to the firm’s global executive leadership team, reporting to president and CEO Mike Doyle.
In this new role, Kowal Kenyon will partner with Ketchum’s regional and local HR leaders to carry out the firm’s global talent strategy and vision. As leader of the global talent function, she will focus on driving consistency in roles and responsibilities, career pathing, performance evaluation, and rewards and recognition. She will partner with Ketchum’s DE&I champions and leaders to continue advancing the firm’s intentional work on its path toward greater inclusion. Additionally, Kowal Kenyon will advise on recruitment strategies in partnership with talent acquisition leaders and Ketchum’s three regional presidents, and she will continue to oversee the firm’s global organizational effectiveness and learning and development functions.
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“Amanda has been a pivotal part of the Ketchum community for nearly 25 years, and this elevation reflects the tremendous value and energy she brings to the firm every day,” said Doyle. “Amanda is a true champion and advocate for our people, and she’s been an important counselor to me and my executive team for many years. I am thrilled to introduce this new role that’s focused entirely on the employee experience at Ketchum – our people will benefit tremendously from Amanda’s energy and expertise in this critical position.”
Kowal Kenyon was named Ketchum’s first chief organizational effectiveness officer in 2016. In that time, she’s led the firm’s executive functions focused on learning and development and organizational effectiveness. Working with the firm’s executive leadership, Kowal Kenyon and her team have facilitated global strategy execution and helped lead Ketchum through periods of organizational growth and change by employing organizational psychology and change management philosophies, processes and tools. She and her team are responsible for developing and implementing global talent development programs including succession planning, training and employee engagement, as well as post-acquisition integration for newly owned businesses and priority organizational effectiveness initiatives. A certified executive coach, Kowal Kenyon delivers leadership development services for Ketchum’s clients as well as the firm’s internal executives and rising leaders.
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Prior to taking on her internal leadership role within Ketchum, Kowal Kenyon served as SVP and director at Ketchum’s change management unit Stromberg Consulting, which became Ketchum Change in 2010 and merged with sister agency Daggerwing Group in 2016. In her 13 years in that role, she provided management consulting services for Fortune 500 clients focused on team and operational effectiveness, process efficiency, and salesforce training and communication.
“This role is a perfect fit for Amanda and her skill sets, but more importantly, the appointment perfectly reflects the unique makeup of our firm,” Doyle added. “Her education in organizational psychology and deep practical experience in management consulting are a perfect representation of our consultancy model in action.”
Kowal Kenyon said, “Our business is built on the principles of the service profit chain – if we deliver an incredible employee experience where our people feel valued, respected, included and engaged, they will deliver top-notch client service which will lead to strong, sustained business performance. My mission is to ensure that every member of the Ketchum community feels supported by their teams and inspired by their work and ultimately that each one of them is better for being here.”
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