Hi!
I'm Karen.
Chief of Staff | Executive Operations Partner to Founders & C-Suite Leaders
For over 20 years, I've been the person leaders call before they call anyone else. I turn priorities into execution, sharpen operations, and keep complex, fast-moving organizations running with the judgment and discretion that let leaders focus on the work only they can do. I don't just keep the trains on time. I help decide which trains to run.
Phone: 646-844-6802
Email: karenk.bannister@gmail.com
A strategic right hand to founders and C-suite leaders
For over 20 years.
Years of C-suite suppport
20+
Industries served
5+
Org Scale Managed
$B+
I PARTNER with founders and C-suite leaders to DRIVE their priorities, SHARPEN their operations, and keep their world MOVING, no matter how fast it goes.
The Person
Behind the Title
I've spent my career in the room where the pressure is highest and the stakes don't wait, alongside founders, C-suite executives, and senior leadership teams navigating growth, change, and complexity at scale. My path has taken me through medtech, management consulting, luxury automotive, real estate, and construction, supporting publicly traded global companies, privately held family enterprises, and independent founders alike.
What hasn't changed across any of it is what's asked of me: be the person who can be trusted completely. I'm known for anticipating what's needed before it's voiced, for handling sensitive information and high-stakes moments without flinching, and for turning chaotic, high-demand environments into operations that simply run. I don't just manage logistics. I shape decisions, own initiatives end to end, manage relationships at every level, and operate as a true extension of leadership.
I hold a BS in Business Administration, Summa Cum Laude, from Southern New Hampshire University, and an AI Proficiency Certification from Superhuman AI Academy. I'm also the author of Close the Gap: 7 Transformational Steps to Move You from Today to Tomorrow, a leadership guide built on the same principles that guide how I show up for the people I support.
My
Executive
Partnership Experience
Over the past two decades, I've partnered with founders, presidents, and C-suite leaders across a wide range of high-stakes, high-growth environments. My experience spans:
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Global sales performance and leadership coaching organizations, serving as strategic right hand to the Founding Partner and the President through rapid international growth.
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Publicly traded medical technology leaders, supporting Chief Medical Officers, Presidents of Worldwide Sales, and VPs of Business Development through M&A due diligence, board interactions, and investor-facing engagements.
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Multi-division global medtech operations, leading administrative and facilities teams of nine through a $12.2B acquisition with zero disruption to executive continuity.
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Independent founders and small business leadership teams, delivering executive operations advisory, ghostwriting, and executive presence strategy.
Across all of these environments, my work has included strategic decision support, cross-functional initiative leadership, board and investor communications, real estate and portfolio oversight, complex multi-time-zone travel, and the operational judgment that only comes from doing this at the highest level for a long time.
Areas of
Expertise
Strategic Partnership & Decision Support
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Serve as advisor and sounding board to two senior executives, challenging assumptions and surfacing viewpoints leadership would otherwise miss.
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Make client-program and customer-service decisions on the executives' behalf and resolve escalations directly.
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Built AI-driven Executive Briefs for client discovery meetings, raising the average close rate from 30% to 50%.
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Trusted to weigh in on hiring, retention, and release decisions, and to challenge plans in engineering and leadership reviews.
Board, Investor & Executive Communications
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Prepared board and investor-facing presentations, briefing materials, and talking points for strategic leadership meetings.
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Coordinated executive operations across M&A due diligence, strategic planning, and organizational priorities.
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Ghost-write and edit executive correspondence and published thought leadership.
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Partnered cross-functionally with HR and executive leadership on succession planning and leadership continuity.
Operations, P&L & Portfolio Ownership
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Own a $5.5M real estate portfolio as operational lead, directing revenue optimization, vendor contracts, booking strategy, and P&L reporting.
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Manage budgets up to $10M across business and facilities operations.
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Reclaimed 10+ hours per week for each executive and cut operational and personal expenditures by 20% through process redesign and spending controls.
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Build the systems, cadences, and workflows that take recurring friction off leadership's plate.
Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management
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Led and developed a nine-member administrative and facilities team, setting performance standards and workflow systems.
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Served as senior administrative leader for a 140,000 sq ft facility supporting up to 450 staff across three divisions.
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Managed a $2M Customer Experience Center and a cross-departmental team of ten, delivering VIP experiences for global delegations.
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Maintain high-trust relationships with stakeholders at every level across multi-time-zone, multi-cultural environments.
Tools
My
I use AI as a quiet, efficient partner in how I work, not a replacement for judgment but an accelerant for it. I rely on tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Notion AI for drafting and refining executive communications, Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai for meeting capture and follow-through, and Gamma for fast, polished presentations. Most notably, I've built AI-driven Executive Briefs that measurably improved sales outcomes. AI helps me move faster on the repeatable work so I can stay focused on what can't be automated: judgment, discretion, and the relationships that make a leader's world run.
AI & Productivity
Platforms & Communication
CRM & Project Management
What Working With Me
Looks Like
Every executive partnership has a shape to it. Here's what mine looks like. In the first ninety days, I move from learning your world to running it with intention. This isn't a generic onboarding arc. It's how I actually work, refined over 20 years of stepping into high-stakes environments and getting up to speed without slowing anyone down.
First 30 Days
Learn, Listen, Map
31–60 Days
Build the Operating System
61–90 Days
Drive & Represent
I focus on understanding the business, the executive's priorities and decision-making, the stakeholder map, and where the real friction and risk sit. I build early wins while forming a clear picture of what's urgent versus what's strategic.
This phase is about structure: meeting cadences, decision and communication workflows, reporting and KPIs, and the systems that take recurring work off the executive's plate.
By month three, I'm operating as a true extension of leadership: owning initiatives end to end, managing stakeholders directly, representing the executive in the room, and resolving issues before they ever reach the desk.
Where
I've done this work
Southwestern Consulting — Executive Assistant · 2021–Present
Global sales performance and leadership coaching firm, part of the Southwestern Family of Companies (est. 1855, $106M+ combined revenue).
Independent Consultant — Executive Operations, Communications & Presence · 2019–2021
Independent advisory practice serving executives, founders, and leadership teams across real estate, medtech, financial services, and professional services.
Masimo — Executive Assistant · 2017–2019
Publicly traded global medical technology leader (~$2B revenue, 50+ countries).
CareFusion / BD — Manager, Administrative Support · 2008–2017
Global medtech company acquired by Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) in 2015 ($12B+ Fortune 500).
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BS, Business Administration — Southern New Hampshire University, Summa Cum Laude (2019)
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AI Proficiency Certification — Superhuman AI Academy (2026)
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Continuing professional development through ASAP, IAAP, AICI, AMA, and PRSA (2020–present)
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Former Global VP of Business Development — Association of Image Consultants International (AICI)
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Former Branch Director — International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)
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Former VP of Publications — Junior League of Nashville
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Member — ASAP, AMA, NSLS, Phi Theta Kappa
Close the Gap: 7 Transformational Steps to Move You from Today to Tomorrow
A leadership and professional development guide built on two decades of working alongside high-performing executives — and observing what separates those who grow from those who stay stuck. A reflection of how I approach every role I step into.
Beyond
the Role
I believe the people you hire should feel knowable before day one. Here's a little more about how I think and work: