Karen Kelly – Hospitality Leadership & Business Consultant | Emotional Intelligence Specialist

Karen Kelly works at the intersection of business, people and performance, with a particular focus on the hospitality industry.

She has an unusual ability to see what is really happening inside a business.

She asks questions. She notices things. She listens to what people say — and then looks at what is actually happening.

With more than 32 years as an entrepreneur and business owner, Karen brings strong commercial understanding to her work. She has founded and co-founded businesses, built and managed companies and understands that leadership development only has real value when it translates into better decisions, stronger performance and better business results.

Her hospitality experience spans hotels, hotel groups, restaurants and wine estates, giving her a practical understanding of the pace, pressure and people challenges of an industry where the quality of leadership can have an immediate impact on the operation and the bottom line.

Karen is also an experienced entrepreneur in the recruitment industry. She founded and built a highly successful recruitment agency that became a preferred supplier to a number of blue-chip companies. That experience gave her a strong understanding of talent, people and the importance of putting the right person in the right environment. Today, she recruits selectively for hospitality groups where leadership and talent are critical to the success of the organisation.

Her approach is direct, practical and human.

She cares about people, but understands that businesses need to make money.

She understands that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being able to read the room, ask the right questions, recognise what isn’t working and have the courage to do something about it.

This is where Karen believes Emotional Intelligence becomes commercially valuable.

Not as a soft skill.

As a leadership capability.

Her work is grounded in the belief that the people side of a business and the commercial side of a business cannot be separated.

She will tell you what she sees.  Then she will help you work out what to do about it.