Fee range: $5 - $10,000*
Travels From: Columbus, OH

Karen Hough

Ever get stuck? Need new, better ways to do business? Improvisation is a key to innovation, team communications, change and growth. Get unstuck!

Karen Hough is the Founder & CEO of ImprovEdge, a consultancy that teaches business skills and uses improvisational exercises to make client experiences fun, interactive and meaningful. Karen is also an engaging and gifted speaker-conducting energizing breakout sessions, memorable workshops, riveting keynotes, and effective strategic planning sessions.

The high-energy presentations that Karen deliver are as interactive as you want them to be. She never delivers a "canned" speech, and is happy to introduce inprov into the format of any program-with audiences that are small and intimate to groups of hundreds. The result of her powerful, thought provoking programs are empowered individuals, more effective teams, and stronger organizations.

For a number of years, Karen worked as a senior sales executive in the network engineering industry in New York and Chicago. She originated and expanded the sales and management efforts of three separate technology start-ups, launched partner programs and assisted in East Coast and National expansions. Karen has been a professional improviser and actor for 20 years. Her improvisational training and performance credits include the Second City of Chicago, Metraform/Annoyance Theatre, the Organic Theatre and the Purple Crayon of Yale. Karen is the former International Spokesperson for Stratacom, a spokesperson for Tivoli and Infiniti. Her TV and radio credits include CBS, Miller, Earthshare, Eli Lilly and S.C. Johnson.

An accomplished businesswoman, Karen has received the 2009 Athena Powerlink Award sponsored by NAWBO and National City Bank, and was honored as a Deloitte & Touche Wise Woman, for its inaugural breakfast event. She is a member of AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Actors), NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners), NSA (National Speakers Association), ASTD (American Society of Training and Development), eWomenNetwork, MPI (Meeting Planners International) and WELD (Women for Economic and Leadership Development). She is a graduate of Yale University and La Sorbonne, Paris IV.

Karen covers a variety of topics such as diversity, leadership, cultural change, executive growth, communication, negotiation, and business development. Her signature program include:

• From Promising Managers to Tomorrow's Leaders
• Building Better Relationships: It's All about Communication & Interaction
• Oops to Eureka! Turning Mistakes into Great Discoveries
• Leverage Your People Power: Building Team Equity
• Managing Tough Conversations