ABOUT KAILEI
Welcome! My name is Kailei (pronounced ky-lee) Carr and I am a champion for women in leadership and the CEO of The Asbury Group where I am an executive coach, advisor and confidant to women leaders. Part Oprah, part Olivia Pope and part Tony Robbins, I help high-powered women show up in a way that is authentic to who they are, maximizes their potential and is fully grounded in their personal power.
Though I work with women and men from all over the world, most of my work is with women of color, with the majority of my clients being Black American women.
How do I do that?
* I “hold space” for leaders to help them through some of the toughest decisions, give them a space to be vulnerable, help them access their purpose and elevate their profile through their image, presence and personal brands.
* I lead workshops and deliver keynote speeches at companies, conferences and professional organizations to help leaders become their You can see some of my most popular workshops here.
* I host a podcast called Beyond the Business Suit where I help women thrive and become their best selves at work and beyond.
* I lead leadership development programs and experiences like the Beyond Leadership Academy, Beyond Community and Emerge Academy and host a women's leadership conference for women of color called the Beyond the Business Suit Retreat.
What has my career path been?
The full story:
I spent over 15 years in corporate America and have worked in just about every industry (manufacturing, media and entertainment, tech, financial services, government and more) and many different functions as well. I started my career in human resources, where I somehow became the #2 person in a department when I was in my early 20s. I then went into management consulting (where I worked with many of those industries I listed) and, after several years on the road, I decided that I wanted to get an MBA in order to do a career change to marketing. I headed to the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University where I was able to learn from the top marketing minds and, after graduating, went into marketing at a media company. For the next several years I continued to climb the corporate ladder while leading programs and departments in the technology and media spaces. During that time I also fed some of my personal passions related to content development, media and style. I started several blogs, co-founded an online magazine called The Vyne, and also wrote for several online publications including The Dallas Morning News, The New Agenda and iMedia Connection.
After so many years in corporate America and some life events too, I decided I wanted to go out on my own. I realized that there were many things that helped and hindered women as they advanced in their career. Many of these things were never taught in a classroom or shared in a performance review. And for whatever reason, many of these were things I learned over the years including the importance of image/appearance, reputation, relationships, culture fit, executive presence, etc. So I decided to devote my work to helping women learn some of these things so that they can achieve their professional goals. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if people would “bite” but after I launched my company it didn’t take long for me to realize that I made the right move.
When I first started my practice, I was doing a lot of personal branding and image consulting to executive women. That evolved to executive presence coaching, which evolved to overall leadership development. But what I found was that I could give someone the right clothes, image, leadership tools, etc and if they were not centered, healed and whole, there was only so far I could take them.
Today, my approach is very much an inside-out approach to leadership. I believe you must be centered and with lifted energy before you can have the capacity to thrive in life or leadership. And given my diverse background, I am able to bring allll of myself to my work — from being a wife, mother, leader, executive presence coach, personal branding consultant, personal development junkie, spiritual being and intuitive — anything could show up in my sessions. I've had the pleasure of being a trusted advisor to many leaders around the globe and also have been honored to work with companies including Accenture, MARS Inc, Prudential, Mercedes-Benz, Nielsen, Comcast, Yum Brands, NBC Universal and more!
How can you work with me?
I would love to come to your organization and speak, lead a workshop or develop your leaders. You can find my list of workshops I do often here or reach out to me with your needs. Though I am not currently taking executive coaching clients, if you have a need, please let me know and if I cannot serve you I'm sure I can connect you with a great coach in my network who can.
In the meantime, please subscribe to the Beyond the Business Suit Podcast where I share many of my tools and tips and interview some amazing people.
If you are looking at ways to elevate personally and professionally, I invite you to check out the Beyond Community which opens membership on a quarterly basis.
You can also find me speaking at conferences and events
I have spoken at numerous conferences and events ranging from 50 people – 12,000+ people. Whether I am delivering a keynote speech, speaking on a panel, or emceeing an event, I love engaging with live audiences. And, as my previous clients can tell you, I always work with professionalism and enthusiasm.
And I love expanding my reach through my podcast.
In 2014 I launched my podcast, Beyond the Business Suit, where I share the information and inspiration you need to become your best self at work and beyond. The episodes center around leadership, career elevation and personal development. In some of the episodes I am interviewing industry experts, entrepreneurs, authors and leaders, and in other episodes I’m sharing tips and advice on topics including leadership, presence, personal branding, mindfulness and other personal and professional-related topics.
OFFICIAL BIO
A champion for women in leadership, Kailei Carr is the CEO of The Asbury Group, an organization specializing in developing leaders from the inside out. Her signature approach to leadership presence — which is grounded in one's personal power — has helped high potential leaders around the globe thrive and advance to the most senior ranks.
Kailei holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Emory University. When she’s not coaching clients or speaking at conferences and corporations, Kailei can be found hosting her podcast, Beyond the Business Suit, which has over 150 episodes and has been downloaded in 100 countries.
Kailei’s advice to executive and executive-bound women has been featured in numerous media outlets including Forbes, Fortune and The Oprah Winfrey Network. She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband, Justin, and their daughter, Adrienne.
If you’re interested in hiring Kailei to for speaking engagements, workshops or one-on-one advising, please email her here.
ABOUT BEYOND THE BUSINESS SUIT
Beyond the Business Suit, hosted by Kailei Carr, is a podcast that gives women the tools they need to succeed in life and beyond. Created in an effort to shed light on many of the things that can help or hinder women during their career journey, Beyond the Business Suit aims to equip women with the tools they need to reach their highest potential. Some episodes include interviews with authors, industry experts, successful women or career coaches. Other episodes feature quick tips from Kailei related to executive presence, personal branding, image, productivity, leadership, career and more.
You can listen to Beyond the Business Suit episodes now on iTunes, Stitcher or by going to the Beyond the Business Suit page!
Do you want to take the lead in your career?
Sign up to receive my insights on how you can show up as your best self at work and beyond:
