Karen Cole

About Karen Cole

I am a transformative technology executive and trusted partner, passionate about mentoring high-performing global teams and delivering innovative, user-centric digital products. With deep expertise spanning the full product and project lifecycle from strategy through delivery, I bring a rare blend of product management, software engineering, and IT leadership experience in the CRO clinical trial and pharmaceutical industries, bridging the gap between business strategy and technology execution.I am energized by the intersection of people, data, and innovation where I focus on building insightful analytics solutions, accelerating AI and automation opportunities, and cultivating the business relationships that turn strategy into measurable outcomes. As a hands-on product director and portfolio manager, I partner closely with diverse stakeholders to deliver data-driven technology to the right users at the right time, leading with a product-first mindset and connecting technology investments to real business value.I am proud to have scaled clinical trial analytics platforms to users, saved hours annually through data visualization innovation, and built global delivery teams across 15+ enterprise applications and AI and automation programs, always leading with creativity and accountability to drive lasting impact.

Experience

1. Executive Director Digital Product Management, Data & Technology

   Parexel

   Oct 2023 — Present · Wilmington, NC, US

   I enjoyed leading a high-performing global team of the IT project management and product management functions with a focus on driving project delivery performance and compliance and accelerating the AI opportunity pipeline. I partnered cross-functionally with finance, enterprise PMO, and business partners to align demand, solutions, and delivery. I thoroughly enjoyed being engaged in the AI pipeline and strategy forums.Accomplishments included- Reduced intake triage cycle time (95% faster) of enterprise AI opportunities, processed 25+ requests per month, and enhanced prioritization and ROI evaluation- Improved IT project governance, delivery health, and visibility (3% change requests, 85+% on-time delivery) and increased cross-team collaboration- Built a unified technology demand intake and prioritization process to streamline approval and reporting workflows and gained stronger alignment between business needs, solutions, and financials.

Education

• Meredith College

  Bachelor of Science (BS), Mathematics and Computer Science