Kathi Kulesza

About Kathi Kulesza

High-performing women rarely struggle with capability.The challenge is making sure their impact is clearly seen, understood, and rewarded.After more than three decades in hospitality leadership, rising from management trainee to executive roles overseeing complex, high-pressure operations, I learned something important:Results alone do not guarantee recognition, opportunity, or compensation.Promotions, raises, and leadership opportunities are rarely decided during annual reviews. They are shaped long before that through visibility, influence, and clearly articulated value. Today, I help high-performing women close that gap.As a leadership strategist, executive coach, and keynote speaker, I work with leaders and organizations to strengthen the connection between performance, visibility, and reward.Many of the women I work with are delivering strong results but have never been taught how to translate those results into influence, opportunity, and compensation discussions. That’s the work I focus on now: helping experienced leaders articulate their value clearly and advocate for it strategically. My work focuses on three critical shifts:• Strategic Self-Advocacy – Communicating impact without over-explaining or apologizing• Leadership Visibility – Ensuring contributions are seen in the rooms where decisions are made• Value Translation – Connecting day-to-day leadership outcomes to measurable business impactThis perspective comes from real operational leadership. Before launching my practice, I spent decades leading teams, navigating corporate structures, and delivering results in environments where performance and accountability were non-negotiable. Today I bring that experience to:• Keynotes and leadership programs for organizations that want stronger leadership pipelines• Coaching and development programs for high-performing women ready to translate their impact into greater opportunity and pay• Practical frameworks and tools leaders can apply immediately in real workplace conversationsBecause excellence alone should not determine who advances.Clarity, visibility, and strategic communication matter too.If this perspective resonates with you, you may want to join one of my live sessions on Confidence Was Never the Lever, where I walk through practical strategies for translating leadership impact into recognition, opportunity, and pay.I also partner with organizations that want to strengthen leadership visibility and self-advocacy within their leadership pipeline. k••••@kathispeaks.com

Experience

1. Leadership Strategist Executive Coach Keynote Speaker

   Kulesza Training & Consulting Llc

   Jun 2016 — Present

   After more than three decades in executive leadership roles, I saw a pattern repeat itself across industries: strong performance alone does not always translate into recognition, advancement, or compensation.Today my work focuses on helping high-performing leaders — particularly women — close that gap.Through keynote presentations, leadership programs, and executive coaching, I help organizations and experienced professionals strengthen three critical capabilities:• Strategic self-advocacy• Leadership visibility• Value translation — connecting day-to-day leadership work to measurable business impactMy background includes more than 30 years in hospitality leadership, rising from management trainee to executive roles responsible for high-performing teams, operational strategy, and financial performance.Today I bring that real-world leadership experience to organizations that want to develop stronger leaders and to professionals who want their impact to translate into recognition, opportunity, and pay.

Education

• University of Nevada-Las Vegas

  BS, Hotel Administration

  1980 — 1985

Skills

• Marketing Strategy
• Hospitality
• Yield Management
• Budgets
• Experienced Speaker
• Wellness Coaching
• Customer Service
• Life Coaching
• P&L
• Event Management
• Transformational Life Coaching
• Meeting Planning
• Fitness Training
• Motivational Speaking
• Hotels
• Pre-Opening
• Tourism
• Marketing Operations
• Strategic Planning
• Sales
• Fitness Industry
• Hospitality Management
• Event Planning
• Profit/Loss Accountability
• Loyalty Marketing
• Database Marketing
• Marketing
• Revenue Analysis
• Personal Training
• Training
• Customer Satisfaction
• Email Marketing
• Lifestyle Coaching
• Operations Management
• Hospitality Industry
• Front Office
• Hotel Management
• Casino
• Team Building
• Management