About Us - Executive Biographies

KARYL K. INNIS
Chief Executive Officer
Author, Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach

Karyl Innis has spent years working with business executives to break through the “barriers” that prevent them from succeeding to the highest corporate levels. Karyl knows why successful people succeed in the business environment and, when they fail, how to help them. In many corporate circles, she has become known as the secret weapon for serious career growth. The Wall Street Journal hails her job search advice as “the best you’ve ever heard.”

Karyl is a pioneer in program development for the human side of organizational downsizing and career advancement. She is nationally-known as an expert in executive career success strategies, senior level outplacement, corporate career management, leadership development, team effectiveness, communication strategies, personal branding, talent selection, management and growth. A dynamic and sought after speaker, Karyl regularly addresses business and professional organizations. She has developed programs, presentations and, ultimately, founded The Innis Company to convey these career secrets and success models to her clients.

In addition to being a recognized business leader, Karyl has published numerous journal articles, newsletters and books, including, In Search of a Job, Lessons from 10,000 Executives and It Isn’t Easy: The Manager’s Guide to Employee Separations. She has served on the Board of Directors for 3 corporations, and 3 global Leadership Foundations. She holds positions on numerous International Boards, committees and foundations, and was an elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business. Karyl has a Bachelors and a Masters degree from Kansas State University.

Karyl is a happy traveler and often mixes travel, business engagements, customers and adventure. After her presentation to the All China Women's Federation she shopped for pearls in China.  While in South Africa she shared the podium with Nelson Mandela, and has gone to cooking school with customers in Marrakech. Karyl manages an active global client base.

Click here to contact Karyl Innis.

JOHN ALSTON
President
Executive Coach, Senior Executive Advisor

Senior business leaders rely on John as a seasoned, trusted advisor and coach on career transition and leadership development matters.

His work with hundreds of senior leaders has involved virtually every industry from durable goods manufacturing to high technology to telecommunications, banking, financial services, insurance, real estate, defense, healthcare, electric utilities, oil and gas, and venture capital. Senior leaders in finance, information technology, marketing, general management, human resources, operations, literally every “C” suite function, have benefited from their work with John. His coaching expertise is in demand internationally, having worked with executives from Singapore to France to Spain to Germany to England to Mexico. In addition, John is frequently engaged at the board/director level on highly sensitive executive transition or development matters. He has the experience, skill and presence to engage at the most senior level.

This from a senior leader who worked with John on his transition:

“Coming to understand my brand and my brand promise as a mechanism for the generation of wealth is what I learned from John. Being 45 years old, with two degrees, and 20 years of Fortune 50 experience, you’d think that would be something that I would have understood years ago, but, I was too focused on “stuff” to really see my value proposition. Invaluable counsel”. CFO, world-wide construction/project management company.

From a CEO who retained John to counsel him and his board on succession issues:

“John’s straight from the shoulder style and literally global knowledge regarding the development of successful leaders, helped me immensely with my non-executive board members. His interactions with and “leading” the board to innovative thinking regarding executive succession and development have been extremely helpful.”

John gained his corporate experience at Emerson Electric and Rockwell International, where he held senior executive positions in labor relations in the companies’ Commercial Electronics and Defense Electronics Sectors.

He is an avid golfer, and Porsche enthusiast/collector.

He is a graduate of the University of Houston, and has done graduate study there and at Vanderbilt University.

Click here to contact John Alston.