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Carly Vivian LLC · San Francisco Bay Area

The leaders came through the change. The conditions that made them effective may not have.

What gets recorded as a performance problem is usually a mismatch between a leader and conditions that changed underneath them after a major change. It is not development work. Typically, nothing is wrong with the person.

I advise chief executives, chief human resources officers, transformation leads and private equity operating partners on the senior leadership decisions that follow restructuring, transformation, post-merger integration and leadership change.

Carly Vivian
The work

When the organization changes shape
and the leadership has to hold.

I am brought in when an organization is changing shape and the leadership has to hold. A restructuring that must work once it is announced. A transformation where the plan is sound and the organization is not moving. A leadership transition. The integration after a deal.

The work is organizational. What drove results before the change, which of those conditions survived it, and how to rebuild the capabilities disrupted.

Skill is not the variable. The person did not change. The environment changed.

How I work

Carly is one of those rare and very talented people who have incredible technical skills — one of the keenest minds I have ever worked with — and a soul and approach that is warm, real, inviting, and captivating. Carly is tough when she needs to be, and supportive when she needs to be. She was the one who said the things that others would not. I would work with Carly anytime, anywhere.

Mike Grindell
Former Chief People Officer

More on the record, including former roles, education and what clients say, on the Background page.

30 years
Advising senior executives
McKinsey, Coca-Cola, Slalom, Federal Reserve Bank of SF, Cogency Group
Former roles
Sloan Fellow
Stanford GSB

Reach Carly directly.

Every message is read and answered personally.