Karen May

With more than 20 years of professional experience as an organizational psychologist and leadership coach, Karen joined Google in 2010 to head up the company’s learning, talent and career development programs. Karen oversees a global team that supports more than 34,000 Googlers in more than 70 offices in over 40 countries. The team implements a broad range of developmental offerings, including executive coaching, new hire onboarding, leadership development and peer-to-peer instruction for Googlers of all levels, regions and tenure.

Karen works to ensure that much of Google’s learning curriculum is built in the spirit of our innovative products, utilizing our technology and putting the user first. Under her leadership, many courses are collaborative, interactive and integrated with social media and gaming components. Googlers can often design the training pace that works best for them–whether it be mobile phone mini-quizzes for those who are on the go, or sequential online modules for linear learners.

Prior to Google, Karen was twice at the helm of management consulting firms she helped found and build. As the president and owner of RedFish Consulting and principal and co-founder of Terranova Consulting Group, Karen consulted for Fortune 100 companies, including Google for several years. Her services across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors spanned strategic planning, executive coaching, leadership development, conflict resolution and change management.

She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology at U.C. Berkeley and received her B.A. in psychology from Mills College. Karen is also an active community leader; she is currently a member of the Mills College Board of Trustees, has served as the president of the Mills College Alumnae Association, and as president of the Oakland (CA) Police Foundation Board of Directors.

Karen regularly can be found hiking the hills of Marin County with her husband and two dogs.