Julie Williamson, PhD
CEO, Managing Partner
Best-Selling Author & Keynote Speaker
Julie Williamson, PhD, is the CEO and a Managing Partner of Karrikins Group, a global consulting firm that helps executive teams achieve alignment, lead transformation, and get aligned. A strategist, speaker, and bestselling author, Julie is recognized as a leading voice on how aligned leadership unlocks enterprise-wide progress.
She works with leadership teams around the world to turn strategy into impact by closing the gap between agreement and alignment. Her work blends business acumen, social science, and practical facilitation to help leaders shift how they lead together in pursuit of their most ambitious goals.
Julie is the author of the best-selling book Make HOW Matter, and a frequent contributor to Forbes Business Council and CEO Magazine, where she brings a clear, human, and pragmatic perspective to the challenges senior teams face today.
Make HOW Matter
In her latest book, Make HOW Matter, Julie Williamson, PhD, explores the powerful role of alignment in building teams that successfully deliver on their most ambitious goals and aspirational visions.
The Failure Gap Podcast
Even when leaders agree on what matters most, execution often falls short. In The Failure Gap, Julie sits down with leaders across industries to explore why alignment is so hard—and how to close the distance between intention and impact.
Background and Experience
Over her career, Julie has partnered with many of the world’s most influential organizations to design and deliver strategy, transformation, and integration efforts powered by aligned leadership. She has also worked closely with fast-growing companies and local organizations across sectors, helping them scale their impact through stronger ways of working together.
Julie’s expertise is shaped by her fascination with how executive teams form, un-form, and ultimately “click.” Her work draws on a deep understanding of behavioral science, organizational dynamics, and technology, enabling her to help leaders push past entrenched patterns, navigate trade-offs, and make the invisible drivers of team performance visible.
In addition to her consulting work, Julie has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in strategy, organizational behavior, and change, bridging theory and real-world practice. She is a podcast host and lifelong learner who believes that leadership is becoming ever more human, even as the world becomes more digital. More than anything, Julie loves the work she does and the leaders she gets to do it with.
Check out Julie’s Podcast, The Failure Gap
Learn more about Julie’s Book, “Make HOW Matter”
- PhD in Organizational Communication from University of Colorado at Boulder
- MBA in Finance and Marketing from University of Denver
- BA in Information Systems and English from James Madison University
- Founding Member of the International Business Circle
- Adjunct Professor at University of Colorado Denver Business School
- Vice President at The North Highland Company
- Senior Principal at CGI-AMS
- Stevie Awards Silver Award Recipient: Female Executive of the Year – Business Services – 10 employees or less
- Recognized as a Fulbright Specialist: Supporting global leadership challenges
Noteworthy Contributions
Julie’s thought leadership has been featured in top media outlets and on prominent event stages.
Media & Publications
- Forbes Business Council Member and contributor
- CEO Magazine contributor
- Featured by News10, FOX 2 News, Northeast News Channel, and FOX 59
- Interviewed by Doug Noll of Authority Magazine
Speaker Bureaus
Keynote Speaking Experience
Julie’s keynotes focus on bringing energy, new thinking, and good humor to audiences while inspiring them to think about making HOW matter in their own worlds.
Through rich story telling, hands on experiences, and audience interaction, Julie brings the concept of moving from agreement to alignment alive for the audience. They walk away with practical tools and resources to share with their own teams and a fresh view on how they show up as leaders to deliver on enterprise success.
