Lisa Kennell

I think having vision and having purpose around it is what drives my success. I see the need and the value in what I do. I'm not just working to work - I am working to help people solve problems, to make their life a little easier, and to take advantage of this incredible time we're in with the advent of AI. This is like the best invention since electricity, maybe. This is a game changer. The world will never be how it was before. But I think it's important that people who have guardrails and ethics around things have a prominent seat at the table, because left to our own devices, this could go off the rails really quickly. So governance, ethics, and responsibility are central to how I approach my work and what I believe contributes to my success.

The best career advice I’ve received has come from mentors in marketing, business leadership, and faith-based community leadership who modeled strategic thinking, servant leadership, and resilience. They encouraged me to pursue my entrepreneurial path with confidence, stay grounded in my values, and focus on making a meaningful impact rather than seeking recognition. That guidance continues to shape how I lead and serve others today.

My number one advice would be make sure you have the right circle of influences. You need people who understand, who are further down the road and have different points of view. You need good financial people, you need good tax people, you need to understand what insurance and all of that - you need to take care of your business. You also need people who have built a business similar to or at the level that you want to build it, so that you have people that can mentor you and you can ask questions to, and know that you're not - you don't know everything. So be willing and be humble to learn from other people, listen to other people. But really, it's important who you surround yourself with.

One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is the rapid pace of change in technology and audience behavior. Businesses and marketers are constantly adapting to new platforms, algorithms, and shifting consumer expectations, and it can be difficult to keep up while still maintaining authenticity.

At the same time, I see tremendous opportunity in the growing demand for strategic storytelling, brand transparency, and personalized marketing. Organizations that focus on building trust, communicating with intention, and fostering genuine long-term engagement with their communities are the ones that will stand out and thrive.

I'm really intentional about staying connected to people. I try to get together at least one time a week with someone, a friend, for good conversation, to have lunch or coffee. I just enjoy good conversations, and I think in this digital age right now, that's the thing that everybody's hungering for - that authenticity is still there. My husband and I love to travel, we travel all the time, so that's kind of our little hobby. And I have three little granddaughters, and spending time with them is my very favorite thing. I also have two dogs who are part of the family. Beyond that, my faith background is very important to me. I have a newsletter called Faith, Leadership, and AI that I put out every other Thursday, discussing the tension that exists when you talk to someone of faith about AI versus someone in secular business. I hope to show that we can utilize this technology in ethical ways to achieve more, to do more. It's not cheating, it's not replacing humanity - it is actually helping humans do more so they can be present with other humans more. I would love to be known as someone who is really paying attention to the ethics, the integrity around it, and using it with the right guardrails in place for good.