Our approach to this work is all around being human. We get to know our clients, help them get to know their people, and hope they like getting to know us, too. So in the spirit of getting personal, here’s a little bit about us...
agile
Many companies speak about agility, but we live and breathe it every day. We work remotely, collaborate virtually, can connect instantly, iterate quickly, speak humanly and partner authentically. We walk the talk and we can coach you and your team to work in this way, too.
self-awarE
The kids today call it being “woke;” we call it being self-aware, present and focused. We know our triggers, take responsibility for our actions, facilitate crucial conversations, practice self-care, set boundaries and live each day with a growth mindset.
passionate
We truly nerd out about this work, and our passion, energy and drive are palpable upon meeting us. We don’t shy away from challenges and we’re always exploring new areas, pushing beyond comfort zones, and asking potent questions to surface new pathways.
INSPIRED
Once you’ve witnessed how amazing it is when a person realizes their capability to make change happen, you want to see it over and over again. That’s why we’re here. This approach to work and to life makes an impact we never grow tired of witnessing.
Meet the Team
Katie JacksoN
Founder and Principal
Professional background
Katie Jackson is a strategist, facilitator and executive coach with over twelve years of experience designing high-performing organizations around the world. Katie has a B.S. in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University and a M.S. in Organization Development from Pepperdine University. She received her Executive Coach Certification from the Hudson Institute of Coaching.
Before founding SIGNE, Katie spent her career in management consulting, working at Lippincott, EY and IBM. She has advised clients such as Box, Rakuten Marketing, Google, PwC, Genentech, Marsh & McLennan, Oliver Wyman, Mercer, Levi Strauss & Co., Morgan Stanley, Merck, Ingersoll-Rand, Celanese, Schneider Electric, Ultragenyx, Aimmune and Saint-Gobain.
...and beyond
Outside of the office, you’ll find Katie on a weekend hike in Muir Woods, obsessing over her monthly horoscope, having a random living room dance party, or nerding out on Brene Brown and Bryon Katie.
Hannah Egner
Principal
Professional background
Hannah is a creative strategist with a passion for storytelling. She has more than nine years of experience helping organizations and teams find connection and purpose through strategic engagement and compelling communications. She is currently pursuing an MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Hannah has a B.A. in Communications and Business from Tulane University. Before joining Signe, Hannah worked in organizational engagement consulting at Oliver Wyman and HR change management consulting at Towers Watson. She has advised clients such as Genentech, the National Basketball Association (NBA), Marsh & McLennan, LinkedIn and Amazon.
...and beyond
Away from the computer, Hannah spends her time sweating in hot yoga class, attempting the daily crossword puzzle, listening to the “How I Built This” podcast, and strolling around the San Francisco hills in pursuit of 10,000 steps a day.
Letter from the founder
The most common reason why leaders partner with me on culture transformation is because I coach them through change. I believe they are resourceful: the answers can be found within themselves, their teams and their organizations. One of my greatest daily pleasures is witnessing my clients surface potent insights that reinvent the way they choose to drive change in the world.
My role as a coach is to help clients shatter their self-limiting beliefs about how to evolve the organization. Most of my clients know why they must make changes, many even know what must change, but how they choose to implement change is where the work gets tricky. There are so many options for approaching change and unique impacts exist at all levels across an organization.
Now the term “continuous evolution” anchors almost every conversation I have with executive teams. Leaders are starting to accept that there’s no end game; adaptation is part of how we stay resilient in an ever-changing world. My coaching practice has taught me this, too. As humans, we will evolve our identities numerous times in a lifetime – we are many people in one. We are resourceful, we are resilient, we are adaptive. That’s what makes life so interestingly beautiful.
I’ve been in a state of self-reflection the past few months and considering my own “continuous evolution.” I launched Signe Women in late 2017, facilitating two large scale women’s conferences in the first 5 months (Levi Europe and Mercer’s When Women Thrive), and quickly learned that women’s empowerment will not survive in isolation. We’re all in this together, it’s so much bigger than women’s events! So, I took this insight and focused my energy on awakening executive teams to the role they play in shaping culture. This evolution to my business strategy has led to very successful long-term engagements with Rakuten Marketing, Schneider Electric and Aimmune Therapeutics.
In the past 15 months, with the help of my kick ass teammate, Hannah Egner, we’ve facilitated 15 offsites that ranged from 5-200 people, built an entire strategic communications CoE, coached over 20 executives through change, helped leaders take accountability for their role in modeling new behaviors and mindsets, managed a multitude of org structure changes, and created engagement strategies that empowered culture ambassadors to step up.
All of this amazingly cool work has resulted in the development of the company’s new brand story, a unique approach to managing continuous evolution and a methodology for strategic change management and communications. I couldn’t be prouder of the impact we’ve made and the thriving sustainable business I’ve created in under two years.
As I reflect on all of this, there’s no doubt my courageous leap into entrepreneurship spring-boarded me into this next chapter. I started this journey hoping to empower other women, and now I’ve embraced my own feminine leadership to do just that.
I struggled with the idea that it seems like I’m leaving Signe Women behind, but my business doesn’t define me, I define my business. Wherever I go, that’s where I’ll be! I’m not shrinking, I’m expanding my impact in the world. I’m continuously evolving, and that’s perfectly alright.
