Kelly White

Blogger, Brainstormer, Business adviser, Business leader, Business mentor, Change Agent, Connector, Entrepreneur, Explorer, Foodie, Global soul, Idea generator, Life mentor, Musician, Startup, Technologist, World traveler

Kelly White is a strategic operator, executive coach, and culture architect who believes the future belongs to leaders who protect time for what matters. As COO at Tic Toc Games, she runs finance, people, partnerships, and delivery, turning bold bets into roadmaps and roadmaps into results. As co-founder of Leadership Mastery Network, she equips senior teams with a leadership OS: clear purpose, focus rituals, decision cadences, and small-bets experimentation that makes innovation repeatable. With two decades across games and digital entertainment, Kelly blends P&L discipline with game-design thinking to create organizations that are both high-performing and deeply human. At TED Next, she invites leaders to trade control for clarity, burnout for brilliance, and fear for the courage to design work worth doing.

I could talk all day about: - Leadership: the journey for myself and helping others along the way - Mentorship & Sponsorship - Gaming & Interactive Experiences - Storytelling & Creative Leadership - Self-Discovery & Growth - Leadership - Travel - Coffee - Music - Digital & Technology Trends

Play > Power: Design your leadership OS so great work happens on purpose

Consumer Experiences, Content, DEI, Digital, Entertainment, Gaming, Immersive Experiences, Leadership, Media, Mentorship, Mindfulness, Storytelling, Strategy, Technology, Theme Parks

My first post-pandemic conference was TEDWomen. I went with a friend, still trying to shake off survival mode. I’d gotten great at delivering and terrible at playing. My job title had started to feel like my whole identity. TED flipped a switch. One talk after another, I could feel my curiosity awakening. I wasn’t just taking notes; I was sketching connections, asking better questions, and saying yes to hallway conversations that turned into collaborations. The most significant shift was subtle but profound: people weren’t leading with “What do you do?” They asked, “What are you exploring?” That question helped me remember who I am beyond a role. It reminded me to make time for growth, creativity, and passion, not as extras, but as the operating system of my life. Last year, I attended the first TED Next, this time with my mom, who’s also my co-founder. Different stage, same electricity. We sat side by side, trading nudges when a line landed, flying home with a shared backlog of ideas to test. It wasn’t just inspiring; it was aligning. We left with a promise to each other: this is our annual reset. We don’t miss it. I tell leaders this all the time: don’t grind harder, design the game. TED, for me, is a designed jolt. It snaps me out of autopilot and back into intention. It’s where I recommit to building teams and companies that protect time for what actually fuels performance: learning, creativity, community, and work that feels meaningful. That’s why I rave about TED conferences. They don’t hand you a new identity; they return you to your best one and give you the momentum to build what’s next.

People don’t know I’m good at: music. I can hear melodies and beats in text, and in another life (maybe this one) I’m a composer and singer. I record hooks in voice memos the way I design teams: simple, memorable, and meant to be shared.