Kim Coupounas

Activist, Artist, Athlete, Blogger, Brainstormer, Business adviser, Business leader, Business mentor, Care taker, Change Agent, Christian, Concerned citizen, Connector, Consultant, Designer, Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Event planner, Explorer, Foodie, Global soul, Idea generator, Industrialist, Investor, Life mentor, Marketer, Musician, Parent, Performer, Philanthropist, Photographer, Policy maker, Potential employer, Project manager, Promoter, Public servant, Social entrepreneur, World traveler

Kim Coupounas is a Partner at Leaders’ Quest and member of the LQ Executive Committee. In her work with Leaders' Quest, she works closely with TED Countdown and serves as Co-Convenor of the TED Future Forum, a community of companies committed to stepping up with greater climate ambition to help transform the global economy and create a healthy, prosperous future for all. Kim has worked for over two decades to harness the power of business to advance an equitable and regenerative future for humanity and our planet. Prior to Leaders’ Quest, Kim served as a senior global executive in the B Corp movement where she co-led the largest mobilization of companies in history committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Prior to B Lab, Kim co-founded and served as CEO of GoLite, a mission-driven outdoor products brand and one of the earliest Certified B Corps. She is also past Chairperson of the Board of the Outdoor Industry Association, representing the $850B+ outdoor recreation industry, during which she helped launch and lead the industry’s groundbreaking sustainability efforts. Prior to her career in the outdoor industry, she was a Principal at the strategy consulting firm The Parthenon Group and an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York. She has served on the alumni board of Harvard Business School, Princeton Women in Leadership, Outward Bound, and numerous other boards of directors. She holds MBA and MPA degrees from Harvard, an AB Cum Laude in Philosophy from Princeton, and attended Oxford University as a Rotary Foundation Graduate Scholar. Based in beautiful Colorado, Kim spends her free time with her family in nature, doing martial arts and yoga, singing, and climbing big mountains. Kim and her husband have climbed four of the world’s Seven Summits, many Colorado “14ers,” and the highest mountain or molehill in all 50 United States.

I’m passionate about amplifying the power of business to advance an equitable and regenerative future for humanity and our planet. I relish building organizations, communities, and collaborations that lead to positive impact and systemic change. At Leaders’ Quest, I’m thrilled to be cultivating game-changing collaborations and courageous leaders to address today’s complex global social and environmental challenges.

I'm a huge TED fan, having watched hundreds of TED talks over the years! I delivered a TEDx talk in 2013 called the Joy of Less at TEDx Boulder. I then co-hosted a TEDx event called TEDx B Corp during the launch event of TED Countdown on 10.10.2020. I now have the privilege of working directly with TED in my role as a Partner at Leaders' Quest and as co-convenor of the TED Future Forum.

mountaineering, teaching/mentoring in the outdoors, cooking, singing (opera, jazz, choral), martial arts, writing, growing organic food, hugs