Jennifer McCollum

CEO of Linkage, a SHRM Company; Author of In Her Own Voice: A Woman's Rise to CEO

Expertise

Purposeful Leadership , Advancing Women Leaders , Redesigning Inclusion

About Jennifer:

Jennifer McCollum is CEO of Linkage, a SHRM company, where she oversees the strategic direction and global operations of this leadership development firm. With a mission to “Change the Face of Leadership,” Linkage has dedicated 30 years to improving leadership effectiveness and equity in hundreds of organizations globally. Linkage provides assessments, training, coaching, consulting and conferences, with Solutions designed to Accelerate Purposeful Leaders; Advance Women Leaders; and Redesign Inclusive Organizations.

Jennifer is a highly sought-after consultant and speaker, with a deep expertise in Inclusive Leadership and Advancing Women Leaders. She has delivered workshops, keynotes, webinars and podcasts to thousands of leaders globally on live and virtual stages, including 100 Leaders Live (Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches conference), Chief Learning Officer Exchange, Chester Elton’s “Leading with Gratitude” LinkedIn Live, John Baldoni’s “Grace under Pressure” LinkedIn Live, Candy O’Terry’s “The Story Behind Her Success” podcast, and VoiceAmerica radio broadcast. Jennifer is the author of the forthcoming book In Her Own Voice: A Woman’s Rise to CEO: Overcoming Hurdles to Change the Face of Leadership, due in November 2023, as well as a contributing author to Leadership in a Time of Crisis. She has also been published in The Wall Street JournalFast CompanyChief Talent Development Officer, CEO Refresher, and Real Leaders. She is a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches.

Background & Experience:

Jennifer has 20 years of experience building and leading businesses in the leadership space. Prior to Linkage, Jennifer spent a decade growing businesses within Korn Ferry and Corporate Executive Board (CEB), now Gartner. At CEB, she led product management within the leadership division, driving innovative solutions that helped organizations select, develop and place leaders at all levels. She also ran CEB’s Leadership Academies business, which developed more than 30,000 professionals in 2,100 companies throughout 50 countries and grew revenue at a 97% combined annual growth rate across five years. 

Previously, Jennifer served as CEO of IntraVision, a leadership consultancy she founded and grew over the course of eight years. She worked with public companies, start-ups, associations and nonprofits. Her passion is creating vision, executing strategy and managing cohesive teams toward aspirational goals, with a special focus on supporting women in leadership roles.

She is an avid tennis player and skier, and lives in Bethesda, MD, with her husband and three children.

Education & Training:

Jennifer has a master’s degree in communications from the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland, and an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in psychology and communications.

Jennifer's Insights

It’s the Season of Overwhelm. Here’s How to Get Through It (Without Breaking Down).

Leadership Lessons from the Courage of Jacinda Ardern and Nicola Sturgeon

Linkage CEO Jennifer McCollum reflects on the resignation decisions of Jacinda Ardern, former prime minister of New Zealand, and Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish First Minister. It takes great courage to identify a bold pathway forward. For Ardern and Sturgeon, taking a step back—literally pushing pause—was the correct answer.

Introducing CEO Academy | A special announcement from Jennifer McCollum, CEO of Linkage

Linkage, recently acquired by SHRM, is pleased to share that SHRM has now acquired CEO Academy, a high-level intensive learning and networking experience for CEOs and board leaders. CEO Academy’s annual two-day program focuses on strategy, innovation, growth, finance, talent, compensation, succession and other key issues for chief executives, emerging leaders and board leaders.

A Special Message from Jennifer McCollum, CEO: Linkage is now a part of SHRM

This is an exciting moment for all of us at Linkage. As you may have seen in our recent announcement, Linkage has been acquired by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a leading membership organization dedicated to elevating HR and building a world of work that works for all. Read more here.

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