Family Board Advisory

& Corporate Director

Phyllis is a trusted adviser to boards and CEOs, based on her 40 years of executive experience and extensive board participation.

She is known for her integrity, insights and unique ability to help foster a high-performance climate in boardrooms and within the organizations’ top leadership team.

Phyllis founded her consulting firm to advise CEOs and boards in the following areas:

Align

Aligning culture and effective practices between and among board members and the CEO

Build

Building effective, diverse boards and ensuring a high-performance culture

Transition

Formulating transition plans and helping to manage leadership transitions

Edward V. Fritzky Chair in Leadership, University of Washington, Foster School of Business

Her work over the past 40 years has been on “both sides of the table”, serving on multiple private and public company boards as well as serving as a sitting CEO in nonprofit and public company environments.

She has a strong belief that effective CEOs and diverse boards are a true sustainable competitive advantage for organizations. It has been often quoted that “culture eats strategy for lunch”. Strong board cultures and aligned company values are the foundation and formula that lead to a high-performing, long-lasting business model.  

Phyllis is an advocate of the stakeholder engagement model; i.e., what is the company’s monitoring devices and practices for its engagement of employees, customers, suppliers, communities, regulators and investors? Staying abreast of the current evolving landscapes are paramount to the success of the CEO and the board.

  • “Phyllis is truly an amazing leader and partner in the innovation ecosystem.”

    Matt McIlwain, Managing Partner, Madrona Capital

  • “Phyllis exemplifies professionalism. She is a builder of relationships and her authenticity is one of her superpowers.”

    Tony Rojas, President/CEO of Slalom Consulting

  • “Phyllis always brings a sense of optimism, combined with her relentless drive—which has led to progress on the most daunting of challenges.”

    Christine Gregoire, CEO- Challenge Seattle, Former Governor, State of WA

  • “Phyllis has a unique ability to align CEOs and Boards around a shared sense of purpose and mission.”

    Daniel Harkavy, Executive Coach & CEO of Building Champions

Culture is Everything

Top of the Game Podcast (April 3, 2024)