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Keith Wyche
Corporate Transformation Leader & Author
Keith Wyche
Corporate Transformation Leader & Author
Biography
With more than 30 years of experience, earning serious results for some of America’s best known corporations including Walmart, Ameritech, Convergys, AT&T, IBM, Pitney Bowes and SuperValu, Keith Wyche has risen to become a successful corporate president and one of the highest-ranking African-American executives in the U.S. Keith understands the rules for success, rules he now shares as an author, speaker, and thought leader.
Keith Wyche knows first-hand how to lead an organization through change with intentional DEI development. As President of Cub Foods (a division of SuperValu), a $3 billion grocery chain with more than 8,000 employees, Keith led the division to double-digit sales growth in his first year. After successfully turning around Cub Foods, SuperValu needed Keith to turn around Acme Markets (a larger division of SuperValu with 113 grocery and pharmacy stores and 11,000 associates) that had been on a downward spiral as sales and profits had declined for the prior five years. Within a year as President, Keith had reversed that trend and led the chain to growth for the first time in a half a decade. Before joining Supervalu, Keith was President of U.S. Operations for Pitney Bowes. There he turned around an organization that was losing clients, seeing its competition eat its market share, and suffering from a demoralized workforce.
Keith began his career in sales, marketing and management with AT&T and IBM. Currently, he is Vice President of Community Engagement and Support at Walmart, responsible for developing the operational strategy to support the overall plans to leverage business, government and community organizations in major metropolitan areas in which the company serves. Previously, he served on the Corporate Board of Directors of WMS Industries (a gaming company) and the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA).
Keith is the bestselling author of three books on how to supercharge your performance and reach the top of the corporate world. Corner Office Rules: The 10 Realities of Executive Life, (Kandelle Enterprises) opens the door to the often hidden world of the C-suite. Keith’s first book, Good Is Not Enough: And Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals (Portfolio, a division of Penguin Random House), was an Amazon bestseller and was nominated for the 2009 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. His book, Swag Is Not Enough: Career Advice for the Serious Millennial was co-authored with his daughter Alana. Keith’s newest book, Diversity is Not Enough, is a 2022 NAACP Image Award nominated book.
Keith was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his BBA from Cleveland State University and his MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College.
Speaker Videos
Results and Diversity
Change and DEI Speaker
Speech Topics
Leveraging Change: How to WIN During Times of Uncertainty
Over his career, Keith Wyche has built a reputation as the ultimate “Transformation Leader”.
Keith has taken the learnings, challenges, and best practices from these and other organizations undergoing significant change and transformation and shares them in this presentation. After hearing Keith speak on this subject, audiences will learn about the challenges and difficulties in leading change, and how to WIN in spite of them.
With an eye on both the clients/customers and internal associates, Keith will share the:
- Relevance and Case for Change
- Readiness for Change
- Robustness for Change
- Responsiveness of Change
Navigating Your Career: Keys to Climbing to the Top
Many diverse professionals already understand that “good is not enough” for advancement. You still must be better at your job than your majority peers to gain the same rewards and recognition. However, even exemplary performance alone is not enough to advance in your career.
In this session, Keith explains the importance of public perceptions, personal branding, and visibility, networking, mentoring, developing a long-term career plan, and identifying potential career killers. His tips are valuable not only to his targeted readers – diverse mid-level managers– but also to their majority counterparts.
With an eye on both the diverse and majority associates, Keith will share the:
- You need a thorough understanding of your company’s culture to succeed.
- How others perceive you has a tremendous influence on your career trajectory.
- If you want higher-ups to consider you for promotions and choice assignments, you must be visible to them.
- Consider your long-term career goals when you contemplate a promotion, lateral move, or a job with another company.
- Be intellectually curious, and a continuous learner. Stay current to remain relevant.
- Senior leaders need executive-level skills, such as superior communication abilities, problem-solving techniques, and the ability to execute.
- Effort is appreciated, but you are measured on your results
- Mentors and sponsors are essential to help you advance in your career.
Jumpstarting Your DEI Initiatives: Diversity is NOT Enough
As a DEI consultant and thought leader for over twenty years, Keith has been hired by numerous Fortune 500 companies and organizations to help them evaluate, re-imagine, and improve the outcomes of their DEI initiatives. In this presentation, Keith shares the missteps, challenges, and best practices from these engagements to provide insights into how your organization can jumpstart your DEI efforts.
After hearing Keith speak on this subject, audiences will learn how to create a culture of inclusion and make DEI an enterprise-wide effort. Keith will provide insight into:
- “How We Got Here” (Why DEI is even necessary?
- DEI Myths vs. Reality
- Manager and Employee Disconnects and Responsibilities
- Best Practices for Successful DEI Implementation
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