Enterprise Transformation
Clarifying the strategy, operating model, roadmap, governance and leadership alignment required to move transformation from presentation to execution.
Enterprise Transformation · Digital Strategy · AI Readiness
I help organizations turn complexity into momentum.
I’m Vanessa Newkirk, a transformation executive and strategic advisor with 25+ years of experience across media, marketing, customer experience, data, digital transformation and emerging technology. I work at the intersection of business strategy, operating change and execution.
About
Senior leadership without the theater.
My career has been built inside complex organizations where the challenge is rarely a lack of ideas. The challenge is aligning people, technology, data, customers and commercial priorities well enough to make change actually happen.
I’ve held senior leadership roles across global advertising and media organizations, co-founded technology businesses, advised clients on transformation and digital strategy, and worked across sectors where customer expectations and technology are moving faster than legacy operating models.
Today I advise companies that need senior strategic leadership around transformation, customer experience, digital growth, data and AI — whether as a consultant, fractional executive, interim leader or long-term operator.
Expertise
Where I’m most useful
Customer Experience
Connecting customer journeys, digital platforms, service design and organizational priorities to create better experiences and stronger business outcomes.
Data, Media & Marketing
Modernizing how organizations use data, media, technology and measurement to improve decision-making, performance and accountability.
AI Readiness
Helping leadership teams identify where AI can create value, what capabilities are missing, and how to adopt it responsibly without confusing experimentation with strategy.
Executive Advisory
Senior-level counsel for leaders navigating ambiguity, organizational change, new capabilities, vendor ecosystems and high-stakes transformation decisions.
Fractional & Interim Leadership
Embedded executive leadership for organizations that need experienced hands now — before, during or instead of a permanent senior hire.
Selected Work
A few examples of how I work
Conducted a strategic review of an Italian artisan jewelry brand’s TikTok and social presence, translating a strong product and craft story into recommendations better suited to U.S. digital discovery and short-form video behavior.
The work focused on brand positioning, stronger opening hooks, TikTok-native storytelling, cross-platform adaptation and a test-learn-optimize approach the client could sustain internally.
Outcome: The founder embraced the recommendations and specifically adopted the “test, learn, optimize” framework as a guide for future content development.
Developed a five-year strategic transformation roadmap for an established 36-acre equestrian business, creating a path from a seasonal, founder-led operation to a sustainable, year-round equestrian destination.
The engagement extended across the full business: operations, customer acquisition and experience, brand and marketing, technology modernization, facility expansion and revenue diversification. Recommendations included CRM and online scheduling, digital customer experience, marketing automation, new programming and revenue streams, and a phased capital and facility strategy.
The work established a long-term vision for combining exceptional horsemanship with stronger business infrastructure — preserving the character and community of the existing operation while creating a more scalable and financially sustainable model.
Deliverables: Executive vision and strategic roadmap · Business and revenue strategy · Customer experience · Digital transformation · Technology and operational recommendations · Brand and marketing strategy · Facility and expansion planning
Assessed a healthcare digital experience through the lens of customer journey friction, platform usability, content, service design and organizational readiness.
Framed recommendations not simply as interface changes, but as a broader transformation agenda spanning customer experience, operating ownership, data and technology.
Led senior media, performance and transformation work within major global agency networks, partnering with Fortune 500 and other category-leading clients across complex digital, data, technology, media and commercial environments.
The work ranged from growth and performance strategy to operating transformation, customer experience and capability-building — often requiring alignment across large client organizations, agency teams, technology partners and senior stakeholders.
My leadership style combines strategic clarity with operating discipline: define the real problem, align stakeholders, simplify the path forward and make accountability visible.
Experience
Built across strategy, operations and technology.
25+ years
in advertising, media, transformation and executive leadership
Publicis + WPP
senior leadership inside global agency networks, serving Fortune 500 and category-leading clients
Founder mindset
co-founded two dot-com businesses and understands building as well as advising
MBA + Master’s
combining commercial discipline with analytical and academic depth
Strategy matters. So does what happens on Monday morning.
Contact
Let’s talk about what needs to change.
I’m open to consulting engagements, fractional or interim executive work, advisory roles and selective senior leadership opportunities.
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/vanessanewkirk
Based in
Chicago area · Available for national and international work