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Karl Alleman

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+1 312 260 8972

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Karl Alleman has a long track record of helping large multinationals, family-owned enterprises, and private equity firms solve their most important leadership challenges through CEO Succession and Search, Board Search, and company-wide Leadership Assessment and Development programs. With many years of leadership experience at Egon Zehnder including Global Executive Committee Member, Managing Partner of the US Practice, and Chicago Office Leader, Karl brings a senior leader’s perspective and mindset to serving clients. Having led the creation and launch of the firm’s Industrial Practice in North America, his industry expertise is broad, spanning automotive and consumer durables, energy and packaging, and construction and business services.

Helping senior leaders and teams unlock their potential unleashes remarkable impact for our clients and the world, which I find highly energizing and fulfilling.

Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Karl was President and CEO of a private-equity-owned capital equipment manufacturer, preceded by Director of Strategy and BU General Manager at BP Amoco Retail. Earlier he served as a Senior Engagement Manager with McKinsey, after beginning his career on the plant floor as a Production Engineer at Merck & Co.

Karl earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his family on the lakes of Wisconsin’s North Woods and around the world.

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Thought Leadership

Thought Leadership by Karl Alleman

CEO Insights — Volume 34: Tackling Any Crisis by Unleashing the Power of our Organizations

CEO Insights — Volume 34: Tackling Any Crisis by Unleashing the Power of our Organizations

Leaders everywhere are grappling with very big and contentious issues around optimal productivity, inclusivity, and employee engagement and retention that intersect these critical choices… Read more

Coming Out Together: Creating CEO Allyship for LGBTQ+ Inclusion

Coming Out Together: Creating CEO Allyship for LGBTQ+ Inclusion

By connecting with their LGBTQ+ colleagues—by speaking up, listening, and learning—CEOs have the means to enact real and lasting change, and ultimately unleash the… Read more

CEO Insights — Volume 18: Coming Out Together: Creating CEO Allyship for LGBTQ+ Inclusion

CEO Insights — Volume 18: Coming Out Together: Creating CEO Allyship for LGBTQ+ Inclusion

The rewards of allying with the LGBTQ+ cause are great and many. In fact, increasingly, leaders seem to have more to lose—loyal customers, top… Read more

Egon Zehnder Stands Against Racism, Discrimination, and Social Injustice

Egon Zehnder Stands Against Racism, Discrimination, and Social Injustice

"Our firm’s purpose is Leadership for a Better World, and what we are facing today is a leadership void." Read more

CEO Insights — Volume 11: Embracing Uncertainty to Accelerate to a Brighter Future

CEO Insights — Volume 11: Embracing Uncertainty to Accelerate to a Brighter Future

All over the world, we are hearing CEOs ask the same question: What is the best way to lead and move forward when we… Read more

Embracing Uncertainty to Accelerate to a Brighter Future

Embracing Uncertainty to Accelerate to a Brighter Future

All over the world, we are hearing CEOs ask the same question: What is the best way to lead and move forward when we… Read more

How to Lead in a Data-Rich World

How to Lead in a Data-Rich World

Companies know data is important — but still aren't using it effectively. We gathered leaders from the tech, e-commerce, consumer and health industries to… Read more

We Need More Humble Leaders. Here’s How to Get Them

We Need More Humble Leaders. Here’s How to Get Them

Humility is a top requirement for the emerging workforce. Karl Alleman shares how both individuals and organizations can tap its potential in his latest… Read more

Fast Company – We Need More Humble Leaders. Here's How to Get Them.

Fast Company – We Need More Humble Leaders. Here's How to Get Them.

Humble individuals often do not see themselves as great leaders that can lead to misconceptions about their abilities and cause them to slip by… Read more

How to Keep a Headhunter From Poaching Your Best Talent

How to Keep a Headhunter From Poaching Your Best Talent

Veteran executive recruiter Karl Alleman, managing partner of Egon Zehnder’s U.S. practice, has a particularly good vantage point on this. Read more

Fortune – How to Keep Search Firms from Poaching Your Best Talent

Fortune – How to Keep Search Firms from Poaching Your Best Talent

With the job market heating up and the unemployment rate at a new low, there are millions of jobs waiting for the right people… Read more

Fortune – How to Keep Search Firms from Poaching Your Best Talent

Fortune – How to Keep Search Firms from Poaching Your Best Talent

With the job market heating up and the unemployment rate at a new low, there are millions of jobs waiting for the right people… Read more

GE’s 20-Year Succession Plan

GE’s 20-Year Succession Plan

GE’s announcement on June 12 that John Flannery would be the next CEO of the massive Boston-based conglomerate was a decision 20 years in… Read more

Transforming in a Disrupted World

Transforming in a Disrupted World

The three traits that go untapped, and how to identify and unleash those qualities in their talent to compete in a world of unpredictable… Read more

Ignites.com – Stretch Assignments Help Professionals Bring Breakthrough Ideas That Can Transform A Business

Ignites.com – Stretch Assignments Help Professionals Bring Breakthrough Ideas That Can Transform A Business

Fund professionals often benefit from so-called “stretch assignments” or projects that take them out of their comfort zone, reports ignites.com. Read more

No More Mr. Nice Guy? Rethinking Culture to Unleash Innovation in the Midwest

No More Mr. Nice Guy? Rethinking Culture to Unleash Innovation in the Midwest

Amoco, Anheuser-Busch, Chrysler, Motorola, Wrigley. Great Midwestern companies that failed to adapt to global competition and ended up being acquired. Many others have suffered… Read more

Karl W. Alleman: US Midwest Firms Need New Business Culture

Karl W. Alleman: US Midwest Firms Need New Business Culture

US Midwest firms have failed to adapt to international competition and face ongoing disruption driven by globalization and technological change, writes Egon Zehnder’s Karl… Read more

Interview with Michael Critelli, CEO of Pitney Bowes

Interview with Michael Critelli, CEO of Pitney Bowes

"The beauty of transparency is that it eliminates a lot of the external pressure." Read more

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