Karen Lam, principal of Compass International, specializes in coaching chief executive officers to communicate their message memorably and with authenticity. She has trained industry and government leaders from all over the United States and Asia.

Having lived and worked in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America, Karen brings a global perspective to her work. Karen has worked with key leaders in many industries for over twenty years as an executive coach, group facilitator, and speech strategist. She delivers tailored programs in media handling skills, crisis communication, presentation skills, leadership communication, cross-cultural communication, and influencing skills.

Client companies Karen has trained recently include: Disney, J.P. Morgan, Lehman Brothers, S.G. Warburg, Andersen Consulting, Deloitte and Touche, Cisco, Texas Instruments, Sun Microsystems, IBM, Apple, eToys.com, Northern Telecom, AT&T, Qualcomm, Whirlpool, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Upjohn, Johnson & Johnson, SmithKline Beecham, Procter & Gamble, Sandoz, Ford Motor Company, Turner Broadcasting, NIKE and Philip Morris.

Karen formerly led the communications training practice for Burson-Marsteller, the world's largest public relations firm, in the Greater China region in Asia. As director of communications training, she developed media training programs for several major markets in Asia and was responsible for training other trainers.

Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Karen served as Senior Training Consultant at American Express International, where she delivered programs in communication skills and management development. She began her career teaching in universities in Asia and the United States.

Karen holds an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Montana and a B.A. in Literary Studies from the University of Toronto. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is married with one child.