About
I’m Karen Breen — executive coach, thought leader, and possibility champion.
Coaching you can trust from a corporate executive who understands.
“Karen, you’re the real deal.”
Once I’d heard this comment seven (yes, seven!) times from completely different people in short succession, I figured they were onto something. And to me, there’s no greater compliment.
Like you, I was once an executive in need of some real-deal support. While leading growth strategies for startups to Fortune 50 companies, I was no stranger to:
Facing a tricky transition and planning a path forward
Sound Familiar?
To help me sort through high-stakes, complex issues, I needed someone unique. I craved not only a skilled coach but also an experienced executive, someone who personally understood my corporate context and spoke the language of business.
I never did find that particular coach — so I became her.
At Seachange Strategy, it’s my privilege to guide you with practical tools, purposeful questions, and the reassurance that comes from having walked a similar path.
Karen Breen
Executive Coach and Founder
Seachange Strategy
Trained, tested, and trusted.
Your partner on your professional and purposeful journey.
Seasoned startup and Fortune 50 executive with 30+ years of direct experience driving B2C and B2B growth
Harvard Business School General Management Program alum
How I reconnected with my professional purpose — to help you do the same.
From senior executive to an executive coach.
By marrying my deep executive coaching expertise with 30+ years of real world corporate leadership, I’ve guided more than a hundred leaders on their journeys to greater professional success and personal fulfillment.
My own sea change began with a ripple, when I was offered a coveted position. Friends, family, and colleagues said I’d be crazy not to take the gold ring. Executive coaches I interviewed couldn’t understand why I didn’t jump at the job. I was at the peak of my gifts — but in a pit of energy. Something else was tugging at me, trying to be heard.
I turn to learning when facing a challenge, and it was the decision to pursue a positive psychology certification that set me in motion. Suddenly, I couldn’t take notes fast enough. Learning about resilience and strengths-based growth lit me up, and leading my team through these insights helped their momentum surge too. It was finally clear — unlocking others’ possibilities had been the golden thread of my career, and it would also be my path forward.
Newly energized, I was ready to listen to the insight that had been rising within — the calling to coach. I completed a rigorous executive coaching certification at Columbia University and founded Seachange Strategy, transforming what had emerged over decades of informal corporate mentorship into a fully-fledged coaching practice.
Here’s what I’ve really learned: we all need to be heard, but so often can’t stop to hear ourselves.
When you’re facing your own professional crossroads, it’s easy to feel paralyzed, but I’m here to guide you into what’s possible.
Like you, I’ve had to accomplish more in my role with less, navigate messy transitions, and shepherd projects through corporate Chutes and Ladders — all while learning to connect with my purpose. I’ve done it successfully, and now it’s my job to help you do the same.
What’s at the heart of a sea change?
These values power our work together — and your transformation.
Possibility
Finally unlocking your unspoken desires, we illuminate options, ignite curiosity, and reinvigorate your passion.
Growth
Perspective
Teamwork
Our coaching relationship is dynamic and collaborative. Meeting you exactly where you are, we co-create a meaningful path forward to where you’re meant to go.
Authenticity
“In your corner” is my favorite place to be, and I take my role as your trusted advisor seriously. Together we make progress without judgment (and with a splash of humor).