Kelly Fidei, PhD
About Kelly Fidei, PhD

25 years. Three disciplines.
One practitioner.

I offer services at the intersection of leadership coaching, organizational change, and AI adoption — three fields that rarely converge in one person. That convergence is the work.

25+ Years of Practice
10,000+ Coaching Hours
75+ Corporate Cultures
1,500+ Leaders

The path here

Built unconventionally.
For exactly this moment.

Kelly Fidei, PhD, recording a podcast
Kelly Fidei, PhD
Founder & Principal, Agility Transformation, LLC
ICF PCC · Prosci CCMP · ORSC · Hogan · PMP

My path here has been unconventional. I earned my PhD from Vanderbilt University, then spent more than two decades at the intersection of leadership development, organizational change, and technology adoption — most recently leading AI adoption for business units of 3,000+ people at Infosys Consulting. Along the way I accumulated credentials not as badges, but because each one changed how I work.

Through Agility Transformation, LLC, I work with talented people who are ready to grow: C-suite executives finding their next level, high-potentials stepping into broader scope, executive teams and boards navigating complex transitions, and organizations navigating AI adoption who need their people to actually use it. Whatever the engagement, sustainable leadership is the north star — building resilience alongside capability, not as an afterthought. My coaching spans four continents and 75+ corporate cultures.

More likely to meet objectives with excellent change management (Prosci)
70%
of AI ROI comes from people and process — not technology (BCG)
3–4×
Higher AI adoption with structured change programs (Writer.com)
54%
of C-suite describe AI adoption as organizationally disruptive (Writer.com)

These four numbers aren't four separate facts — they're one causal chain. Change management structure (6×) is what converts the human-side investment (70%) into real adoption (3–4×) instead of the disruption 54% of C-suite leaders are currently living through.

I bring a systems thinking lens — trained through the Society for Organizational Learning and System Dynamics Think Tank — to help leaders see what's driving the patterns in their organizations, and where the real leverage is. Not the surface-level fix. The one that actually changes the system.

And I do this work because I've lived it. I know from the inside what it feels like when the system you've relied on comes apart and has to re-form — and I know that what carries a person through isn't a framework. It's relationship: being genuinely seen by someone while you find your new footing. That's what I offer the leaders I work with, and it's why they tell me they see things they couldn't see before.

Why the intersection matters

Three disciplines.
One practitioner. Rare on purpose.

Most coaches develop leaders. Most consultants manage change. Most advisors know AI. I do all three — and that convergence is what makes transformation possible at scale.

Reinforcing loop — strength in one discipline compounds the other two Leadership Coaching ICF PCC · Co-Active · Hogan · ORSC Change Management Prosci CCMP · PMP · Systems AI Adoption Strategy Enabling leaders. Transforming organizations. KELLY'S PRACTICE Where transformation actually sticks

How I work

Four principles that shape
every engagement.

🪞

You are the expert on you

My job is to help you see what you already know but can't quite access yet. I hold every client as the expert on their own life, organization, and path forward. That posture changes everything about what becomes possible in a coaching conversation.

🔗

Everything is connected

I work from a systems thinking lens — because individual leaders don't operate in isolation. I look for leverage points: the places where a small, well-placed intervention creates disproportionate change. Every engagement culminates in your Leverage-Point Map — the 2–3 places where effort actually moves the needle, and why everything else you've tried hasn't. That's what makes transformation stick.

Insight without structure doesn't scale

I pair deep personal insight with the operational discipline to make change real — stakeholder plans, structured rollouts, leader enablement, measurable outcomes. Vision and execution aren't opposites. They're both my job.

🔋

Performance without sustainability isn't the goal

I build leadership resilience into every engagement — not as a wellness add-on, but as a performance strategy. The leaders who lead well over time aren't the ones who push hardest. They're the ones who know how to sustain. That's what I help develop.

Credentials & certifications

The preparation behind the work.

Vanderbilt University
Doctor of Philosophy
Vanderbilt University
International Coaching Federation
Professional Certified Coach
International Coaching Federation
Co-Active Training Institute
Certified Co-Active Coach
Co-Active Training Institute
CRR Global ORSC
Org. & Relationship Systems Coaching
CRR Global
Prosci
Certified Change Management Professional
Prosci / CCMP
Hogan Assessments
Certified Practitioner
Hogan Assessments
Project Management Institute
Project Management Professional
Project Management Institute
Stakeholder Centered Coaching
Stakeholder Centered Coaching
Marshall Goldsmith
SAFe Program Consultant
SAFe Program Consultant
Scaled Agile Framework
SoL
Systems & System Dynamics Training
Society for Organizational Learning

The whole person behind the practice.

I walk the talk.

🧗

Rock climbing & white-water rafting

Finding the current and trusting it is both a literal practice and a leadership metaphor. I do both with my daughter.

🤖

Vibe coding & AI building

I build agentic systems for my own practice using AI — staying genuinely fluent, not just theoretically current on what I advise.

🌿

Climate & civic action

Natural Habitat Evanston, the Environmental Justice Coalition, and pollinator habitat advising. Leadership and citizenship are the same muscle.

🗳️

Board service

Rotary Club and League of Women Voters board member — because shared governance is where collaborative leadership gets real.

Ready to work with someone
who's done this before?

Whether you want a conversation, a keynote, or a full engagement — there's a path from here.

Start a conversation → Schedule a call
📍 Available for coaching, workshops, advisory, and speaking engagements globally