Karen Griego
Navigate Tech Ambiguity, Own Your Story, and Accelerate Your Career
Studied at Pepperdine University
Works at Salesforce
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Karen's Offerings
Custom hourly · $75/hr
Karen’s Career Coaching Qualifications
Experience level: Director
I have spent over 15 years navigating every phase of a tech career, from individual contributor to senior leadership across Salesforce, Amazon, and Google. During that time, I managed complex team redesigns, navigated major corporate re-orgs, led through leadership changes, and earned high-stakes promotions. As an official Amazon Bar Raiser and hiring manager, I evaluated hundreds of candidates, giving me an insider's view of how executive talent is assessed, calibrated, and promoted behind closed doors. My coaching goes beyond generic career advice because I have lived the challenges you are facing. I know what it takes to pivot across organizations, step up into management, manage high-stakes office politics, and advocate for your true value. As a working mom, I also understand the reality of shifting career priorities, managing time deliberately, and building a high-impact career that aligns with your personal values. I provide candid, empathetic, and strategic guidance to help you make confident career moves and step into your full potential.
About Karen
I have spent over 15 years in tech building Product Marketing strategies, launching platforms, and scaling GTM teams across Salesforce, Amazon, and Google. Looking back at my career, from zero-to-one stealth launches to enterprise AI workflows. The common thread is not just GTM, but a deep comfort with ambiguity. I thrive in the unknown. I love taking complex, unformed concepts, asking the right questions, and turning chaos into clear strategies. Working on emerging technology requires high adaptability, and my career is built on stepping into spaces where there is no playbook and figuring things out quickly. That same adaptability applies to my personal life. I am a working mom of two young boys, and for much of my career, I have been the only woman and mother in the room. I know firsthand the balancing act of managing a high-stakes tech executive career while raising a family. I understand how hard it is to keep up in a fast-moving industry, advocate for your worth, and navigate uncertainty without losing your footing. As a former Amazon Bar Raiser and hiring manager across hundreds of loops, I have seen what sets successful leaders apart. Today, whether I am advising businesses on GTM strategy or coaching professionals to step into their next big role, I bring that same combination of strategic rigor, candid feedback, and real-world empathy.
Why do I coach?
I coach because I know how much a candid, empathetic mentor can change the trajectory of a career. Throughout my 15 years in tech, I have navigated complex promotions, team redesigns, organizational re-orgs, and constant shifts in leadership. What saved me during those turbulent times was having mentors who did not just give me canned advice. They were honest with me, showed real empathy, and helped me see the long-term play when I was stuck in the day-to-day politics. When I became a mom, my relationship with work shifted entirely. Time became my most valuable asset, and I stopped chasing title progression for its own sake. Instead, I learned to hyper-focus on what actually inspired and challenged me, aligning my career with my personal values and knowing my worth. Sitting in Amazon debrief rooms as a Bar Raiser, the most frustrating pattern I saw was not a lack of talent. It was incredible candidates underselling themselves, failing to articulate their true value, or freezing up when faced with a challenging interviewer. They had the skill, but they lacked the narrative and adaptability to show up effectively for different audiences. Whether I am helping a founder build a product or coaching a leader through an interview loop, my approach is always the same: start with the human experience and work backward. The most rewarding part of this work is watching that lightbulb moment happen when a client realizes their full value, finds their confidence, and lands the offer or launch outcome they deserve.
Work Experience
Director of Product Marketing
Salesforce
December 2025 - Present
Interviewer
Workforce Innovation
Head of WW Marketing
Amazon
September 2021 - December 2025
Hiring Manager
Branding, Business Reviews and +16 skills
Sr. Product Marketing Manager - Emerging Devices & Alexa
Amazon
September 2016 - January 2020
Interviewer
Branding, International Marketing and +2 skills
Marketing Manager
April 2014 - September 2016
Interviewer
Strategic Merchandising & Marketing Manager for Google Play - Apps North America - Drove Americas Apps US/CA strategy and programming. Continuously built Global roll out plans and execution for regional merchandisers related to store experiments and improvements. - Global point person during store upgrade for Apps merchandising strategy and launch - Global merchandising point person for multiple Search and Discovery store improvements - Drove efforts to improve Strategic Merchandising processes impacting BD, TechOps, and Global Merchandisers - Contributor in Google Style Q’s Answered article in Instyle Nov 15 issue as “Apps Trends Expert” Former roles: Merchandising & Marketing Manager for Google Play - Movies/TV Americas (US, CA, LATAM) - Global merchandising point person for Movies Family strategy and launch - Drove video programming across North America, including planning promotions, negotiating with external partners, and tracking performance of campaigns. Merchandising & Marketing Manager for Google Play - Canada Merchandising & Marketing Manager for Google Play - Devices (Global) Branding, International Marketing and +2 skills
Marketing + Customer Community
Mattel
May 2013 - August 2013
• Proposed a corporate-wide and retailer specific customer loyalty program by leading focus groups, conducting research, constructing a testing strategy on shop.mattel.com to verify program performance • Re-launched new product (app based toy) with group of six MBAs including strategic plan and market analysis, two year finance P&L plan, operations plan, and two year marketing and retail strategy Branding
President
Charity Challenge
April 2013 - April 2014
Pepperdine’s MBA Challenge for Charity (C4C) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that draws on the talents, energy, and resources of MBA students to support the Special Olympics, Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica. • Managing a team of 12 officers to execute seven events throughout the school year with a goal to raise $25k for our charities. • Created structured resource center for officers within current school portal to streamline communication of duties, collateral, and provide a place for feedback.
Education
Pepperdine University
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
2012 - 2014
University of Washington
BA, English, History
2001 - 2005
Activities and societies: Alpha Chi Omega, CORE (Committee Organizing Rape Education) Nanny for two families all 4 years of college.