Kim Alexis Newton is an executive turned independent board director, author, entrepreneur, and fine artist. She is passionate about leadership and innovation, and loves helping people and companies meet their full potential. During her two decades at Hallmark, she ran a $1B business and led global corporate strategy and transformation across a $4B diversified portfolio of top brands. She has been recognized multiple times as a top African American in Corporate America. Kim advises several female tech start-ups and currently serves on the board of Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) and was named one of the Most Influential Black Corporate Directors in 2021.

Kim believes creative agility is an important skill to keep transformation leaders sharp. That is why she has always left space for creation of her own art, a modern approach to quilting. In 2019, after leaving corporate America, Kim sold her first piece that now hangs on the wall of Oprah Winfrey and currently has a piece on display at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

As the founder of Alexis Enterprises, LLC, Kim brings to life all of her passions: an art studio focused on her one-of-a-kind art quilts; the Intentional Pause Project, a platform helping women to embrace pausing to strategize, as a powerful way forward enables a transformative personal plan; her five-step approach to life in her first book, The Intentional Pause Dream Workbook; and Alexis Quilts, her produced line of specialty gift quilts positioned as extraordinary gifts for self or others, which achieved over $1M in sales in its first 9 months.

Kim was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, received her BA in accounting from Fisk University and her MBA from Vanderbilt University. She is a proud member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Black Women on Boards, The Executive Leadership Council, Jack and Jill of America, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; The Links, Incorporated; and the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Kim sits on several nonprofit boards, including the Kansas City Arts Institute and TEDxKC. Kim lives in Leawood, KS, with her husband, Nikki, and their daughter, Piper.