I’m Karen Schulman Dupuis (she/her), and everyone calls me KSD. I'm an interdisciplinary senior leader and Business Designer who’s spent years working across leadership, strategy, operations, education, and communications. I've been called a force of nature and a shift disturber—monikers I fully embrace. I’m known for a direct, human-centred approach in all of my work. I partner with and have built programs and solutions in the public and private sectors, in for-profit and not-for-profit spaces, and from early-stage startups to large enterprises. Along the way I’ve been repeatedly recognized on BetaKit’s Women in Canadian Tech Worth Following list, nominated for DMZ's Women of the Year, and twice nominated for RBC’s Women of Influence awards.
I'm driven by a commitment to positive change, for my clients, their clients, and the communities we serve together. Real results happen where financial performance, social responsibility, and human-centred design intersect.
With over 30 years of experience that started in sales, technology, and education, and expanded into strategy, innovation, operations, marketing, communications, social media, product development, and as a student of systems, I bring a unique approach to leadership and strategy. That’s the elephant hunting—I say, ‘let’s put the elephant on the table, and then let's eat the elephant.' It takes a certain bravery and a willingness to be honest about what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change. It isn't for everyone.
Client Success: My approach is deeply collaborative and tailored. By aligning leadership, strategy, marketing, and operations with a human-centred focus, I enable my clients to not only reach their goals but to make a meaningful impact on their own clients and markets.
A Track Record of High-Impact Projects: Recent highlights include leading the strategic planning and digital engagement campaigns for Federal (DND, ESDC) and Provincial (BC Public Service) ministry clients, and national brand commercial clients; reimagining the future of Canada's leading cybersecurity accelerator with its business unit lead and key ecosystem partners; building the theory of change, and designing and delivering $5M in flagship projects for a national women-focused entrepreneurship organization; and driving sales, communications, and partnerships for a systems-innovation lab at Canada's top business school. I’ve also co-created a feasibility study for a municipal STEAM incubator, and then independently led and delivered one for a food-focused entrepreneurship program, where a 30-year retrospective combined with a social equity lens uncovered critical gaps in food manufacturing and co-packing infrastructure and helped the program secure their first $3M in funding—insights I now bring into my economic development and ecosystem consulting work..
Holistic, Results-Oriented Design: As an intrapreneur and polymath, I view organizations from a systems perspective, identifying efficiencies and designing for both immediate and long-term gains. I not only design the strategy, but how to implement it, and that saves hundreds of thousands annually and builds the foundation for sustained growth.
Equity is not a side note in my work—it’s a core operating principle. Diversity and inclusion aren’t just values; they’re growth strategies and essential leadership competencies. I seamlessly integrate these principles across projects and programs, informed by and respecting the cultures of different industries, sectors, and organizations.
My purpose is to authentically connect with others, leading with empathy and integrity, towards creating opportunities for better systems and better futures. I’m here to co-create (and I love an oxford comma and an em dash).