New corporate EVP brings global consulting and enterprise leadership experience as Weber Advisory scales its integrated advisory capability for the AI era

Weber Advisory has welcomed Kimberly Beals as executive vice president. Based in Chicago, Beals will help lead senior client engagements and new business opportunities across the Central region. She will work closely with Advisory leaders and colleagues across the U.S. and report to Sheila Mulligan, president, Central Region & Advisory US.

Her appointment comes as Weber Advisory continues to expand its single, AI-powered advisory capability spanning corporate strategy and reputation, public affairs, social impact and sustainability, leadership and organizational change, financial communications, and crisis and issues.

“The forces reshaping business today — from AI and geopolitics to the unpredictable currents of culture — are core business drivers, and reputation has become the operating discipline that determines whether a company can consistently deliver the value stakeholders expect,” said Mulligan. “Kimberly has led at these high-stakes intersections inside one of the world’s top consultancies. Her addition sharpens what sets us apart: pairing consulting-grade rigor with the earned-media, creative, and stakeholder engagement muscle only a full-service agency can deliver.”

Beals joins Weber Shandwick from McKinsey & Company, where she served as global head of communications and marketing for McKinsey Technology. In that role, she led global messaging and campaign strategy across sectors and geographies and partnered with senior leaders on complex client and business priorities.

Earlier in her career, Beals held senior communications and change-management roles at Kraft Foods, Beam Suntory, Motorola and Gensler. That experience gives her a firsthand perspective on the pace, complexity and competing demands facing corporate leadership teams today.