Meet Kristin Harper
Kristin Harper is the founder and CEO of Driven to Succeed, LLC, an award-winning WBENC and NMSDC-certified woman and minority-owned global market research and consulting firm. The team uncover insights for mid-market companies and Fortune 500 brands so they can innovate and grow through qualitative market research insights, brainstorming, concept development, and quantitative testing.
An award-winning businesswoman, Kristin has over 30 years of brand and business experience, from grassroots startups to global iconic brands. She started her first businesses at the age of 14 and went from college intern to Global Vice President of a Fortune 15 company in her 30s. She has led teams to develop strategies, product innovation and brand-building marketing to increase sales, profit, and market share for iconic global brands including but not limited to Crest®, Oral-B®, and Hershey’s KISSES®.
Kristin’s experience spans both Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B). She built deep General Management, Brand Management and Marketing experience over 20 years at Procter & Gamble, The Hershey Company, and Cardinal Health, respectively. Utilizing proven approaches, Kristin helps teams build clear and compelling brands and innovation that drive results. She's known for building brands and helping people accelerate their careers using head and heart.
Kristin is author of The Heart of a Leader: 52 Emotional Intelligence Insights to Advance Your Career. The professional development division of Driven to Succeed is Kristin Harper & The Expert Collective, a dynamic group of trusted thought partners with deeply rooted experience in Marketing, Human Resources, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion who provide speaking, training, and consulting on leadership, emotional intelligence, and DE&I.
She is deeply committed to giving back to her community as an active lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta public service sorority, minister at her church, and Co-Founder/Board President of Pacesetters Unlimited, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides mentoring and scholarships to African American youth.
Kristin received her bachelor’s and MBA degrees from Florida A&M University (FAMU), and executive education from Harvard University. She understands what it means to lead as a woman. During college, she was elected the first female Student Government President in nearly a decade, and serves as an appointed member on the FAMU Board of Trustees.
She and her husband, also a FAMU graduate, are the proud parents of three children. In 2015, they accomplished a bucket-list goal by establishing a $25,000 endowed scholarship for FAMU business students. Kristin also co-chaired one of the largest grassroots scholarship fundraising campaigns in FAMU’s history. She is the recipient of the YWCA Women of Excellence award, Top 50 Global Marketer award and was named a Columbus CEO Magazine “Future 50” leader.