Bio
Kristen Cox is the world's leading authority on how to apply the Theory of Constraints to governments and non profits. She is perhaps best known for her work as the former Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget for the State of Utah where she orchestrated a 35 percent improvement across Utah's $20B executive branch.
She is currently the Executive Director of the Initiative on Government Improvement for the University of Utah's Eccles School of Business which hosts the one-of-a-kind Transformational Operations and Performance (TOP) in Government and Nonprofits professional certificate.
Kris is also a keynote speaker, the author of two books, she sits on multiple advisory boards, and is the Senior Fellow for e.Republic's Center for Digital Government.
In addition, Kris is the founder and CEO of Epiphany Associates, LLC, her training and consulting firm. She is also a popular contributor on LinkedIn; co-founder of The Fulcrum, her private, online training community; and co-host of the Stop Decorating the Fish podcast.
Highlights from Past Keynotes
"You were a true highlight of our conference bringing the perfect mix of energy, passion, inspiration, and education to the room. The feedback has been incredible, and we thank you for making the trip and participating in our kick-off."
Mark
CEO
Executive Director, Utah's Department of Workforce Services
Challenge: Handle a 65 percent workload increase during the 2008/2009 economic crisis.
Results: Kris and her team were able to absorb the unprecedented increase (with no new staff), increase quality, and give $30M back to the general fund for other agencies to use.
This is what prompted then Governor Gary Herbert to ask Kristen to step into a new role as Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget (GOMB).
"It was the best speech on government that I have heard."
Lavanya
Sr. Program Manager
"A wonderful and enlightening presentation!"
Derek
VP of Sales
"It was a wonderful, informative, and vibrant presentation."
Hazem
Enterprise Sales
"Her presentation was the highlight of the conference for me."
JosƩ
Manager
"It was a pleasure listening to Kristen this week at Accelerate 2022. I love her thoughts on the Theory of Constraints and systems thinking."
Anthony
Senior Director
"I thoroughly enjoyed Kristen's presentation at Accelerate this week."
Denise
Director of Strategic Alliances
"She was quoted often on Day Two of the conference - clearly resonating."
Heidi
Senior Vice President, Marketing
Executive Director, Governor's Office of Management and Budget
Challenge: Improve the entire Utah executive branch by 25 percent
Result: Kris orchestrated a 35 percent increase that was still growing when she decided to leave public service.
To put this in perspective, despite Utah's rapid population growth, the state has fewer state employees now than it did in 2012. This results in an annual savings of over $500M to Utah taxpayers.
"We were truly inspired and heard nothing but positive things from our guests. "
