Our Team

Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas is available for speaking engagements. Please download her speaking profile for more details.

Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas is the Managing Director of Corporate Insights & Engagement for Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), a trusted advisor to companies on their corporate purpose journeys to build long-term sustainable value and tell their impact stories. Working with CEOs and leaders in corporate responsibility, sustainability, foundations, investor relations, finance, legal, and communications, CECP shares actionable insights with its CEO-led coalition to address stakeholder needs. CECP is a movement of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies and helps them transform their strategy by providing benchmarking and analysis, convenings, and strategy and communications in the areas of societal/community investment, employee engagement, environmental social governance/sustainable business, diversity equity inclusion, and telling the story.

Kari is responsible for expanding and strengthening CECP’s engagement with its coalition companies and partner organizations, and insights for the organization’s thought leadership, company advisory services, and research strategies. CECP creates value through strategic, trusted advisory and best practices across a range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues; expertly curated knowledge, actionable research and data insights by advancing how companies measure, benchmark, and lead with their investments; and CECP’s Global Exchange, an international network uniting country-based, mission-driven corporate societal engagement organizations to advance the corporate sector as a force for good around the world.

Prior to joining CECP, Kari served as Executive Director, The Mosaic Company Foundation, and directed the company’s Public Affairs global corporate responsibility and agricultural sustainability strategies. During her tenure, Mosaic achieved ranking as one of 100 Best Corporate Citizens, Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine for six consecutive years and was recognized with the CECP President’s Excellence Award for the company’s agricultural development partnerships across multiple geographic regions.

In addition to her professional success, Kari extends her commitment to societal impact, serving as mayor of the City of New Brighton, MN. She also serves on several boards including judge for MN Cup business plan competition in the Impact Ventures division and Grand Finals; Business Advisory Group for the Office for Technology Commercialization, Venture Center, University of Minnesota; start-up social business incubator and accelerator FINNOVATION Lab, LLC; FINNEGANS Community Fund; Corporate Responsibility Association; University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management Carlson Ventures Enterprise; fraternal insurance company Catholic Financial Life and its subsidiary Degree of Honor Protective Association; Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture; HELPS International; and Social Enterprise Alliance—Twin Cities.

Kari holds a bachelor’s degree in statistics and international studies from The American University in Washington, DC and a Master of Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management at University of Minnesota, where she also has served as adjunct faculty.