About Dr. Keith D. Dorsey
I help senior leaders and executives do the work to earn their first or next corporate board seat.
Not by handing them a roadmap.
By meeting them where they are and coaching them to find their own.
Why I do this work
I have been watching exceptional executives stall just short of the boardroom. Not because they weren’t qualified. Because no one had taught them how to translate executive accomplishment into governance value, and no one had told them that board service is a discipline of its own.
That observation became research. My doctoral work at USC studied the pathways of women executives to corporate board service — a deliberately focused study designed to surface the specific barriers and breakthroughs that universal executive frameworks miss. What I learned from that research became the foundation for The Boardroom Journey: Practical Guidance for Women to Secure a Seat at the Table (Wiley, 2025) — written for women, with frameworks that apply to any executive serious about board service.
The book was an immediate #1 Amazon Bestseller upon its launch, sparked conversations in boardrooms and board-readiness programs around the world, and brought a steady stream of leaders — from every background — to my door, asking the same question: I’ve done the readiness work — how do I actually get there?
That question is the work.
What I’m known for
Four frameworks anchor my coaching, my writing, and my board services.
Optimal Diversity™: the framework I trademarked because some diversity initiatives miss the point. Observable diversity definitely matters, but requires a bit more intentionality from a cognitive diversity perspective. The boards that outperform are the ones where every director — regardless of background — has done the work to identify their differing perspectives and present them authentically. Optimal Diversity teaches that work. It’s a governance framework, not an identity framework. Meritocracy and diversity of thought aren’t opposing aims. They’re symbiotic.
The Five Capitals of Board Directors: a measurable framework for board readiness, published in Directors & Boards. Cultural Capital, Director Capital, Human Capital, Social Capital, and Commitment Capital. Each capital reinforces the others. Strength in one strengthens all five.
The Four Strategies to Secure a Corporate Board Seat: published in Harvard Business Review. Demonstrate your ability to add value. Gain board exposure. Become your own best advocate. Build and nurture your network. Who knows you and what they say about you drives the opportunities you’re offered.
The Glass Cliff Diagnostic: From Glass Ceilings to Glass Cliffs: A Guide to Jumping, Not Falling, published in MIT Sloan Management Review. A due diligence framework for senior leaders considering risky and challenging roles and assignments, designed to distinguish a genuine opportunity from one that is highly likely to fail.
These frameworks aren’t just material I teach. They’re the lens through which I evaluate every coaching engagement.
Where my work has appeared
My research and frameworks have been published in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Directors & Boards, Leader to Leader, Forbes, and Fast Company. My HBR article on imposter syndrome was selected for inclusion in HBR’s 10 Must Reads: For Business Students and HBR’s 10 Must Reads: Managing Yourself.
I’ve been an invited speaker at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences World Changers Summit (2024), a panelist at the World Economic Forum at Davos (2024), and numerous global board-readiness initiatives, including serving as a Global Affinity Network Leader with Lean In, partnering with Sheryl Sandberg’s organization to support women preparing for corporate board service.
Current board service
I serve as a director or commissioner on four active boards:
• Vimly Benefit Solutions — private technology and third-party administration company
• Continu — private learning management system SaaS company
• Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School — board member
• City of La Quinta Financial Advisory Commission — commissioner and former chair
Prior board service includes Pacific Crest Trail Association and Orion Talent, a talent acquisition firm.
I also serve as Senior Advisor at Boyden, the global executive search and consulting firm, focused on CEO and board services.
Recognition
• 2023 NACD Directorship 100™ honoree — recognition of 100 leading corporate directors and corporate governance experts in the United States
• 2025 BoardProspects 100 Exceptional Private Company Board Members
• 2024 Distinguished Alumnus, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School (PKE 130)
• NACD Directorship Certified®
• Featured in HBR’s 10 Must Reads: For Business Students
• Featured in HBR’s 10 Must Reads: Managing Yourself
Education and background
Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership, University of Southern California.
MBA, Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School. BS in Business Administration, Charter Oak State College.
Twelve years across Hewitt Associates, Aon Hewitt, and Alight Solutions, where I served as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Sales. Eight of those twelve years were under the Aon banner, a Fortune 500 global professional services firm. Sixteen years prior at Paychex, Inc., a Fortune 1000 payroll and HR outsourcing company, as a Zone Sales Manager responsible for revenue growth across their Human Resource Service Division. Five years of service before that in the United States Air Force.
A founder, advisor, board director, and coach. In a dynamic business climate, I’m still doing the research. And adopting what I learn.
How to work with me
Two paths, depending on where you are in your journey.
Read the book. The Boardroom Journey is the foundation. It’s where most of my coaching clients started.
Apply for One-on-One Coaching. For senior leaders and executives who have completed a board readiness program and are ready to put together a tactical plan strategically aligned to their personal strengths. Two paths: Accountability Partnership and Individual Advisory.
