Kristi Hedges is an experienced entrepreneur, communications professional and trained leadership coach. She founded The Hedges Company based on a key finding from running her business and working with hundreds of CEOs: though leadership communications skills are essential to performance, leaders themselves are rarely trained on them. Further, communications skills have a disproportionately high impact on corporate success.

Combining the best of leadership coaching with communications training, Hedges developed a unique methodology adapted specifically to the needs of CEOs, entrepreneurs and top executives to help them rapidly improve their leadership skills both inside and outside of their organizations.

Prior to The Hedges Company, Hedges was co-founder and principal of The SheaHedges Group, growing it into one of the top technology public relations firms in the Washington, D.C. area before successfully selling her corporate interest. She has been named one of the "50 Women Who Mean Business in Washington, D.C." and her company as one of the top 25 Largest Women-Owned Businesses by the Washington Business Journal.

Hedges writes the monthly column "The Leadership Factor" for Entrepreneur.com. She has been featured in such publications as The Washington Post, Washington Business Journal and Smart CEO.

Hedges lends support to the business community, frequently speaking on topics related to entrepreneurship and leadership. She is a board member of Mindshare, a program that supports entrepreneurial growth in the D.C. area, and is the founder of the Technology Marketing Alliance (www.technologymarketingalliance.com), the Washington area's first professional organization for senior-level technology marketers.

Hedges has been a featured speaker for the National Association for Women Business Owners, International Association of Business Communicators, Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, Potomac Officer's Club, American University, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, the Fairfax County Development Authority, and numerous others. Hedges holds a master's degree in communications from Purdue University, and a bachelor's degree in communications from Virginia Tech, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude.

(from http://www.thehedgescompany.com/about.php)

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