A note on sustainability
Throughout my career, environmental and human stewardship has run as a parallel thread to operational excellence: leading cross-retailer consortiums for old-growth forest preservation, introducing no-conflict-metals manufacturing, replacing petroleum-based raw materials, and building compliance and human rights standards into global supply chains. I see responsible business and operational excellence as the same project, not competing ones.
Board and advisory
Current and recent board and advisory engagements include Hedley & Bennett (Board Chair), Build a Nest, SimpliPhi Power, AllSaints Retail, To Celebrate Life, and Asan, among others.
Beyond the work
I'm based on the West Coast, having lived and led in the US, Europe, and Asia. Outside the work I'm an avid gardener, lifelong seamstress, fitness and Pilates instructor, and continuing student of behavioral and circular economics.
Let's talk about what you're navigating.
About
I’m Deborah Palmer Keiser, founder of MeThinks Inc.
Over more than three decades as a senior operator, I've held eight COO, President, and C-level roles across consumer brands and clean technology, and serve as a board director and advisor to founders, investors, and CEOs navigating change. MeThinks Inc. is where I now bring that experience to bear for leaders and organizations in transition.
What I bring
My background spans apparel, footwear, home, lifestyle, fitness, and clean technology — brands at every stage from start-up to global portfolio, public and private, US-based and international. The common thread is operating in moments of significant change: post-acquisition integrations, brand turnarounds, scaling fast-growth businesses, building operating infrastructure from scratch, and preparing companies for sale.
The work has consistently lived at the intersection of three things: strategy, operations and supply chain, and the leadership and organizational design needed to execute. Most operators specialize in one. The hardest transitions require all three working together.
How I think about the work
I take a systems-thinking approach: strategic intent, operational reality, technical capability, and the human organization treated as one connected system rather than separate workstreams. What breaks most transformations isn't the strategy or the process design — it's misalignment between them and the people meant to execute.
I work with leaders one-on-one, with full leadership teams, and with the broader organization, depending on where the change is needed. I take on a small number of engagements at a time so each one get
