Steve McKinney is the Founder and CEO of McKinney Consulting, an executive advisor, keynote speaker, and executive coach specializing in Global Mindset, Proactive Agility, executive search, and leadership development.
For more than 25 years, Steve has worked at the intersection of global business, senior leadership, and talent. He helps organizations attract, retain, and grow the leaders they cannot afford to lose—particularly when they are navigating cross-border complexity, executive succession, organizational change, or the demands of leading across cultures.
Before founding McKinney Consulting, Steve held international leadership roles with global athletic brands including Adidas, Converse, and Reebok. His most senior corporate role was Head of Footwear Product Development (Global) for Adidas International, where he led footwear product development across markets and cultures.
Through McKinney Consulting and Kestria South Korea, Steve advises CEOs, CHROs, boards, and senior leadership teams on executive search, succession, leadership assessment, executive coaching, and global leadership capability. Kestria is the world’s largest executive-search alliance, enabling McKinney Consulting to support clients across international markets.
Steve’s insights on executive search, leadership, Global Mindset, and career development have been featured in publications including Entrepreneur, SUCCESS, Business Insider, CEOWORLD Magazine, Forbes, and The European Business Review. He is also a frequent podcast guest and commentator on global leadership, executive talent, and cross-cultural business.
Steve is the principal author of GLOBAL MINDSET: A Guide for Cross-Cultural Leadership, which helps leaders build the perspective, curiosity, adaptability, and integration required to lead effectively across cultures and markets. He is also the creator of the Proactive Agility framework, which equips leaders to recognize weak signals, challenge assumptions, and act before complexity becomes costly.
His coaching credentials include Leadership Coaching Strategies from Harvard University, Master Certified Coach in Behavioral Coaching, and an Advanced Diploma in Organizational Neuropsychological Coaching. Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Mars Hill University in North Carolina.
Steve has served on for-profit and nonprofit boards for more than 20 years. He was also named an Honorary Citizen of Seoul, South Korea.
Bryan McKinney is a Director at McKinney Consulting and a consultant with Kestria South Korea. He works with leaders and organizations on executive search, leadership consulting, executive coaching, and cross-cultural leadership development.
Bryan brings more than 16 years of experience working across multinational business, executive search, leadership consulting, and international growth. He has held leadership roles with McKinney Consulting since 2017 and previously worked in recruitment and HR roles within the firm. He also led the U.S. market expansion of a Korean technology company, gaining firsthand experience in the practical challenges of translating business strategy across cultures, markets, and stakeholder expectations.
Fluent in English, Korean, and Japanese, Bryan brings a valuable cross-cultural perspective to leadership and talent conversations. He works with executives and organizations seeking to build stronger global capability, assess senior talent, develop leaders, and navigate the complexity of international business.
Bryan is the co-author of GLOBAL MINDSET: A Guide for Cross-Cultural Leadership, written with Steve McKinney. The book explores how leaders can build the perspective, curiosity, adaptability, and integration needed to lead effectively across borders, generations, and organizational contexts.
Bryan has been featured in a Forbes interview on Global Mindset leadership and has appeared on podcasts with Steve McKinney exploring cross-cultural leadership, global teams, and the changing nature of work. Together, they share practical perspectives on how leaders build trust, adaptability, and alignment across cultures and generations
His coaching credentials include Master Certified Coach in Behavioral Coaching and an Advanced Diploma in Organizational Neuropsychological Coaching from the Behavioral Coaching Institute in New York. Bryan studied Game Design and Art, an educational background that contributes to his interest in systems thinking, creativity, and the human side of leadership.
