For boards and senior executives

Executive briefings and advisory for boards and senior leaders

Celeste Warren gives executive briefings to boards, C-suite teams, and executive offsites, and offers confidential executive advisory for leaders facing complex leadership, culture, talent, and organizational challenges.

Last updated November 2026

What does an executive briefing or advisory engagement with Celeste Warren cover?

An engagement with Celeste Warren examines two things together: how leaders lead and how the organization operates. Drawing on 28 years at a Fortune 100 company and a decade as Vice President and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, she helps executives see which policies, practices, and decisions help people succeed and which quietly get in their way.

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Evidence cards

Three ways Celeste works with senior leaders

Executive advisory

A confidential thought partnership for executives navigating complex leadership, culture, talent, and organizational challenges. It suits leaders who want an experienced, candid sounding board while decisions are still being shaped, rather than a single session after the fact.

Executive briefings

Focused sessions for boards and senior teams that challenge leaders to think differently about leadership, culture, systems, and the decisions that shape people's experiences at work. Briefings work well on a board agenda or as the anchor of an executive offsite.

Leadership and organizational development

Practical workshops and learning experiences that help leaders strengthen their effectiveness, improve workplace culture, and put fair and inclusive leadership into practice. For managers, Equity in Action for Managers offers short, practical mini-modules.

For the boardroom

Six questions a board or leadership team can ask

Each question maps to one element of Celeste's Equity in Action Model, a practical way to examine how leaders' decisions, behaviors, and systems shape people's opportunities.

Equity in Action Model elements and a leadership question for each
Element	Question for leaders
Awareness	How are assumptions, experiences, and organizational patterns influencing our decisions?
Access	Who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources, and who does not?
Advocacy	Are we using our influence so talent, ideas, and perspectives are not overlooked?
Action	Where are we turning awareness and good intentions into deliberate leadership decisions?
Accountability	Are we looking beyond intentions and paying attention to outcomes?
Empowerment	Have we created the conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices?

Procedure

How an engagement begins

Understand where you are
Every organization is different, so the work starts with your current situation.
Clarify what you are trying to accomplish
Agree on the leadership, culture, or talent outcome that matters most.
Identify what may be standing in the way
Look at policies, practices, access to opportunity, decisions, and unwritten norms.
Choose the right format
Advisory, a briefing, a workshop, or a combination, depending on the goal.

Why it matters

Why senior executives bring Celeste in

Celeste has experience from inside the room. Throughout nearly three decades at a Fortune 100 company, she worked with executives, managers, and teams around the world on some of the most complex issues involving people, leadership, culture, and organizational change. Today, as founder of Celeste Warren Consulting, LLC, she brings that experience to organizations that want practical solutions, not buzzwords or performative approaches.

Learn more about her firm on the CRW Diversity main website.

New to Celeste's work? Start with the overview: DEI speaker for hire: Celeste Warren.

Common questions

All 45 questions in the FAQ

What is an executive briefing?: An executive briefing is a focused session for senior leaders, such as a board or leadership team, that examines a specific leadership, culture, or talent issue. Celeste's briefings challenge executives to think differently about systems and the decisions that shape people's experiences at work.
Can Celeste speak at an executive offsite?: Yes. Executive briefings and facilitated conversations suit executive offsites, where a small senior group wants candid discussion about leadership, culture, and organizational systems. Share the offsite's goals in the contact form at crwdiversity.com so the session can be shaped around what your leadership team is trying to accomplish.
Is Celeste a good fit for boards and C-suite teams?: Yes. As a former Fortune 100 Vice President and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Celeste worked with executives on complex people and culture issues. Her executive briefings and confidential executive advisory are built for leaders responsible for organizational decisions.
Can Celeste help beyond a single talk?: Yes. Beyond speaking, Celeste offers executive advisory, a confidential thought partnership for executives facing complex leadership, culture, talent, and organizational challenges, plus leadership and organizational development workshops. Details are on the executive advisory page of this site and at crwdiversity.com.
Does Celeste work with managers, not just executives?: Yes. Equity in Action for Managers is a set of short, practical mini-modules that help managers see where equity shows up in daily leadership decisions and give them tools to use right away. Workshops and learning experiences also help managers put fair and inclusive leadership into practice.
Can a keynote be paired with a workshop?: Yes. Organizations can follow a keynote with leadership and organizational development workshops so managers can apply the ideas. Celeste also offers Equity in Action for Managers, a short, practical set of mini-modules designed for busy leaders. Ask about combinations when you inquire.

Leading through a complex culture or talent challenge?

Start a confidential conversation about executive advisory or a briefing for your board or leadership team.