Vice President - Communications & Corporate Affairs
Northwestern Mutual

Kimberley Crews Goode brings more than 20 years experience in corporate communications to her current role as vice president, communications, for Northwestern Mutual, a FORTUNE 500 company with over $1 trillion of life insurance protection in force.

Prior to taking on this role, Goode spent four years leading communications in manufacturing industries. First at Kellogg Company, she supported the company's efforts to respond to the call for higher nutritional standards, including efforts to reduce trans fatty acids from its products and to reposition its advertising to children. Goode continues to advocate for children's health as a member of the board of trustees for Action for Healthy Kids, Inc., an organization committed to working with schools and communities to address childhood obesity by encouraging healthy eating and increased physical activity. Goode also served as vice president, corporate communications for Visteon Corporation, a global automotive supplier in southeast Michigan, where she helped craft internal and external communication strategies to support the company's turn-around plan.

Before venturing into manufacturing, Goode spent the majority of her career in the financial services and travel industries. She held various leadership positions at Prudential Financial, Inc. in Newark, N.J., where in addition to her contributions in the area of communications, Goode was a champion for diversity and served as co-founder and co-chair of the company's Black Leadership Forum, an employee resource group committed to leadership development of its members.

Goode also served as director of communications at American Express in New York, where she led the company's global communications function for all technology operations, and as head of corporate relations for Galileo International, a Rosemont, Ill. company that operated a computer reservation system owned by United Airlines and several other global carriers. Goode began her career in 1987 at Allstate Insurance Co. in Northbrook, Ill., where she progressed through a variety of roles in internal and external communications.

Goode has earned numerous awards from industry organizations, including Women in Communication, Inc. and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), whose New Jersey chapter named her Communicator of the Year in 2003. She also earned an Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications Award from Ebony magazine in 2002 and was selected one of America's Best and Brightest Business and Professional Women by National Publications and Dollars & Sense magazine.

She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and a member of the board of trustees for the Arthur W. Page Society. She also holds membership in the International Public Relations Association and the International Association of Business Communicators.