Susan MacKenty Brady

Susan is the Deloitte Ellen Gabriel Chair for Women and Leadership at Simmons University and the first Chief Executive Officer of The Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership.

Susan has previously published two books on leadership. Her third, co-authored by Executive Chair of the Board of Deloitte US Janet Foutty and Simmons University President Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten,  Arrive & Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership (McGraw-Hill), debuted in April 2022 and landed on the best-seller list in the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today.

Susan also serves as emeritus board member for Strong Women, Strong Girls and as a Strategic Advisor for the relationship technology company, Our.Love.

Susan resides in the Boston area and is the proud Mom of two awesome daughters and two rambunctious Portuguese Water Dogs.

Professional Experience

Prior to joining Simmons, Susan was Executive Vice President at Linkage, Inc. a global leadership development consulting and training firm. She founded Linkage’s Women in Leadership Institute™ and launched Linkage’s global practice on Advancing Women Leaders and Inclusive Leadership, and led the field research behind the 7 Leadership Hurdles Women Leaders Face in the Workforce™.

Publications

Featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, Susan is the author of Mastering Your Inner Critic and 7 Other High Hurdles to Advancement: How the Best Women Leaders Practice Self-Awareness to Change What Really Matters (McGraw-Hill, 2018), The 30-Second Guide to Coaching Your Inner Critic (Linkage, 2014), and co-author of Arrive & Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership (McGraw-Hill, 2022).

See Susan’s Insights below for more details.

Public Speaking & Consulting

A celebrated speaker, Susan has keynoted or consulted at over 500 organizations around the world. She is host of the popular “Better Understanding” podcast series and a sought-after guest expert on leadership across media platforms, including The Gallup Podcast with Mohammand Younis on The Most Important Leadership Skill? Listening.

Download Susan’s speaker kit to learn more about her work and impact and book her as a keynote speaker at your next event.