Kari grew up in the timber industry in the Pacific Northwest. Comfortable around heavy equipment and the trades, she branched out into land development, real estate, and bookkeeping. Her husband owned a heavy equipment repair business, and her sons grew up running equipment as toddlers sitting in the cab with their dad.
When a major economic slump hit the PNW region, Kari saw a lot of equipment sitting idle and a lot of people who needed work and took action. She made starting a construction company look natural, but don’t be fooled. According to everyone Kari works with, she is the hardest-working and smartest person at KLE. It wouldn’t be untrue to say, “she also happens to be a woman,” it wouldn’t give the fuller picture of why Kari is such an amazing leader for the KLE team. Her unique touch is felt all through the company – words commonly used to describe Kari include strong, smart, and capable, but the same folks observe her kindness, caring nature, and patience as something that is especially brought forth by the fact that she is a woman.
“Kari inspires others. It’s a blessing to work with her because she is brilliant and talented, so she can work through pretty much anything. There’s not this ego or raising her voice to try and get people to listen to her. She has a lot of respect for other people. She handles everything in a way that is graceful, humble, and with a lot of integrity. Even if it is a bad day, she will come back to work the next day with a smile on her face and a great attitude, motivating other people. She’s so resilient.” -Operations Support Staff at KLE
“The number one for me is that she values family. It’s not just lip service. KLE puts a priority on taking care of their people, and that includes everyone.” -Project Manager at KLE
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