Kelli Read is a practising solicitor. She qualified in England and Wales in 1992, having previously qualified as a solicitor in Australia. She practised for over 25 years in a variety of environments (usually highly regulated) in both the public and private sectors, in private practice and in-house, and in legal, business and leadership roles, including:

• Law firms (King & Wood Mallesons, Herbert Smith Freehills).
• Investment banking (Nomura International).
• Financial services (RBS Group/WorldPay & BNY Mellon).
• Private equity (Terra Firma Capital Partners & GI Partners).
• A non-departmental public body (QCDA).
• Professional services (PwC & AlixPartners).
• As an executive director in portfolio business operations in the healthcare and education sectors (Cambian Group).

In 2014 she established beyondBlackletter, where she now trains and coaches in-house lawyers and teams, develops strategies, and builds skills for better personal performance, team effectiveness and organisational impact.

With a particular interest in the power of Emotional Intelligence, Kelli is accredited as a TEIQue® assessor and Team Emotional Intelligence (TEI) survey facilitator. She has delivered training programmes for senior in-house lawyers and general counsel in cities around the world, including London, New York, Dubai and Miami.