Jim Koepke

If you cold email me a sales pitch, I respect the hustle. Not enough to read it, but I do respect it.

After a career that began at Xerox, included leadership roles at IBM, and spanned nearly 15 years at Salesforce, I have officially retired from full-time corporate life. I recently had the opportunity to reflect on my career and what comes next in this Record-Eagle article: https://lnkd.in/gaxSVBmR I am grateful for the remarkable people, teams, customers, and mentors who shaped my career, and especially for the opportunities I had to help others grow and succeed. Although I have retired from full-time corporate life, I am interested in helping individuals, nonprofit organizations, and companies that could benefit from an experienced, independent perspective on go-to-market strategy, organizational alignment, leadership, or career decisions. My goal is to apply what I have learned to help others clarify challenges, identify opportunities, and make better-informed decisions.

You never know you might be the reason why someone keep pushing and motivated to keep going.... So keep pushing, never settle and remember the best is yet to come! 🔥 Let's grow!

Grateful for a room full of association leaders last night. 🙌 Thank you to everyone who joined our Industry Leaders Dinner at #ASAE26. Great food, better company, and conversations we'll be thinking about all week.

All - I’m thrilled to share that later this fall, I’ll be joining the team at Valeo Financial Advisors LLC as Chief Philanthropy Officer. I love the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. The people it attracts, the generosity it inspires, the partnership it takes and the impact it makes. But it’s an extremely complex ecosystem - especially for those curious and trying to be generous. Emotions and notions around money and resources can be fraught. Discerning what societal issues are important to you - and why - takes focused work. Navigating the ‘how much’ is personal and ‘how’ can get technical. Then understanding the dynamics of the issue areas you’re most interested in - and the people and organizations making an impact - has its own challenges. Yet still, after navigating all those obstacles, the final lift - building a giving portfolio, measuring impact and monitoring investments - doesn’t come easy. Phew. No wonder ‘intent’ doesn’t always lead to ‘impact’ and generous people give up along the way. Paralysis prevents philanthropy. And that’s only half the picture. Generosity is a two sided marketplace. How causes find supporters, make and show impact, build and grow high functioning organizations - is all equally challenging and inefficient even in the best cases. I’ve spent 20 years there as a ‘pracademic’ in fundraising and nonprofit leadership. When both sides of the equation are working at full strength, generous people and families go all in with trusted nonprofits they love. The result is a thing of beauty - joy and impact in both directions. My contention is, that’s all too rare - and doesn’t have to be. That’s where I’ll sit - in that middle space - working to bring clarity to the complex, increasing joyful generosity and confidence in giving resulting in increased impact. Since Valeo’s founding, philanthropy has been a core part of who they are and why they do what they do. It has shaped their culture, strengthened communities, and reflected their commitment to helping others thrive. I’m beyond honored that they’ve invited me to help them take the next step in making philanthropy an even more intentional and integrated part of the Valeo experience for their clients, team members, and community partners. We have some strategies and services we’ll be pursuing while joining local and national conversations in the spaces around these ideas - but for now, I’m in full listening and learning mode. If this is of interest or you’d like to follow along, DM me or drop a comment below. If you know someone I should follow or meet who’s passionate about the generosity ecosystem, tag them below. And I’d welcome great articles, books and content you’d encourage. Pinch me. I can’t believe I get to call this ‘work’. Let’s go!

AI search is changing how brands get discovered, and social and SEO can no longer operate in separate lanes. Join Stephen Adams (Director of Digital & AI Marketing, Emplifi) and Fernando Angulo (Senior Market Research Manager, Semrush) as they break down how to align your SEO and social strategies to get discovered across search engines, social platforms, and AI tools. 📅 August 25, 2026 | 10:00–10:45 AM EDT Register now 👉 https://bit.ly/45oRDp1

One year at MGM Resorts International... Wait, one year?! How does it feel like 5 years and 5 months all at once? When I look back on the last year and how quickly it's gone, I'm both amazed and incredibly grateful for everything it has brought. A year ago, there were 8 people on the team. Within two months, we were down to 6. Now, we're at 14, with new team members joining over the next month and new roles posting soon. 👀 We've established new standards, created guidance and workflows to make operations more efficient, challenged ourselves with elevated OKRs, and grounded ourselves in what makes a best-in-class social media program. Now, we're outpacing our annual goals and obliterating 2024 and 2025's performance metrics. Most importantly, though, we're changing the way people both inside and outside the organization see MGM on social. All of this doesn't happen without everything coming together in a big way, and for that, I owe the universe a debt of gratitude. Joey Wattoo and Marshall Osborne have been the epitome of executive leadership, providing the guidance and trust that have helped pave the way for this team's success. Eileen Lemish is the world's best boss, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. Stepping into a new environment like this can be a bear, but Eileen has been there every step of the way; sharing wisdom, lending an ear, and reminding me to "just do the work" when I need it most. I couldn't ask for a better leadership team than Jessica Dove, Pippa Bowen, M.S., and Giovanni Espino. Consummate professionals and wonderful people, each bringing unique strengths and POVs to a young team with limitless potential. Our social media managers and producers continue to raise the bar, each making an indelible impact on their channels and the properties they represent (huge shoutouts to Hagan Crear, Barbara Torres, Tia King, MBA, Shaina McCann, Tiana Schenk, Duke Vano, and Sara S.). And our colleagues and stakeholders across the organization have been incredible partners in our continued journey to become the best social team in Las Vegas. When I say we've been lucky, typing all of that out, it feels like an understatement. But I also don't want to discount the tremendous amount of work behind every success this team has enjoyed. This group has worked its butt off, and the results speak for themselves. As a leader, I couldn't be prouder. And as someone who has done this for 13 years, I couldn't be more excited and emboldened by the future. Grateful for year one, proud of what's been accomplished, and very ready for what comes next. Let's go!

Okay, so this came out a while ago. And if you know me, you know self-promotion is not exactly my comfort zone. But in my most midwest humble way, I'm honored to be named to the Base TOP 100 CLG '26 list, recognized for the Customer-Led Growth work we're building at ServiceNow. What I love about this list is what it celebrates - the operators behind Customer Marketing. People building customer relationships into something that drives real, measurable growth for our companies: advocacy, references, community, customer experiences. That's the work. None of it is mine alone (did I mention midwest humble?) - It's a testament to my ServiceNow Global Customer Marketing team, who delivers ELITE work every single day. See the full list of amazing Customer Marketing Leaders → https://lnkd.in/gtdNtrgM #TOP100CLG26 #CustomerLedGrowth