Kristen M. Pope is an international speaker, manufacturing leader, and resilience strategist who helps organizations and their people perform under pressure and thrive through disruption. She weaves together front-line operations experience, business continuity expertise, and mind-body resilience to deliver sessions that are both deeply practical and profoundly human.
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As General Manager at Gates Machine Tool Repair, Kristen leads in the heart of industry, overseeing complex machine tool repairs, coordinating field service teams, and supporting manufacturers whose uptime directly impacts supply chains and communities. In this role, she is known for building resilient, cross-functional teams, translating shop-floor realities into strategic decisions, and keeping critical equipment running in high-stakes environments where delays are costly and failure is not an option.
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Kristen’s signature talks explore how culture, leadership, and AI are reshaping resilience in modern operations, with a special focus on manufacturing and industrial environments. She speaks on topics such as culture as a continuity catalyst, AI blind spots and governance for operational resilience, and how cognitively diverse teams outthink disruption rather than merely survive it.
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A Certified Personal Trainer since the mid 1990s, Kristen brings almost three decades of fitness and wellness experience into her work, connecting physical training with mental toughness, focus, and emotional stamina. Her mind-body approach helps audiences see resilience not just as a corporate framework, but as a daily practice that strengthens both people and performance.

Kristen is also an AI CERTs Certified Trainer (AICT) and champion of AI education, helping leaders build confidence with emerging technologies while safeguarding their people, culture, and continuity. She has been invited to speak at leading resilience and continuity conferences, including the Disaster Recovery Institute’s annual conference and the Continuity Insights Management Conference, reflecting her standing as a trusted voice in the field.