Member since March 2026
Shannon Kinney has spent over two decades helping organizations embrace change and accelerate growth.
Her keynotes are more than talks; they’re experiences. Blending humor, storytelling, and real-world strategy and experiences, Shannon translates complex digital trends into actionable insights that teams can apply immediately. She’s been featured at national conferences, leadership retreats, and industry summits, where her approachable style and powerful delivery consistently earn rave reviews.
Whether your event is focused on sales transformation, digital marketing, industry marketing trends, or leadership in an era of change, Shannon will inspire your audience to think bigger, act bolder, and lead with confidence. Whether she is speaking to your company’s team, at an industry conference, or a regional association, she tailors the content to your unique audience.
The Vision Started Early: From Sticky Notes to Silicon Valley
I didn’t just see the future, I helped build it.
The year is 1996. I knew it would change EVERYTHING. The way people got their news and information, how they made buying decisions, how businesses reached their customers… people laughed. They said it was just a fad. But I couldn’t ignore what I saw coming. I deeply believed the internet was here to stay, so I dove in.
When I graduated from college, I worked on the team at The Portland Press Herald that launched their online site. We were one of the first five newspapers in the country to have an online news outlet. I started selling websites to car dealers and other businesses, but I had an idea that would change the online buying landscape forever.
It began with a drawing on big sheets of sticky paper (picture giant post-it notes). People knew I was a thought leader and contributor, and I had an idea to transform car shopping. I had spent so much time in my career with car dealers, I was convinced that the internet would be the perfect way to showcase car inventory. I posted the idea on a few message boards. Sure enough, it was seen by a team at the Chicago Tribune. I received the call to meet with three executives, and I hopped on a plane to Chicago with my big sticky notes in hand.
Partway through dinner, I started opening the notes up at the table. The execs promptly got the check and took me to an office where I spread them all out. Then they shared their ideas, and the sticky notes began to grow. And just like that, I moved to Chicago to work with the amazing initial team, and Cars.com was born.
I was on the ground floor. A small team of us made calls, took meetings, and secured investments from newspaper companies. The leading-edge newspaper company focused on tech investments at the time was Knight Ridder, and part of the terms of the investment was that, once we hit profitability with Cars.com, I would go help them with their national rollouts and lead a division of their digital operation. Before I knew it, I was off to Silicon Valley.
The Vision Started Early: From Sticky Notes to Silicon Valley
I didn’t just see the future, I helped build it.
The year is 1996. I knew it would change EVERYTHING. The way people got their news and information, how they made buying decisions, how businesses reached their customers… people laughed. They said it was just a fad. But I couldn’t ignore what I saw coming. I deeply believed the internet was here to stay, so I dove in.
When I graduated from college, I worked on the team at The Portland Press Herald that launched their online site. We were one of the first five newspapers in the country to have an online news outlet. I started selling websites to car dealers and other businesses, but I had an idea that would change the online buying landscape forever.
It began with a drawing on big sheets of sticky paper (picture giant post-it notes). People knew I was a thought leader and contributor, and I had an idea to transform car shopping. I had spent so much time in my career with car dealers, I was convinced that the internet would be the perfect way to showcase car inventory. I posted the idea on a few message boards. Sure enough, it was seen by a team at the Chicago Tribune. I received the call to meet with three executives, and I hopped on a plane to Chicago with my big sticky notes in hand.
Partway through dinner, I started opening the notes up at the table. The execs promptly got the check and took me to an office where I spread them all out. Then they shared their ideas, and the sticky notes began to grow. And just like that, I moved to Chicago to work with the amazing initial team, and Cars.com was born.
I was on the ground floor. A small team of us made calls, took meetings, and secured investments from newspaper companies. The leading-edge newspaper company focused on tech investments at the time was Knight Ridder, and part of the terms of the investment was that, once we hit profitability with Cars.com, I would go help them with their national rollouts and lead a division of their digital operation. Before I knew it, I was off to Silicon Valley.
