Karen DeLoy
Full-Spectrum Creative Leader
Brand · Product · Social · Content
I’m a full-spectrum creative leader with a multidisciplinary background in craft. For 10+ years, I’ve been shaping brand expression, content systems, and visual storytelling across tech, sports, and mission-driven organizations. I’ve led the vision and done the work, from art directing shoots and building scalable content infrastructure to presenting vision-led strategy to leadership.
My most visible chapter was Cal Women’s Basketball, where I orchestrated a full brand pivot, away from a traditional UC Berkeley academic identity and toward a gritty Bay Area cultural narrative that could compete for top recruits against more winning programs. I architected a 12-month social framework that took the program to #1 in video engagement against our conference competitors, drove 6.9M views on a single TikTok (1.3M interactions), and contributed directly to their highest-ranked ESPN Top 25 recruiting class in a decade.
Following that, I led brand implementation at SAP, rolling out a global rebrand across a crucial department in 90 days and training teams worldwide in content creation enablement.
Most recently, I’ve been embedded on the product side at Fable, an ai-native start up, building product content infastructure and owning a net-new product vertical from zero to launch.
I’m based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Personal Framework
Over time, I’ve adopted some personal frameworks that guide the work I do. I think it’s important to share my mindset and thinking processes. Here are two big ones for me:
1. Interrogate before you execute. My first instinct with any project is to understand it quickly and fully before touching it. What problem is this actually solving? Where are the blind spots? What are the tradeoffs for the people building it? What’s this connected to that might not be accounted for yet? I’ve developed skills to see the whole picture fast, so I can spend resources and energy in the right place.
2. Make bets on quality. Not everything needs to be precious, sometimes ‘quick and good enough’ is exactly what’s needed. But some work matters more, especially the kind that defines brand belonging or the perception of quality. That work needs time, planning and real commitment. I try to know the difference early and make sure the important stuff gets what it actually needs.
Currently
Bay Area native. Musician. Sports fan. Recently convinced to play pickleball. Currently reading Systems Thinking and watching Hacks.
