Ellen Taaffe
Clinical Associate Professor of Management & Organizations
Director of Women's Leadership Programs
Ellen Connelly Taaffe is a Clinical Associate Professor in Management & Organizations, where she teaches Personal Leadership Insights and is the Director of the Women's Leadership Program. She designs and teaches the Kellogg Women's Leadership Seminar series across MBA programs. She is a featured speaker and executive leadership coach in Kellogg's Executive Education programs on Leadership and Governance and in MBA Leadership courses and programs. Her book, The Mirrored Door: Break Through the Hidden Barrier that Locks Successful Women in Place won the Independent Book Publishers Award in 2024 and the NYC Big Book Award and the Goody Business Book Award for social impact in 2023.
Outside of Kellogg, Ellen is a governance leader serving on the boards of two public and one private company boards, where she is a Board Chair, Lead Independent Director, Compensation and Human Resources Committee Chair, past Chair of three Nominating & Governance Committees and currently serves as a member of two Audit committees. She is a Certified Board Director with the National Association of Corporate Directors and was honored as one of 100 Women Leaders in the Board Room by Board Prospects in 2025.
Ellen is a keynote speaker, executive coach, and TEDx speaker. She shares her insights on leadership, careers, and advancing women and inclusion through her writing and speaking in corporations, conferences, and universities and media like Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Business Insider, Washington Post, Kellogg Insight, WGN radio, Chicago’s Fox Morning Show, and her LinkedIn newsletter, Swagher.
Previously, Ellen spent 25 years with Fortune 500 companies holding the top brand management post at PepsiCo, Royal Caribbean, and Whirlpool Corporation divisions. She built world-class brands, led multi-billion-dollar portfolios with P&L responsibility, launched new businesses, led turnarounds, and merged businesses and cultures post-acquisition. She then pivoted into a growth stage small business as President of Ravel (formerly SDA before sale), a brand and product strategy consultancy to Fortune 500 clients. Over her career, she has been acknowledged for leading brand portfolios, impactful digital and traditional brand marketing (Gold and Silver Effie awards), business growth (Inc.5000 list), governance (Directors to Watch list), and people leadership (Top Small Company to Work Finalist).
Ellen received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in 1997. She also holds a BS from the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business, where she was named to the Hall of Fame.
Ellen loves leading and coaching teams and individuals to create the businesses and careers they desired. She's done this for years as a manager, trainer, and mentor and now as a board director, executive coach, teacher, speaker, and author. She is passionate about helping businesses and people ascend to higher performance levels, possibility, and purpose.
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MBA, 1997, Northwestern University
B.S., 1983, Marketing, University of Florida -
Clinical Associate Professor, Management & Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2016-present
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Board Director, Vice Chair, Chair, Nominating and Governance, Member, Health Products & Quality Committee, Member, Compensation and Talent Management Committee, AARP Services Inc., 2018-present
Board Director, Lead Independent Director, Chair, Compensation and Human Resources, Member of Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees, John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., 2011-present
Board Director, Chair, Nominating and Governance, Member of Audit and Compensation Committees, Hooker Furniture Corporation, 2015-present
CEO: Advisor, Speaker, and Executive Coach, ETC. LLC, 2015-present
President, Smith-Dahmer Associates (Renamed Ravel after sale), 2010-2015
Vice President of Marketing, Whirlpool Corporation, 2007-2009
Senior Vice President, Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, 2005-2007
Vice President, PepsiCo, 2003-2005
Vice President, PepsiCo, 1999-2001
Vice President, PepsiCo, 2001-2003 -
100 Women Leaders in the Boardroom, Board Prospects, 2025
The Independent Book Award (IPPY Award) for Women's Issues Category, Independent Publisher Book Awards, 2023 - 2024
The Goody Business Book Award. Category: Women in Business
NYC Big Book Award Winner. Category: Women's Issues.
Certified Board Director, National Association of Corporate Directors, 2022 to Present
Directors to Watch 2017, Directors & Boards Magazine
Board Leadership Fellow, National Association of Corporate Directors, 2017 to Present
Leader as Coach (LDEV-462-5)
Coaching or "the coach approach" (using elements of coaching in day-to-day interactions), is a critical skill set for successful leaders. Research shows that coaching is a proven method for engaging employees - and that engaged employees produce superior business results. This is an experiential class that teaches you how to have effective coaching conversations. As part of the course, you are matched with two NU students in which you will have four one-hour coaching conversations with each NU student throughout the quarter to practice your coaching skills. In the full-time program, the assigned NU students are undergraduates usually in leadership roles and PhD students. In the part-time program, the assigned NU students are typically medical, law school and Kellogg MSMS students. The first four weeks of class is dedicated to teaching you coaching skills and frameworks through interactive discussions, coaching demonstrations, peer coaching and other experiential exercises. During weeks five through nine, we conduct supplemental activities: practicum labs, one-on-one, and small group mentor coaching sessions to provide you with more personalized opportunities for you to ask questions, experience being coached, and receive feedback on your coaching skills. We return to the classroom in week ten to discuss how to apply coaching in the workplace. Grading in the course consists of attendance and preparation for class and supplemental activities and an instructor evaluation of your coaching skills via a recording you will submit of yourself coaching a peer in the class.
Prerequisite: MORS 430-0.
Personal Leadership Insights (LDEV-461-5)
This course is a unique opportunity for students who are highly motivated and committed to their personal development and growth as a leader and who value the chance to do this work in a group setting. The Kellogg faculty leader serves as coach and facilitator to guide students through a process that explores who they are (strengths, needs, values), reveals how others experience them (feedback), examines who they want to be (vision/purpose) and identifies actions for moving forward (development planning). Individual reflective exercises will be further explored and shared in small group meetings, full class discussion, and individual coaching appointments with the faculty. Students complete a paper integrating their personal insights. There is no final exam.
Because the course focuses on self-awareness and relationships with others, students rely on interactions with each other to experience vulnerability and growth within an environment of safety and trust. Therefore, students will not receive a letter grade, but rather a "Pass" with 0.5 credits or a "No-Credit" on their transcript. The "Pass" designation will be given if the following requirements are met: 100% attendance (non-negotiable), completion of all assignments, honoring confidentiality, and active participation in class activities and discussions.
Please note that the 100% attendance policy is non-negotiable across all sections and instructors. Only bid on a section for which you are sure you can attend every class session. Review the abbreviated syllabus for that section to confirm the precise meeting dates.
