KH monogramKelly Hymas

I like stepping into complicated situations and helping make them work.

My career has consistently involved understanding people and processes, identifying what isn’t working, and helping create better solutions. I’m most energized when I can understand a problem, collaborate with the people living it, develop a solution, and see that solution become real.

Kelly Hymas, seated portrait in a black blazer

My professional story

My path here hasn’t exactly been a straight line.

I started my career in events and operations, moved into client management, and eventually spent several years leading legal operations. Somewhere along the way, I realized the part of every job I loved most was the same: finding something that could work better and having a hand in changing it.

That realization pushed me to keep learning. I went back to school while working, earned my bachelor’s degree with high honors, and later completed my MBA in Project Management. Eventually, all of those seemingly different experiences led me to product management — a career where my background in operations, people, process, and problem-solving finally came together.

It wasn’t the career path I could have mapped out when I started, but looking back, it makes a lot of sense.

How I work

I start by listening.

I’m naturally curious, so I ask a lot of questions. I want to hear from the people closest to a problem, understand what’s frustrating them, and figure out what we may be missing before deciding what the answer should be.

Once I understand the problem, I’m comfortable bringing structure to the mess. I like getting the right people together, turning different perspectives into a clear direction, and keeping things moving until an idea becomes something real.

I don’t need to be the smartest person in the room or have every answer myself. I’d rather ask the right questions, listen to people who know something I don’t, and help the team find the best answer together.

What I Work By

Six habits I actually run on.

A few years ago I went through a leadership program at Bridle Up Hope — an equine-based program built around the habits of highly effective people. I spent that time on horseback learning to slow down, pay attention, and lead without force. These are those habits, rewritten in the way I actually use them at work.

  1. 01

    Own the outcome

    Choose the response instead of reacting to the noise.

  2. 02

    Start from the end state

    Define what “done and working” looks like before building anything.

  3. 03

    Sequence what matters

    Important beats urgent, every planning cycle.

  4. 04

    Understand before proposing

    Listen all the way through before designing a thing.

  5. 05

    Look for the shared win

    Solutions only hold up when they work for everyone involved.

  6. 06

    Build with people, not around them

    The strongest answer usually comes out of the room, not one head.

Off the clock

There’s a lot more to me than work.

Collage of Kelly paddleboarding, with her horse, mountain biking, and with Dug her corgi

I have a habit of collecting hobbies. I keep a giant list of things I want to try and slowly work my way through it — so far that’s included mountain biking, volleyball, horseback riding, paddleboarding, pottery, and a few other adventures. Fencing is next on the list.

I’m equally happy doing something creative. I love art, painting, and making things with my hands, and I’m usually happiest when I have some kind of project going — even if I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing when I start. My latest project is authoring my first children’s book, currently in the works.

I’m also proudly a little nerdy. I love fantasy, books, games, FanX, and any excuse to dress up for the Renaissance Faire. I can spend a weekend outside trying something new and be just as excited to spend the next one immersed in a great story. And, of course, I’m a dog mom — my corgi, Dug, has been my sidekick through more chapters of my life than most people have.

I think all of those things say something about how I approach life: I’m curious. I like learning. I’m not afraid to be a beginner. And I’d rather try something new than wonder whether I would have loved it.

Currently trying
Fencing
Currently creating
My first children's book — coming soon!
Currently collecting
More hobbies than I have time for
Constant companion
Dug 🐾

What motivates me

I’m motivated by work that makes a meaningful difference for the people on the other side of it.

I like finding the places where people are frustrated, overwhelmed, or working around something that simply isn’t working—and figuring out how to make it better.

A lot of that comes down to empathy. I genuinely want to understand what someone is experiencing before deciding what the solution should be. Sometimes that means simplifying a complicated product. Sometimes that means improving a process, bringing the right people together, or questioning why something has always been done a certain way.

I’m also motivated by growth. I like problems I haven’t solved before, learning things I don’t know yet, and work that pushes me outside of what I already know how to do.

Ultimately, I want to leave things better than I found them—products, processes, teams, and hopefully the experience of the people using them.

Education

  • Master of Business Administration (MBA), Project Management Emphasis

    University of South Carolina Aiken

  • Bachelor of Science, Communication

    Utah Valley University