Beth Murphy, Managing Director and Sales Leader for Energy and Industrial Manufacturing at KPMG, shares a deeply personal and inspiring journey shaped by resilience, reinvention, and unwavering drive. Growing up between California and Texas in a family rooted in oil and gas, Beth’s career path was anything but linear. From pivoting out of engineering at Texas A&M into programming, navigating early-career downturns during oil price crashes, and building her own consulting business, to ultimately earning a leadership role at KPMG after years of persistence, Beth’s story underscores the power of adaptability. Along the way, she faced layoffs, industry volatility, and the challenge of forging a career without early mentorship, fueling her passion today for supporting first-generation professionals and emerging leaders.

Balancing an ambitious career with raising six children, navigating divorce, remarriage, and motherhood across multiple career phases, Beth speaks candidly about tradeoffs, guilt, resilience, and the systems that helped her endure sales-driven flexibility, disciplined time management, and prioritizing presence over perfection. She reflects on lessons from mentorship, the value of learning through failure, and the importance of leading with empathy. Today, Beth emphasizes authenticity, vulnerability, and inner work as essential leadership tools, encouraging women to stop waiting for the “right time,” embrace discomfort, and define success on their own terms. Her core message is clear: growth comes from pivoting with courage, owning your story, and showing up as a whole human at work, at home, and everywhere in between.