Our Story
LKE is led by a wife-husband founding team, Chau and John Klemm, who bring complementary corporate and entrepreneurial executive acumen to every client engagement. Our shared story as immigrants, community leaders, and long-time operators shapes a firm that is both performance-driven and deeply people-focused. Based in Los Angeles, California, LKE works with clients nationally.
Chau built her career over three decades in corporate leadership, including serving as COO for a Fortune 100 financial services company, where her execution excellence drove growth and created an impact driven culture. John’s path has been in high-tech entrepreneurship, spending nearly three decades across numerous startups with three successful exits in sales and go-to-market strategy, giving him a practical edge on scaling and execution.
LKE's philosophy integrates three pillars with purpose:
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Personal (Family & Friends)
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Professional
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Philanthropic
As an Asian woman-owned and US veteran-led firm, LKE is grounded in integrity, resilience, and measurable results, empowering businesses to achieve disciplined execution and sustainable impact.
Chau Le Klemm
Chief Executive Officer
CLU®, ChFC®,CLTC®, MBA
Chau is the CEO and co-founder of LKE, where she helps leaders turn complex growth goals into clear operating plans, disciplined execution, and measurable results. Drawing on three decades in wealth management and law, including her time at Northwestern Mutual serving as COO of a flagship firm managing over $20B of client assets, Chau has worked with top performing teams and private client groups to design, evolve and scale systems.
Known for her strategic thinking and can-do mindset, Chau builds sustainable operating models to strengthen alignment, accountability, accelerate growth across the organization. In parallel, she develops the next generation of talent focusing on upskilling and career pathway strategies.
She holds a BA in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from Pepperdine University, and brings a grounded, people-first approach shaped by her journey as an immigrant, executive, and community-minded leader.
John M. Klemm
Chief Strategy Officer
John is the Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of LKE with 25 years of entrepreneurial and high-tech experience across numerous startups, including three successful exits in sales and go-to-market leadership. Known for his servant-leader approach, he builds and motivates high-performing teams by modeling leadership by influence and providing strategic direction.
He helps stakeholders identify uncovered opportunities, pressure-test assumptions, and solve business issues with discipline and agility. With a reputation for inquisitive and contrarian thinking, John excels at turning insights into enterprising strategies that drive sustainable growth and competitive advantage for clients.
A UCLA alumn and U.S. Navy Persian Gulf War veteran, he remains deeply committed to mentoring university students and serving on advisory boards, paying forward the guidance that shaped his own career.
Our Philanthropy and Community Service
LKE is passionate about giving back to causes bigger than ourselves and paying forward to the community that helped us get here. Over the years, we have been deeply involved in leadership roles, community volunteerism, and fundraising for non-profit organizations that impact autism, pediatric cancer, and education — inspiring others around us to create positive change.
Personally touched by autism, Chau and John co-founded College To Career (C2C), a UCLA program which aims to develop young adults on the spectrum to succeed in their college years and integrate into professional employment.
We are also committed to the growth of future young leaders by mentoring students, as well as serving on university foundation and advisory boards.
