About Marla Tipping

Marla's story

Marla Tipping is the owner and CEO of Caravel Consulting, a professional development consulting company she launched 21 years ago. She has significant experience working with corporate, non-profit and partner-track organizations around education, training, development and retention of key employees.

Marla’s experience also includes several years as an attorney, first with the national law firm of Kutak Rock and Campbell and later with the Minneapolis law firm of Moss & Barnett. She practiced in the areas of complex commercial litigation and, more specifically, securities litigation and professional services malpractice liability.

Marla left private practice in 1992 to pursue a corporate counsel position with Jostens, Inc., the industry leader in the Recognition and School Products market. She was ultimately promoted into a strategic leadership position as the General Manager of the Retail, Military and Alumni Products business. She left Jostens in 1997 to start her own business.

Marla is a frequent speaker on topics of workplace importance including:

  • Bringing Purpose to Work
  • Developing and sustaining strategic relationships for business success
  • How to harness and use influence in the workplace
  • The art and strategy of managing organizational politics
  • Creating and effectively using a personal brand
  • Personal Risk-Taking

” Marla Tipping is a unique blend of sophisticated networker and strategic problem solver. I worked with Marla in the MILLENNIA Leaders Program years ago and continue to use the strategies I devised as I continue to advance in my career. Marla is devoted to her clients. She has a vast network of business contacts and she works tirelessly to connect people who can help each other succeed. She is my go to on career and business strategy and my first call if I want to be connected to someone new. She seems to know and be respected by everyone in her network.  “

Anne L

Salo Consulting
marla tipping

Marla is also known widely for her work with the MILLENNIA Leaders Program, a cross-organizational professional development process for women. Marla has been leading and facilitating the Leaders Program for the past 21 years. Many clients use this highly regarded process for their emerging women leaders as both a development and retention tool.

Marla serves on the Executive Committee for Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, has led both Capital Campaign efforts and the annual Stewardship Campaign for many years. She has a passion for youth and mission work and has served as a chaperone for many high school youth mission trips and ski trips at Hennepin.

Other Board experience includes Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Justice Foundation. She facilitated the placement of Executive Directors in both organizations during her tenure.

Marla co-founded ORBIT (Opportunities Reached by Intelligent Talk) in 1997. ORBIT is a group of seven women who joined together to help each other navigate career and life choices with wisdom and a whole lot of humor. They still meet today.

Marla lives in Golden Valley with her husband, Bill. She has two young adult sons.

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