Karey Swartwout

FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL

Mesquite was founded on a simple belief: the quality of our decisions shapes everything that follows. Mesquite works with leaders, boards and organizations navigating complex decisions and periods of transition. We help them pause, consider tradeoffs, and move forward with intention. 

Karey Swartwout founded Mesquite Insight Group to help leaders think clearly when the cost of error is high. Her work focuses on surfacing risks that are easy to miss, examining how stated values and actual incentives diverge, and preventing premature decisions that create long-term problems.

Karey brings more than two decades of experience across strategy, hospitality, and clinical psychology. She has advised global organizations, built and exited companies, and developed deep expertise in how people think and operate under pressure. Mesquite reflects the throughline of that work, operating upstream of execution while remaining grounded in follow-through. Karey holds a BA in Public Relations & Communications from Texas State University and an MA in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University.