Karen Jacobsen

MC, Host, Singer & the voice of GPS

When Karen Jacobsen walks on stage you know she belongs there. Her presence charms you right away, and then you hear her voice.

Karen is a polished MC, speaker and performer. With supreme versatility she can deliver an informative and engaging speech, facilitate an awards event or conference and then entertain your audience alone at the grand piano, capella or accompanied by a full band.

Back in 2002 Karen Jacobsen spent almost fifty hours in a recording studio speaking every combination of syllables possible into a microphone. The result was a voice system called “Australian Karen” and the beginning of Karen being known as The GPS Girl.

Karen’s speaking voice gives directions in GPS systems distributed by many leading manufacturers in many millions of cars around the world. Her parents say she started talking when she was 9 months old and never stopped, so it’s perfect really that her voice is literally everywhere.

During her career Karen has appeared on network television in both the US and Australia and her speaking voice is now used in voice systems worldwide. In addition to the Garmin GPS System (Worldwide), Tom Tom, NavMan and Mio GPS Systems, Karen has contributed countless voice overs for clients including, Aussie Hair Care (US), KFC, Snuggles, E*Trade (US), Greater Union Cinemas, Mobile One (Singapore), Telstra Talking Text (Australia) and Vodafone (Australia).

She is also an accomplished Singer and Songwriter. Karen’s songs are catchy, melodic, timeless pop, kind of like Billy Joel would sing if he were a tall, blonde Australian woman.

Originally from Mackay in North Queensland and often based in New York, Karen has shared the stage with Norah Jones, Christopher Cross, Jars of Clay, Three Dog Night, Deborah Cox, Cyndi Lauper, Spyro Gyra and her songs have been heard on Dawson’s Creek and NBC.

Karen has entertained across the US, Australia, Germany, England, Malaysia and Thailand alone at the grand piano, with a full band and a capella singing the anthem at major sporting events including the TriNations for the Wallabies Vs South Africa at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

As an MC Karen knows her job is to be a facilitator, to keep things running smoothly so focus can be maintained on the material to be covered. As a Speaker, at a Corporate Event or in an Education setting, she is dynamic, inspiring and refreshingly honest, sharing her experiences “navigating her way from the Great Barrier Reef to the Big Apple”, staying positive in a negative world and taking charge of the future.

Her corporate clients love having ‘The GPS Girl’ give directions to executives on and off the stage, and as an MC her most recent clients include the National Conference of the Institute of Hospital Engineers (Australia), the Connecticut Nurse of the Year Awards (USA) and Garmin (USA).

An Author, Karen has written two journal style books; The GPS Girl’s Road Map for Your Future, and Recalculate – Directions for Driving Performance Success.

 

What Karen Jacobsen speaks about:

An International Speaker and Concert Performer, both live and virtually, she has taken her universal message to national and international events across multiple industries including finance, health, education, travel, real estate, as a TEDx Speaker and Global Artist in Residence at High Point University.

“Recalculate Your Life” events and retreats are powerful transformational experiences Karen delivers in person and virtually.

She is an in demand Voice-Over artist recording customized voice systems and advertising campaigns, and a prolific songwriter and Recording Artist, currently working on her 10th studio album. She is the Composer for musical theatre productions “Perfectly Imperfect”, “Before Time”, and her one woman musical memoir “Mackay to Manhattan,” which premiered at the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre in Australia in September, 2020.

“Mackay to Manhattan” – A Musical Memoir is a part concert, part motivational journey that leaves Karen’s audiences elevated with powerful insights about their own lives. Her timeless melodic songs, powerful vocals and message “It Is Never Too Late To Recalculate” leave everyone energized and engaged with their potential.

Client testimonials

If you want to be inspired, educated, informed or entertained and, at the very least, congratulated after the event on your great choice of Speaker browse our speakers.