Catherine Chao Email & Phone Number

New York, Ny, Us

Getting reacquainted with this beloved city of New York. Tuning in to exciting NBA & WNBA seasons!

Warmly welcomed into a curated slack channel supporting leaders in the marketing & creative community.

Relished the freedom to work anywhere and nap regularly without judgement. Helped executive clients in retail, tech, and sport drive revenue and cultural relevance. Explored full-time job opportunities until finding one that matched my preferred qualities; periodically write about the journey here: followsoar.substack.com. Forever grateful that my clients carried our work forward post-project. Currently not taking new projects to minimize potential conflicts of interest with NBA.

Sunnyvale, Ca, Us

Led strategy to redefine LinkedIn's functional and cultural relevance and resonance. Listened in on over 100 hours of focus groups to understand what people around the world want out of work and employers today (while finding an insights agency I wholeheartedly trust!). Celebrated team birthdays via friendly poetry slams. Accidentally uncovered what I'm working towards in every professional opportunity I take going forward and now practice it daily.

Beaverton, Or, Us

Moved to Portland in my 30s not knowing a single person; eventually found my place and befriended designers whom I'm continuously learning from. Wrote the commercial strategy to grow Jordan Brand from $3B to $5B, achieved in 2 years. Circled the world to chat with Gen Zs and learn how the brand can resonate more meaningfully. Discovered my preference for Keynote over PowerPoint. Served as chief of staff and supported a 13-person leadership team that was at least 80% BIPOC at any given time during my tenure.

Blackfriars, London, Gb

Begged my supply chain counterpart to let me tour the Lipton manufacturing facility - wish eventually granted! Learned how challenging it is to create breakthrough messaging and packaging in a tea planogram. Reconnected with college friends while working Expo West! Appreciated the different areas of ease and difficulty that come with operating P&Ls ranging from $7M to $700M.

Blackfriars, London, Gb

Grew a life-long appreciation for the complexity of a cold supply chain. Celebrated how universally-loved ice cream is. Built a 15-foot Breyers tub in Madison Square Park, NY. Felt what a true CPG win looks like - finding a financially feasible solution to meet Costco's margin requirements and gain distribution! Learned that there are few phrases more pleasing to hear than 'high turning SKUs.' Saw the Breyers grocery 'perfect shelf' of 60 SKUs (i.e., 3 freezer doors) at a Kroger in Nashville once and was in true awe of what 'everything going right' looks like.

New York, Ny, Us

Gained exposure to what smart (and not-so-smart) commercial deals looks like and how executives think. Learned what a 'deck' is and the beauty of white space on a slide. Discovered my love for consumer businesses through a project about Japanese manga. Stopped eating sushi outside of work for a few years…too much delivered to the office. Met my would-be-roommate while working on Blockbuster's Chapter 11 and was her bridesmaid over a decade later. Appreciated a culture that embraced introverted leaders, which gave me (an extrovert) awareness of how to engage teams more inclusively in the workplace.

Master Of Business Administration - Mba, Marketing

Bachelor Of Business Administration - Bba, Strategy