Kate O’Hara is an award-winning CEO with extensive experience in creative design, business development, scalable growth, marketing strategy, digital marketing, brand development, brand re-design, and partnerships. She is a sought-after speaker and industry expert connecting with audiences on a myriad of topics from business growth to design. Kate has appeared on numerous podcasts including A Well-Designed Business and the Wingnut Social Podcast. She has spoken at numerous high-level industry events and quoted in The Wall Street Journal; Artful Living; Furniture, Lighting, & Décor; and other industry-leading publications. She is featured frequently in magazines and is asked to contribute and comment often. In 2024, she was recognized as a nominee for the Austin Journal’s Best CEO Award; in 2019 she was a finalist for the TX Woman of Influence by Austin Business Journal, and in 2013 she was recognized as one of the 32 Under 32 in Advertising & Marketing by the Advertising Federation of Minnesota and more. Kate is currently the CEO and Creative Director at O’Hara Interiors, where she has grown the company almost threefold. Collaborating with architects, builders, developers, realtors, and other industry leaders, she has built partnerships, opened offices in TX, and accelerated company growth by 60% in recent years. In her prior role as Director of Marketing & Business Development, she played a key role in the company’s succession planning process both in preparation for her ascension to the role of CEO, and in ensuring a successful change in ownership while transforming the business positioning it for significant growth. As Marketing Coordinator, Kate developed the company's first website, digital photography initiatives, and social media presence with almost 500K followers. She led the brand development as the #1 interior design firm worldwide Houzz from 2013- 2016, with hundreds of millions of clicks and expanding the brand globally. Kate Co-Founded Fay + Belle, an artisanal area rug company, in 2016, to reduce cost and time to market, working with designers and artisans worldwide and selling B2B and B2C, now on track to more than double in growth by 2025.In her early career, Kate worked as a public-school teacher in the St. Louis and Chicago areas. Kate has a bachelor's degree and master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. She is an avid reader, animal lover, weightlifter, Krav Maga practitioner, and traveler who loves the outdoors and sails regularly.