Kate Hurley is committed to building effective leadership teams who will grow, transform and deliver a lasting impact on their organizations. Whether she is advising a CEO on creating a new leadership role or recruiting the right person for it, Kate’s clients value her partnership, dynamic and disciplined approach, and unwavering dedication to finding the right solution.

Kate is a member of Spencer Stuart’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications and CEO practices and leads the Consumer Tech Practice in North America. She works with a wide range of organizations, spanning Fortune 100 companies to high-growth startups, helping them to recruit CEOs and general managers, commercial leaders such as chief revenue officers and chief marketing officers, as well as other core members of the leadership team across a wide range of functions including product, operations, strategy, growth and content.

Kate often works at the intersection of the technology and consumer industries and has deep expertise in media, consumer tech, direct-to-consumer, e-commerce/marketplaces, marketing and advertising technology, sports/entertainment and software. Kate also brings extensive experience recruiting board directors and next-gen leaders, identifying top talent and rising stars to help organizations on their growth and digital transformation journeys.

Expertise

Kate specializes in:

  • CEO/general management/ president executive search
  • Commercial leadership (CRO and CMO) search
  • Newly created leadership roles
  • Tech/media specific leadership role (product, operations, strategy, growth, content and more) search
  • CEO succession planning
  • Board director recruitment
  • Next-generation leaders

 

Additional expertise in:

  • Organizational design and culture
  • Top team effectiveness
  • Media
  • E-commerce/marketplaces
  • Consumer tech
  • Emerging digital retail
  • Adtech
  • Software
  • Sports/entertainment

 

Recent work

  • Working on more than 350 engagements with a diverse client base over the last decade
  • Leading CEO searches for media and consumer tech companies, and advising large, global tech companies on CEO succession planning
  • Partnering with CEOs to scope and recruit for newly created leadership roles designed to accelerate growth and drive transformation
  • Working with newly appointed CEOs to help evolve the board of directors, recruiting new leaders with varied backgrounds
  • Helping founders and investors of a tech companies select new CEOs for the organization’s next phase of growth
  • Improving commercial functions of companies, including multiple global digital platforms, evolve their business models by recruiting transformational CMOs, CROs and commercial leaders
  • Recruiting next-generation board directors with digital and media expertise for consumer and technology companies

Previous Experience

  • Marketing, new business development and athlete representation at the sports agency Octagon Worldwide

Education

  • B.A. from Brown University, where she was a two-sport Division I athlete

Practice Areas