Catherine is an award-winning brand builder and change agent with a proven track record of driving significant brand growth throughout her 35+ years as a senior retail executive. As CEO of SADLER + BRAND, she runs a sought-after brand consultancy working directly with CEOs and key stakeholders of both start-ups and global omni brands to differentiate and evolve their businesses amidst challenging market dynamics. Her focus is on ensuring brand differentiation and customer relevancy through 360 degree integrated brand strategy and break-through content.
Prior to starting her consultancy, Catherine was the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Banana Republic. She successfully helped lead the brand out of the 2009 recession to consecutive years of positive growth, including the highest comps of the decade. She oversaw the most successful brand and product partnerships in the brand’s history (MadMen, Issa of London) driving full-price sell-through, new customer acquisition and lapsed customer re-engagement. She also orchestrated the transformation of the marketing organization and its processes into a leveraged global model. Prior, Catherine was the Chief Marketing Officer of Ann Taylor, Inc. where she launched Loft as well as its core philanthropic partnership with BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Fund), generating over $67MM to date. She is equally well-known for her visionary work at Coach, where she partnered closely with CEO Lew Frankfort to architect its evolution from a sleepy $100 million leathergoods company into the global lifestyle brand it is today.
Catherine is a left brain/right brain thinker – strategically and creatively led, customer driven. She has deep and enduring relationships with best-in-class talent, agencies and partners which she activates in service to the brands she supports. She is passionate about people, having worked as an Expert Mentor for The Marketing Academy and with Founders through NY Fashion Tech Lab. She has guest lectured at Columbia Business School, NYU’s Stern’s School of Business, and Essec in Paris. She has been featured in leading publications such as Forbes, WWD, WSJ, AdAge, NYT and The Drum. She has won numerous awards, including the Cannes Gold Lion for Retail Advertising, the FiFi Awards for new Fragrance Launches, and the Shorty Awards for Best Social Media Campaigns. She has been Fashion Chair of Fashion Digital NY/ London and was the prestigious CLIO Image Awards first-ever juror for Integrated Marketing and Partnerships.
Catherine was a Founding Member of both Chief LA and also We Are The Board, is on the Executive Committee and is the Brand & Communications Chair of Girls Inc. LA.