Kate is Chief Marketing Officer with GCI, the largest Alaska-based and operated communications provider offering mobile, internet, TV and phone services statewide. As one of the few “quad-play” providers in the country, the marketing team introduces new and exciting products to their customer base in all areas of the state, ranging from Barrow to Anchorage to Juneau. GCI covers 97% of Alaska’s population with mobile service. In addition more than 97% of GCI’s households have access to 1Gig internet speeds. With over three dozen stores across the state, GCI is a busy retailer, operating in the communities where their customers live and work. Kate leads the marketing efforts for the Alaska-born-and-raised business which has grown from an Anchorage start-up more than 35 years ago to a $2 billion publicly traded company that is now one of Alaska’s largest private employers, holds Alaska’s largest wireless network and more recently expanded in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. GCI is a leader in health care and education connectivity and a constant innovator that is on the forefront of Arctic technology in the U.S.
Prior to her joining GCI, Kate was the Executive Vice President of Spawn Ideas, a full-service advertising agency also located in Anchorage, Alaska. Much of her career has been focused in telecom, having worked and consulted for AT&T, Verizon, Alascom and several other operators. She received her BS in marketing and English from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, and her diverse professional marketing and communications experience also includes work in the fields of banking and finance, seafood, transportation, non-profit and Alaska Native organizations.
Kate’s commitment to the community is no surprise, given the depth of her Alaska roots. She is a fourth-generation, lifelong Alaskan, whose family is known for its active civic and community involvement in Southcentral Alaska. In 2014 she was honored as a “YWCA Woman of Achievement” for demonstrating qualities of leadership and excellence in her professional and personal endeavors, as well as contributions to her larger community. In 2002 she was named as the youngest member of the “Top 40 under 40”by Alaska Journal of Commerce & Anchorage Chamber of Commerce.
If not at the office, you can find Kate enjoying the outside with her husband and two young sons – whether they’re running on the trails, skiing in the mountains, or floating the Kenai River.
