Catherine Berardi is Founder and CEO of Prime Chief of Staff, a firm that specializes in placing, onboarding, developing, and coaching high-performing Chiefs of Staff for private sector and nonprofit organizations. Prior to launching Prime in 2014, Catherine served as Chief of Staff to President Mellody Hobson at Ariel Investments, where she provided high-level “right hand” support and advisory across a variety of business functions, including strategic planning, sales and marketing, human resources, community initiatives, and special projects. Catherine has held other positions at Ariel Investments, Principal Financial Group, and also founded a marketing strategy company in 2009.
Catherine is passionate about helping professionals and executives understand and utilize the Chief of Staff role within their organizations. She speaks at colleges and universities as well as companies and organizations across the U.S. She also serves as a mentor for students at University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business. Catherine graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Business Institutions. She currently resides in Denver, CO and is a native of Iowa.
