We recently connected with Katie Gerhard and have shared our conversation below.
Katie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?
Easy – the Red Tape. I worked for a Fortune 500 company for about 10 years and though it’s important to have policies in place, I felt we were always focused on perfection vs getting to the finish line or closing the deal. I recently made the decision to leave Corporate America and have landed where I feel I was always meant to be – alongside founder and CEO of Turmeric & Tequila™, the graceful disruption podcast, Kristen Olson. I’m still working to break free from a corporate way of thinking but the speed we’re able to move is really refreshing. She’s been a long time friend/mentor/trend setter so when she offered me the position of COO, it was a no brainer. What we’ve already accomplished and what we have brewing for 2025 is BIG. A lot people told me I was crazy to leave my 9-5 without another opportunity lined up, and they were right, it took some gumption but I’m glad I trusted my gut and every day has validated it was the right move. This transition has reignited my passion for all things and is 100% attributed to the type of people and industries we elect to work with; mission driven, challenging the status-quo and all around #varsity humans. You may not be able to see it right away, but believe it. Opportunity is everywhere, don’t limit yourself!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The first thing that comes to mind is I feel like I’ve already lived a lot of life in my 30 some years. I’m the youngest of 5 so competition was part of my day to day; learning how to fight for the last roll at Thanksgiving to earning a Division I Scholarship to play at the collegiate level. I’ve lived in over 10 states, was one step away from accepting a job in Ireland, wrangled with mental health, redefined what physical health looks like to me, recovered from a TBI (traumatic brain injury) and reinvented myself professionally multiple times. From a personal standpoint, I firmly believe that perspective is everything. Regret doesn’t exist unless you fuel it; nothing is a failure if you learn from it; look for the silver lining in everything.
From a professional standpoint, I think my advantage is I’m this unique dichotomy of an extrovert, fascinated to learn what makes people tick paired with a data geek. The majority of my professional experience is in analyzing market data, competitor activities, inefficiencies within operations, interpreting trends and being able to articulate complex concepts into clear phases and execute go-to-market strategies.
What I think makes me different is the confidence or belief in myself; I knew that regardless of the circumstances, I was going to bet on me and I would always land on my feet. From feet on the street to the seat in an executive suite, I will do whatever I need to, to succeed and I’m most proud of continuing to put one foot in front of the other when I couldn’t see how it was all going to work out.
All these skillsets have fueled a recent endeavor to perform stand up comedy. I’m utilizing social media platforms, my tried and true network of #varsity humans and soliciting new voices to build the brand. I’ve got the website, continue to book time on the mic and am loving every second of it. KG Komedy is brewing! More to come on KGKomedy.com….standby :)
Have you ever had to pivot?
2020 was a hard year. Not only were we all trying to navigate a global pandemic but I was diagnosed with Meningitis – a very serious infection in the brain. I won’t pretend that I know all of the medical science behind it, but in a nutshell, my immune system was so depleted that an infection had made it’s way into my spinal cord and eventually traveled to the fluid in my brain. I was working 16 hour days, 6 days a week and frequently covered 300 miles in one day. It landed me 8 days in the ICU; 8 days without sunlight, 8 days without social interaction and 8 days of eating nothing but chicken nuggets and chocolate pudding. I know it could be worse, but it’s worth noting I haven’t eaten pudding since :) There is a 90% chance of death from Meningitis if not treated within the first 24 hours so I knew if I were to walk out of that hospital, I was going to make some serious changes.
I was released and very luckily don’t suffer from any long term damage. I spent 6 months on disability and had my parents living with me to help provide care and help with day to day responsibilities. To this day, I tell people that Meningitis was one of the best things to ever happen to me. It allowed me time to rest. Reflect. Reprioritize and make a game plan of how I was going to live moving forward. Ultimately the silver lining is it showed me the importance of removing toxicity from your life and gave me a new perspective on what was actually important to me. It was the pivot that changed my personal life and professional career for the better.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Again, I believe perspective is everything and something I’ve always taken advantage of is staying connected to your mentors, considering other perspectives and leveraging the OG’s that have been there longer than you. I met Kristen when I was 14 by walking up on a lacrosse field and asking how I could help her with her clinics. We’ve been friends ever since and she has been the sounding voice and biggest supporter for over 20 years now. This is the ‘method’ I started in the early days of my journey and continue to maintain; develop those relationships and make it a priority to foster them. Schedule a coffee date with someone from another department. Pick up a book that you typically wouldn’t. What keeps me up at night is leaving opportunity on the table but staying true to this method, considering multiple perspectives, angles and insight has always served me well.
My final thought is something I’ve learned throughout all of my life experiences; the belief that you need to lose your identity in order to write your own identity. Thank you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://KGKomedy.com
- Instagram: katiegerhard
- TikTok: @kg.komedy
