Catherine Berardi

Catherine Berardi is the architect behind the curtain — the strategist who builds the system and the scaffolding.

As Founder and CEO of Prime Executive Office, she helps CEOs and executive teams design the infrastructure behind leadership — from Chief of Staff support to systematized operations and strategic clarity. She’s part operator, part visionary, part therapist, and part ghostwriter.

Catherine launched Prime in 2014 to professionalize the executive office and elevate the often-invisible work that makes organizations run. She moves seamlessly between coaching a Chief of Staff through complex change and drafting the perfect two-minute talking point for a foundation president. She sees structure where others see chaos — and codifies the “glue” work others struggle to define.

Previously, she served as Chief of Staff to Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, where she helped lead day-to-day operations, strategic planning, and cross-functional initiatives. Catherine also founded her first advisory firm, CB Strategy + Design, in 2009, and began her career at Principal Financial Group.

She’s a frequent speaker on executive effectiveness and leadership design, with appearances at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Northeastern. She holds a BA in Psychology from Northwestern and brings clarity, foresight, and rigor to everything she builds — whether it’s a book, a 360, or a new executive office.