
Catherine Berardi
Founder & CEO
Catherine is founder and CEO of Prime Chief of Staff since its inception in 2014.
Prior to launching Prime, Catherine served as Chief of Staff to Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, where she learned the ins and outs of supporting a fast-paced, high-powered executive who ran the firm's day-to-day business operations. Catherine had active involvement in strategic advisory and planning, sales and marketing, human resources, budgeting, community initiatives, and special projects.
Before Ariel, she worked as a Sponsorship Consultant at Principal Financial Group and founded her first company, CB Strategy + Design, in 2009.
Catherine speaks at a variety of colleges and universities, including Harvard University, University of Chicago, and Northeastern University, on leadership and the Chief of Staff role. She is also a mentor for the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. Catherine graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Psychology. She is a native of the great state of Iowa.

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