Cate Kalson

Former Chief People and Operations Officer

A person standing indoors between a red doorframe and a red curtain, with their hands loosely clasped in front of them. They are wearing a long‑sleeved dress featuring a bold, colourful geometric pattern with intersecting shapes in pink, orange, blue, green, and black. The setting includes framed abstract artwork on the wall behind them and a soft, warm light overhead, creating a stylish, contemporary interior scene with a creative, curated feel.

Profile

Before joining Opencast in 2021, Cate worked for the global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, setting up its Newcastle office and building out a data and analytics service to serve its European client base.

Prior to that, she was a life sciences researcher with a PhD in microbiology. She has worked as a product manager at both Booking.com and Sage. In both roles, she focused closely on recruiting and developing teams and working with people teams to drive projects, including the creation of early career training programmes and building capability.

She is passionate about inclusion and diversity, and helping people into tech careers from a range of backgrounds, as well as collaboration across the tech industry.

At Opencast, she helped to build teams and capability, supporting initiatives including early career training programmes and wider people-focused projects.