Cathy Calhoun is the president of Weber Shandwick North America. She has been with the firm for 17 years and oversees operations for 20 Weber Shandwick offices across the U.S. and Canada. She also leads several of the firm’s major client relationships.
Cathy has extensive experience in branding as well as category marketing. She is the strategic driver of some of the largest integrated marketing programs in the country with specific expertise in food and nutrition, health and beauty and household products.
She helps develop the strategy and creative execution for new product launches, brand repositionings and consumer education campaigns for blue-chip clients like Unilever, the “got milk?/milk mustache” campaign, Mars, Incorporated and Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
During her time with the agency she has helped launch more than 250 milk mustache celebrity ads, worked with Harley-Davidson to celebrate three major anniversaries (the 90th, 95th and 100th!) and introduced new products ranging from Premium M&M’S to the Electrolux Icon line of high-end kitchen appliances.
Prior to joining Weber Shandwick, Cathy was marketing communications director for Wilson Sporting Goods. She also completed a five-year stint with the Chicago office of Hill and Knowlton.
The Public Relations Society of America named Cathy Chicago’s PR Professional of the Year in 2008. She was also chosen as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “Forty Under Forty” and was named one of the “Forty PR Stars Under Forty” by PR Week magazine. Under her leadership the Chicago office of Weber Shandwick was named one of the best places to work in the city by both Chicago Magazine and Crain’s Chicago Business. She has received numerous awards for the public relations programs she has overseen.
Her community service activities focus on education for disadvantaged children and hunger relief. She holds positions on the boards of Marwen, Namaste Charter School and Ravenswood Community Services.
Cathy earned a B.F.A. in journalism from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She lives with her daughter, Sophie, in Chicago.