Cate Riegner, M.A.

Cate’s consulting career has been devoted to designing and directing strategic marketing studies and research programs for information technology and digital media companies. She specializes in identifying strategies to expand market share beyond initial early-adopter segments and providing competitive landscape and purchase journey analyses to guide brand positioning and marketing initiatives. Cate brings decades of experience working at the forefront of technology innovation in Silicon Valley prior to her role at NAXION. Her experience and interest span both B2B and B2C.

Previously, Cate founded and led NetPop, a specialized insights consulting agency that played an important role in helping shape perspectives and techniques applied to consumer insights research by some of the world’s largest technology companies, including Google, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, and Airbnb. For over two decades, her research guided the positioning of flagship consumer and SMB products for the mid-market business and enterprise sectors and fueled the expansion of the largest online advertising sales ecosystem worldwide. Global in scope and experience, Cate has led research in over 30 countries and 40 languages.

A cross-functional and spirited collaborator, Cate views the research process as a means of gaining alignment across multiple (often siloed) client teams and stakeholders – from product managers, marketing managers, and engineers to IT decision-makers, business division leaders, and the C-suite.  Her highly effective process management, exceptional client focus, and deep experience in the vertical have enabled her to help fast-running tech teams stay nimble yet grounded in their core objectives by strategic clarity. She has the breadth of experience and versatility needed to guide both market-leading brands and innovative startups in achieving their commercial goals.

Prior to founding NetPop, Cate served as Director of Strategic Planning at Lai, Venuti & Lai, an early interactive agency, and Account Planner at the technology group of Foote, Cone & Belding. In these roles, Cate spearheaded the research behind TV, print, and online advertising campaigns for companies during the dot-com era. Her foundational skills in qualitative and quantitative research were gained at NAXION where she first began her career, supporting pharmaceutical clients in their bioinnovation, major media companies, and Fortune 50 consumer brands.

Cate received a B.A. from Smith College an M.A. in communication from the Annenberg School of the University of Pennsylvania.