Kate DesRosier is committed to elevating underrepresented voices and addressing challenging topics.

Her unwavering dedication and passion for bringing this mission to life are evident in her work with the Gotham Collective. With her extensive experience in business development and the speaking industry, Kate has been a critical player in driving growth and expanding our reach as a top speakers bureau and talent agency.

We are incredibly grateful to have Kate on Team GA and we look forward to you getting to know her better below!

Kate 1 March Employee Spotlight: Kate DesRosier, Director of Business Development

Q: Why do you love working at Gotham?

Kate: The opportunity to support our Gotham Collective exclusive artists roster and our bureau partners and clients with outstanding, reliable, and dynamic speakers is my favorite aspect of working at Gotham. Serving and growing the speaking careers of our phenomenal speaker roster while shaping a more equitable market is incredibly meaningful to me.

 

Q: Reflect on when you started; why did you initially join Gotham?

Kate: I’d worked in biz dev for a small collective of white male, military speakers before joining Gotham, and felt the limitations of presenting such a small niche to the industry. Gotham gave me the opportunity to work across the gloriously diverse spectrum of speakers and artists, and touch the vast intersections of identities and life experiences within. Being encouraged to draw from and present such depth and breadth of talent, I believe, makes for a more engaging, equitable, and stronger industry.

 

Q: Tell us a few details about your favorite part of your job.

Kate: My passion for pillaring the Gotham Collective and shaping the market is only possible with the backing of our extraordinary administrative team. Partnering with my incredibly skilled admin colleagues to provide timely, beautiful service to our clients and artists makes this dream work. The level of dedication and care taken by our assistants, contracts, and logistics folks inspires me every day.

 

Q: What is the best piece of career advice you’ve received?

Kate: This gem comes from my dad, who’s been a source of mentorship and advice since I started working as a teenager: you can make all the money in the world, you can hold the highest positions and accolades, but if you can’t get along with other people, it’s meaningless. I’ve found this to be true, as an extreme extrovert; the most fulfilling roles of my career have involved close collaboration with and being in service of others.

 

Q: What is one thing you’ve been surprised to learn about in the speaking industry?

Kate: How expansive it is! The oral tradition, our innate human need to tell our stories and hear the stories of others, has been part of us since we developed language. As we saw during the pandemic lockdowns, this need did not abate and we pivoted quickly to fulfill this together virtually. So I suppose through that lens, the incredible scale of this industry and the magnitude of lives touched isn’t surprising after all.