Katherine Strategy Pitch Prep Session
Date: January 22, 2026 (Today)
Duration: 90 minutes
Participants: Katherine Bayless, Uttam Kumaran
Purpose: Prepare Katherine’s pitch for SVP of Digital Strategy to Christina (9am Friday, Jan 24)
Executive Summary
Katherine is pitching Christina on a role overseeing CTA’s digital strategy holistically. The competition is bringing on a fractional CIO. Katherine was hired as “player-coach” and needs to demonstrate she’s already moving toward “full-time coach” by showing how she leverages her team (and partners like Brainforge) to execute strategy rather than doing hands-on work.
Part 1: Current Portfolio Review (30 min)
What Katherine Owns Today
Data Engineering Team:
- Direct Reports: Kyle (Data Analyst, moved from Market Research), Kai (BI Analyst, new hire)
- Extended Team: “Citizen data engineers” she’s enabling (Anna P/K/R, Chris Deathloff, Quinn, JC)
- Partners: Brainforge (strategic partner), SDG (BI tool evaluation)
Tech Stack Under Katherine’s Purview:
| System | Role | Status | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowflake | Data Warehouse | Active, expanding | Foundation for all analytics |
| dbt | Transformation | Active | Modern data stack |
| Remembers (Impexium) | AMS | Data integration | Membership team productivity |
| SFMC | Marketing | Integrating | Email metrics & automation |
| Historical Archive | Entity Resolution | Loading | 300-400 tables, identity stitching |
| Formstack | Forms | Automated | Webhook → S3 → Snowflake done |
| GitHub Actions | CI/CD | Active | Katherine built this herself |
| AWS (S3/Lambda) | Infrastructure | Active | Data pipelines |
54 Systems Inventoried (from Discovery Wiki):
- 12 CES Tech Stack systems
- 8 Core Business systems
- 5 Forms & Survey systems
- 5 Finance systems
- 4 Analytics & BI systems
- 4 Collaboration systems
- Plus legacy, e-commerce, auth, research data
Demonstrable Results (Year 1 Evidence)
Quick Wins Delivered:
- ✅ Formstack Automation - Real-time data ingestion, eliminated manual work
- ✅ Snowflake Infrastructure - Modern data platform established
- ✅ dbt Staging Models - 9 Remembers modules in progress
- ✅ 54 System Inventory - Comprehensive tech stack understanding
- ✅ Entity Resolution Framework - DataOps ID concept developed
- ✅ CES Security Fix - Identified and addressed lead retrieval vulnerability
In Progress (Q1 2026):
- 🔄 Katherine’s SFTP workflow migration (save 1 hr/day)
- 🔄 Active member report (replaces full-day manual Excel work)
- 🔄 Session scanner data analysis (Snowflake solves “file too big” problem)
- 🔄 Team enablement (Kyle building models, Kai onboarding)
Metrics to Highlight:
- 300+ manual processes inherited, actively automating
- 80% reduction in auth support tickets (Katherine’s custom Okta widget)
- Membership team going from “all day in Excel” to self-service analytics
- 29+ minute CES registration time being tracked for improvement
Part 2: Year 1 Roadmap Vision (30 min)
Q1 2026: Foundation & CES Support
Focus: Data platform foundation, CES analytics, team enablement
Deliverables:
- Complete Remembers staging models (all 9 modules)
- SFMC staging models operational
- Historical S3 archive ingested (entity resolution ready)
- Katherine’s SFTP workflow migrated to dbt
- CES analytics datasets ready (registration funnels, badge scans, session attendance)
- Kyle onboarded and building models independently
- Kai onboarded to Snowflake and reporting
Investment: $108K (Brainforge Q1 SOW)
Q2 2026: Marts & Self-Service Analytics
Focus: Business-ready datasets, BI tool selection, broader team enablement
Deliverables:
- Dimensional models operational (dim_member, dim_organization, dim_event)
- Fact tables live (fct_registrations, fct_purchases, fct_email_engagement)
- Active member report replaces manual Excel process
- Salesforce CRM integration (post-CES access)
- BI tool selection finalized (Sigma preferred)
- “Citizen data engineers” enabled (Anna’s, Chris, Quinn, JC)
Strategic Moves:
- Polytomic as ETL platform (vs Fivetran - cost savings)
- Snowflake native orchestration (consolidate tooling)
- Power BI → Sigma migration plan
Q3 2026: Advanced Analytics & AI
Focus: Entity resolution, predictive analytics, AI integration
Deliverables:
- Entity resolution operational (DataOps ID across systems)
- Lead retrieval + foot traffic analysis (exhibitor ROI)
- Session scanner trends (content planning insights)
- Snowflake catalog + Glean integration (semantic search)
- “Chat with data” POC (conversational analytics)
Strategic Moves:
- Snowflake AI/ML features (become “poster child for Snowflake”)
- Predictive insights (M&A from floor traffic - Katherine’s idea)
- Seniority scoring by market segment
Q4 2026: Operational Excellence & Scale
Focus: Full automation, team independence, strategic planning
Deliverables:
- 90%+ of manual processes automated
- Team can operate independently (calculated neglect successful)
- Real-time data pipelines for all P0 sources
- CES 2027 prep with clean data foundation
- 2027 strategic roadmap finalized
Success Metrics for Year 1:
- Manual processes eliminated: 80%+ of 300 inherited
- Team members enabled: Kyle, Kai + 4-6 citizen data engineers
- Data sources integrated: All P0 + P1 sources in Snowflake
- Self-service analytics: 80%+ of reports from marts
- Support ticket reduction: 80%+ auth-related tickets eliminated
Part 3: Leadership Narrative (15 min)
The “Player-Coach → Full-Time Coach” Story
Evidence of Transition:
| Dimension | ”Player” (Doing) | “Coach” (Enabling) |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Work | Built SFTP workflow herself | Migrating to dbt so team can maintain |
| Vendor Management | Managed Remembers data share | Evaluating Polytomic with strategic partner |
| Team Development | Inherited raw team | Kyle building models, Kai onboarding |
| Architecture | Made tactical decisions | Created DataOps ID as canonical standard |
| Reporting | Ran manual Excel reports | Building self-service marts |
| Problem-Solving | Fixed Okta widget herself | Working with IT/vendors on systemic solutions |
Katherine’s Leadership Philosophy (Her Quotes):
“The more I show up, the less people will walk on their own… neglect is the most effective technique”
“Squeeze value out of tools we have” - Frugal tech philosophy
“When they come back [from holidays], I want there to be all sorts of beautiful stuff for them to play with in Snowflake”
Five Steps of Leadership Development (Uttam’s framework):
- ✅ Step 1: Lead Yourself - Katherine managing her own development
- ✅ Step 2: Lead a Team - Kyle and Kai directly
- 🔄 Step 3: Lead Leaders - Enabling citizen data engineers
- ⏳ Step 4: Lead a Function - Moving toward digital strategy
- ⏳ Step 5: Lead an Organization - Future SVP vision
Why Katherine Over a Fractional CIO
| Attribute | Katherine | Fractional CIO |
|---|---|---|
| Context | Deep institutional knowledge (1 year in) | Starting from scratch |
| Relationships | Built trust with Jay, membership team, stakeholders | Unknown entity |
| Track Record | Delivered results (54 system inventory, quick wins) | Unproven at CTA |
| Cost | Already on payroll | Additional expense |
| Commitment | Full-time, invested in CTA’s success | Part-time, competing priorities |
| Team | Has team + strategic partner (Brainforge) | Would need to build/hire |
| Speed | Can execute immediately | Ramp-up time required |
Risks a Fractional CIO Creates:
- Knowledge transfer overhead
- Context switching (fractional = multiple clients)
- Potential conflict with Katherine’s existing work
- Team confusion about reporting structure
- Delayed decision-making
Part 4: The Pitch Deck Structure (15 min)
Suggested Pitch Flow for Christina (20-30 min)
1. Opening: The Opportunity (2 min)
- CTA’s digital transformation is underway
- Data is the foundation for everything (membership, CES, marketing)
- Someone needs to own this holistically
2. What I Own Today (5 min)
- Data Engineering team (Kyle, Kai)
- Extended team (citizen data engineers)
- Strategic partner (Brainforge)
- 54 systems inventoried and prioritized
- Show the tech stack diagram
3. Results Delivered (5 min)
- Quick wins: Formstack automation, Snowflake setup, dbt models
- Team development: Kyle building models, Kai onboarding
- Strategic decisions: ETL tool evaluation, orchestration consolidation
- Problem-solving: CES security fix, Okta widget (80% ticket reduction)
4. Year 1 Roadmap (5 min)
- Q1: Foundation (current focus)
- Q2: Marts and self-service
- Q3: Advanced analytics and AI
- Q4: Operational excellence
- Connect each quarter to business outcomes
5. Why Me vs. Fractional CIO (3 min)
- Context advantage
- Team in place
- Results already delivered
- Lower risk, faster execution
6. The Ask (2 min)
- Title: SVP of Digital Strategy (or path to it)
- Scope: Expand tech stack ownership (beyond data)
- Support: Continue strategic partnerships
- Timeline: Phased expansion based on results
7. Q&A Buffer (5-10 min)
- Anticipate Christina’s questions
- Have backup slides ready
Preparation Questions for Katherine
To Discuss Today:
-
What systems beyond data do you want under your purview?
- Okta/authentication?
- Shopify/e-commerce?
- CES tech stack?
- Marketing systems?
-
What’s your relationship with Jay (VP IT) like?
- Partnership or competition?
- How do you divide responsibility?
- Would he support your expanded role?
-
What are Christina’s priorities for 2026?
- CES success?
- Cost reduction?
- Member engagement?
- Digital transformation?
-
What’s the budget conversation look like?
- Current data team budget?
- Would expanded role mean new budget?
- How cost-conscious is leadership?
-
What’s your “Plan B” if Christina goes with fractional CIO?
- Can you work alongside?
- What boundaries would you need?
- How does it affect Brainforge engagement?
Supporting Materials to Prepare
For Katherine to Bring Friday:
- One-Pager: Summary of portfolio + Year 1 roadmap
- Tech Stack Diagram: Visual of 54 systems and who owns what
- Results Summary: Quick wins with quantified impact
- Team Org Chart: Current team + citizen data engineers
- Q1 SOW Summary: Deliverables and timeline (shows strategic planning)
Brainforge Can Provide:
- ✅ Discovery Wiki summary (54 systems inventory)
- ✅ Q1 SOW milestones and pricing
- ✅ dbt project progress report
- 🔄 Snowflake AI/semantic layer plan (Uttam mentioned starting this)
- 🔄 Leadership development alignment (Five Steps framework)
Action Items from This Meeting
| Item | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Draft one-pager for Christina | Katherine | Thursday |
| Tech stack diagram | Katherine / Brainforge | Thursday |
| Review pitch flow and talking points | Katherine | Thursday |
| Snowflake AI plan summary | Uttam | Send tonight/tomorrow |
| Five Steps leadership framework | Uttam | Share link |
| Practice pitch (optional) | Katherine | Thursday PM |
Notes from Session
[Space for notes during the meeting]
Good luck Friday, Katherine! The evidence is on your side.