Catherine Reidy Kress ‘13

Catherine Kress, Managing Director, is Chief of Staff to the Chairman & CEO at BlackRock. In this role, she is responsible for shaping the CEO’s engagements with clients and other stakeholders at the intersection of business, policy, and markets – and bringing the full firm to bear in service of BlackRock’s clients and partners worldwide.

Previously, Catherine served as Head of Geopolitical Research & Strategy, where she led the development of BlackRock’s geopolitical views and advised investors and stakeholders on the implications of global political and policy developments. As a partner to BlackRock’s Corporate Affairs organization, she helped to coordinate the firm’s management of key policy issues. 

Before joining BlackRock, Catherine worked at Eurasia Group on the Global Strategy and Analytics team, where she oversaw the firm’s comparative research and strategic initiatives. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a BA in Psychology and Anthropology, and went on to complete an MSc in African Studies at Oxford University as a Clarendon Scholar.