Bio
Catherine Huggins is a confidant / strategic counselor to top executives, rising stars, and newbies in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Most recently, she served as Chief Advisor to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds from 2017-19. A die-hard Midwesterner, she hit the ground running early in her career. At age 23, Huggins was appointed Chief Speechwriter and Deputy Press Secretary by the nation’s longest-serving governor and former U.S. Ambassador to China, Terry E. Branstad. Now, as Executive Vice President at Huggins Consulting Group, she spearheads the firm’s corporate practice, strategic planning, branding, integrated marketing communications, leadership development, change management, issues management, scenario planning, crisis communications, executive communications, and marketing to women efforts. During her career, Catherine led corporate communication efforts for a Fortune 500 financial services group spanning 10+ companies; external communications for a multinational corporation; and marketing communications for a niche insurance company as well as one of the region’s leading convenience store chains. Catherine is actively involved on the EPIC Corporate Challenge Advisory Council and served on the Executive Council of Million Women Mentors-Iowa. She was the first Iowa member to be elected to the national PRSA Board of Directors and is a former President of the Central Iowa Chapter of PRSA. Catherine also was a Board Trustee for the Josh Cares Foundation and a member of the United Way’s Tocqueville Society Women’s Leadership Council in Cincinnati.
Topics of interest
advertising, Branding, Crisis Communications, integrated marketing communications, Marketing to Women, public relations, Strategic Planning