Kate Thatcher

AIA
Principal, Managing Director, New York

A dynamic leader and passionate advocate for equity in design, Kate unites strategic vision, organizational acumen, and deep design expertise. Over the course of her career, she has directed transformative headquarters and workplace projects at companies like Equinox, Horizon Media, Tishman Speyer, and Macquarie, alongside complex adaptive re-use and nonprofit initiatives, including work with the Urban Justice Center.

For Kate, leadership is as much about people as it is about purpose. In working her way up from project designer to her current leadership role, she has gained an empathetic perspective on cultivating talent, fostering creativity, and championing diversity in a rapidly evolving industry. She thrives on strategy, collaboration, and navigating complexity, believing that the best ideas emerge when disciplines, perspectives, and voices intersect.

I view my leadership as an ongoing design project, aligning the levers of people, creativity, and strategy to deliver the impact our clients and our industry need right now.
Kate on stage at the WORKTECH event ‘Financial Workplace 2025’ in New York with Andrew Burdick, Global Design Director at Macquarie Group
fun fact

Kate enjoys skiing in the winter, open-water swimming in the Catskills during the summer, and playing piano, sometimes accompanied by her two kids and an opinionated cat. She has also recently dusted off her French horn, to the occasional concern of her neighbors.