Charcoalblue - New Managing Director for Theatre Consulting Americas

Kate brings a decade of experience at Charcoalblue to her new leadership role, initially establishing herself as an up-and-coming theatre designer in our London Studio and working on diverse projects such as the Aviva Studios in Manchester UK and the intimate Wild Rice theatre in Singapore. Over the past six years she has been based in our New York Studio, was promoted to Director in 2022 and has become a leading voice in our North American practice.

Kate has been instrumental in founding Charcoalblue’s Corporate Social Responsibility work and has helped to develop the core values which underpin the Partnership and our approach to design and culture.

Kate shares "Along with a wonderful team of Directors, I am thrilled to be leading Charcoalblue’s talented North American Theatre Consultancy team to its next chapter. I am passionate about uplifting our clients’ ambitions and supporting our team’s creativity and dedication in designing and delivering inspiring spaces for the communities we support."

Building on our North American team’s incredible successes, Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC), The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf’s Ensemble Theater and St. Ann’s Warehouse to name a few, Kate is immensely proud of her work designing new transformative spaces for the new American Repertory Theatre at Harvard, the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago, the National Black Theatre in Harlem NY and Theatre Offensive in Boston. Most recently, she led our design transforming Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre into the Kit Kat Club for the TONY award winning immersive production of Cabaret.

She adds “We want to share our innovative approach in creating new spaces and transforming existing ones so that they work harder and smarter. In a changing landscape, our role is becoming more important than ever - creating exciting and robust spaces, maximising budgets at every scale and delivering for our clients and their stakeholders now and for future generations to come.”

Managing Partner of Charcoalblue, Andy Hayles shares "It’s a joy to welcome Kate’s passion and enthusiasm into our senior leadership team. She brings with her almost unlimited energy and fantastic commitment to supporting her team. Kate builds on John Owens’ great work establishing our practice in the Americas, and we are looking forward to her developing the team and growing the breadth and the quality of our portfolio across the region".