Today she runs the communications, marketing and philanthropic consulting firm, Gate Strategic, developing strategies, platforms, and creative concepts that enable leaders, brands and organizations to achieve their highest potential. She is a knowledge leader in change and cross-cultural communications, and is known for her innovative approach to new media and strategic messaging. Her client roster includes global brands such as LeasePlan, NXP Semiconductors, ING Banking Group, Euronext, FTSE and Rabobank while her list of non-profit clientele include professional associations such as NEVIR (Dutch Investor Relations society), and various foundations dedicated to financing work in human rights, education, healthcare and youth issues across the developing world.
Previously, Caroline served as Head of Investor Relations for Getronics, a $5 billion global IT services provider, with responsibility for leading the company’s financial and corporate communications to all stakeholders and the general public globally. Her media savvy and work as leader in crisis management for this company have also since led to her serving as personal advisor to a number of executive leaders in both the IT and banking and financial services sectors on key communications matters.
Prior to Getronics, Caroline was Head of Investor Relations for Seagull Software, a high-growth business solutions software developer. Brought in as a key member of their IPO team, she established a highly successful program which integrated finance, communications, marketing and securities law compliance to help the C-suite more effectively communicate the value of the company to investors and key stakeholders. During her tenure she also led the company through a major financial crisis which resulted in a commendation from the head of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and Dutch SEC for outstanding handling of the crisis.
Caroline began her career working as a journalist with a deep passion for global issues. For seven years, she held key communications positions in the non-profit sector while living in Eastern Europe, Vienna and the United States. With World Relief, a global non-profit committed to human rights issues, she launched a communications program aimed at fundraising and the recruitment of volunteers for the work of resettling refugees into the Southern California region. Using an integrated campaign approach, the project increased local involvement and raised awareness of the arduous and often life-threatening journey on the refugee highway. With International Teams, a global non-profit working with marginalized people, she spearheaded the organization’s first international communications program. Her work bridged more than 50 countries, teams and program officers, building capacity in some of the most isolated areas of the world. Often called upon by outside sources, she wrote extensively for both traditional media and think tanks, served as guest lecturer at regional training programs, and became a sought-after speaker and strategist for the development of new programs. In addition, her work included advocacy among governmental and non-governmental agencies including the UN, and networking with key influencers and policy makers on human rights issues such as the trafficking of children and the state of the Romanian orphanages. Prior to this, her passion for social justice also took her to the slums of Manila and the outer islands of the Philippines, and to Mexico at a ranch for homeless children.
Caroline graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Linguistics. She has lived and worked in North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe, and speaks six languages. Her education includes Masters studies at the esteemed Fuller School of Intercultural Studies. In addition, she holds an Editorial certificate from the Magazine Training Institute in Vienna and has studied in the University of California at Los Angeles Writer’s Program. She is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the European Association of Communication Directors, The Global Leaders, and the American Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands, a group highly active in policy initiatives in The Netherlands and throughout the European Union.
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