Kathryn Bullough
CMO | Picklr
How have you leveraged your position as a C-suite executive to influence business dynamics in Utah?
Utah has always punched above its weight as a business community, and I’ve tried to be a meaningful part of that story. Nearly 13 of my 16 years of professional experience have been rooted in this state, and at every stop — Amer Sports in Ogden, Skullcandy in Park City, and now The Picklr in Kaysville — I’ve focused on building world-class marketing teams and organizations that prove Utah talent can compete with anyone. As a CMO, one of the most direct ways I’ve influenced business dynamics is by bridging the gap between creative ambition and commercial discipline. Too often, those two things exist in different rooms. I work to put them in the same room and make them speak the same language — whether that’s translating a brand strategy into pipeline numbers for a board, or convincing a CFO that investing in culture is a retention strategy. That kind of fluency is increasingly valuable in Utah’s business community as our companies scale nationally and globally.
Could you share your approach to mentorship, including any advice you have for aspiring executives?
My philosophy on mentorship is pretty simple: get people into the room. The best thing I can do for someone early in their career is not to coach them from the sideline but to put them in a real meeting with real stakes and stand behind them while they figure it out. That’s where actual growth happens. For aspiring executives, my most consistent advice is to become bilingual — learn to speak both creative and commercial. So many talented marketers plateau because they can articulate a great idea but not why it’s worth the investment. And so many commercially minded leaders miss opportunities because they can’t inspire the people executing on their strategy. The executives who get to and stay at the C-suite level are usually the ones who’ve developed both languages. I’d also say this: Don’t optimize your career for logic. The moves that look unconventional from the outside — going from action sports headphones to body cameras to franchise pickleball — were the ones that made me more interesting, more adaptive and ultimately more capable. Comfort is a slow career killer.
What challenges have you overcome to get here today?
Throughout my career, I’ve had to develop resilience around being underestimated. Moving across industries — from outdoor gear to consumer electronics to public safety tech to a franchise sports brand — means constantly being the person who doesn’t have “industry experience.” You have to be comfortable with skepticism and confident enough in your fundamentals to let the results speak. Every time I’ve walked into a new category, there’s been a version of and a voice in my head saying, “She hasn’t done this before.” And every time, the proof came from doing it anyway and showing wins at every milestone.
