Kate Butler

Director, People Operations, EMEA

Google

Kate has 20 years experience in HR, executive search and assessment, working at a large global firm, boutique and more recently, in-house. She is currently the HR Director for Google’s commercial business in EMEA and previously led executive search for Google in EMEA with a team of 25.

Kate began her career as a Researcher with Russell Reynolds, working in the financial services, healthcare and board practices. She joined investment banking focused boutique The Rose Partnership and spent seven years there, focusing on Corporate Finance and then establishing a new Corporate Officers practice. Kate returned to Russell Reynolds as an Executive Director within the CFO practice. However, after four years she was lured away by the opportunity to see what life was like “on the other side” and establish an executive search function at Google, which she was part of growing to 130 people globally over 5 years.

Kate has four children, aged 4 to 14.  She read Economics and Management Studies at Cambridge University. She is a devotee of cold water swimming and loves discovering new wild swimming locations.  Kate is excited to have the opportunity through SWISH to connect back to her executive search roots.