KEVIN KAYE
Principal
A natural affinity towards accounting and finance, alongside an authentic human approach towards building relationships and appreciating the in-demand skills businesses need to succeed, describes Kevin Kaye professionally and personally. Right after graduating from the University of Iowa, Kevin joined Bidwell & Company as a staff accountant. Embracing his strengths in relating to others through genuine conversation and communication, growing a network, and problem solving, Kevin identified a natural fit to apply these technical and soft skills to benefit the accounting and finance community. He then joined one of the world’s largest staffing and recruitment firms, Robert Half International. Over the course of eight years Kevin developed and grew the company’s presence in Vancouver, Chicago, and Portland, quickly becoming a key contributor in successfully training and mentoring high-performance teams. READ MORE
ERIN JEWELL
Practice Lead, Executive Search
With a commitment to being fair to all parties involved, Erin serves as part negotiator, consultant, client service representative and listener. Knowing the process from beginning to end, both the rewards of matching talent with an organization and the challenges of kicking off a search, Erin stays focused on building meaningful relationships with individuals and hiring managers. Making the verbal offer, to Erin, is one of her favorite steps in the recruitment process, where she shares the excitement alongside the candidate as they envision themselves in their new role. READ MORE
LAURA WITTER-JOHNSON
Chief Administrative Officer
Laura is an operationally focused finance and accounting executive with years of experience managing and directing financial organizations and the full spectrum of responsibilities needed to align with a company’s mission and long-term growth objectives. She is a Certified Public Accountant who started her career in auditing at KPMG and went on to roles with increasing levels of responsibility at several technology enterprises, most recently as CFO of a Chicago-based software company. She has been a key contributor in the successful sale of five different organizations throughout her career. READ MORE
COLETTE SHADIX
Executive Recruiter & Project Manager
Colette brings 20+ years of executive search and HR operations to the table with experience in securing top talent in the construction and engineering, public sector, technology, and finance and accounting space. In her spare time, Colette enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with her husband Brian, daughters; Sophia and Sylvia, and son AJ. Fun fact: prior to recruiting, Colette assisted with development of fragrances, solutions, and wet wipe products for an OTC Pharmaceutical company in Fredonia, WI.
JAMES LEWIS
Practice Lead, Project Resources
James brings nearly 20 years recruiting and career coaching experience to Katalyst Group. A quintessential people person, James is dedicated to fostering meaningful connections in both personal and professional realms. Throughout his career, he has played pivotal roles as a leader and contributor across diverse organizations, spanning boutique startups to global corporations. READ MORE
DAMON O'DONNELL
Executive Talent Partner
As Executive Talent Partner, Damon brings 15 years of operations, executive search and talent strategy experience to the team. After servicing high-growth tech startups, venture capital and private equity firms, Damon is excited to focus on finance and accounting searches here at Katalyst Group. In addition to being fluent in French and Italian, his professional superpowers center on relationship building, written and oral communications and executive recruitment and consultation. With former operations and leadership roles at boutique executive search firms and Dropbox and Pinterest, Damon appreciates a range of corporate environments ranging from established to early-stage companies. READ MORE
