Katherine Grass

Katherine Grass has a diverse work experience spanning over several industries and roles. Katherine is currently the CEO of Optii Solutions, where they were brought on board as a turn-around and growth CEO to drive successful financial outcomes, despite the challenges faced by the hotel industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Optii Solutions is a predictive hotel operations solution that optimizes labor and streamlines operations.

Prior to that, Katherine Grass served as a Venture Partner at Thayer Ventures, a firm focused on emerging technology companies in the Travel and Transportation space. Their role involved providing portfolio companies with strategic insights, industry connections, and counsel to drive revenue and sustainable growth.

Katherine also has experience as an Advisory Board Member at both NGO Xchange and Kiva Solutions in 2018.

From 2014 to 2018, Katherine Grass worked at Amadeus IT Group, where they held various positions. Katherine served as the Global Head of Innovation and Amadeus Ventures, leading their investment fund and partnership program, as well as external research teams. Katherine also created the first corporate investment fund for Amadeus as the Head of Amadeus Ventures in 2013. Additionally, they drove key strategic initiatives and managed the portfolio of minority stake investments as part of the Corporate Strategy team from 2006 to 2013.

Before joining Amadeus, they founded Chalktech in 2005, specializing in anti-fraud and counterfeit prevention for various industries. The company developed anti-fraud software that detected suspicious patterns in data to proactively prevent potential fraud cases.

Prior to Chalktech, Katherine Grass worked as a Senior Consultant for various Blue Chip companies including Avaya, HP Europe, and HP Asia. Katherine provided analysis and savings recommendations for Avaya's European Call Center and logistics department, as well as implemented serial number tracking initiatives and anti-fraud programs for HP Europe and Asia.

Katherine also held several roles at Compaq Computer Corporation, including Head of Business Development in the Consumer Division and Financial Controller in the Consumer Division. In these roles, they pioneered new partnerships and sales opportunities for the consumer market and played a key role in merging financial forecasting and strategy during the acquisitions of Tandem and Digital Equipment.

Overall, Katherine Grass has a strong background in strategic leadership, investment, innovation, and driving business growth across various industries.

Katherine Grass completed their Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics & German at Lewis & Clark College from 1991 to 1995. Later, from 1999 to 2002, they pursued their Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Edinburgh University.