Kathryn Goetzke's Biography

Kathryn Goetzke, age 37, is the owner and chief Strategist at Innovative Analysis. She is the entrepreneur and innovator behind Mood-lites™, a new category of lighting in the $5 billion dollar U.S. lighting marketplace (it is about time Edison got a makeover!). She is armed with an MBA in International Marketing, an undergraduate degree in Psychology, over fifteen years of experience with small and large, Fortune 100 companies, has managed multiple successful political campaigns, and has created a new nonprofit and brand for depression, being a proud depression survivor and supporter of the disease herself.

Prior to founding her own company, Goetzke, a world traveler who has worked and studied across the world, was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Compass Marketing. She guided Fortune 100 companies like The Gillette Company, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, General Mills, and others in development of Alternate Channels, leading revenue growth of over 400% for Compass Marketing. White also led the strategic planning and business development for Brazilian-based Seed Technology Solutions (SeedTS), a Sao Paulo based technology firm, with income rising over 200% and project acquisitions with Deutsche Bank.

Goetzke began her career managing a law firm and then at 3M Corporation where she worked as a Research Manager at their headquarters in Minneapolis. She moved on to develop her experience at American Express serving different capacities in New Products, Marketing, Research and Promotions. After spending four years at American Express she went on to learn the ropes of Advertising in the West, helping small companies take on the big ones, while exploring the mountains, wildlife and confronting grizzlies along the way. Goetzke has a Master of Business Administration degree in International Marketing Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, International Studies and Biology.

In addition to launching Mood-lites, Goetzke started a non-profit organization for depression called iFred (the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression – www.depression.org ) dedicated to ‘rebranding’ the disease with the color orange and sunflower symbol (similar to how breast cancer used pink / the pink ribbon). For years we have associated hopelessness and helplessness with this disease, when in fact it is very treatable in 80% of cases. According to the World Health Organization, depression is going to be the 2nd leading killer worldwide by the year 2020, this trend is reversible – people just need to feel hopeful enough to get help.

Committed to donating her personal resources to philanthropic causes, Goetzke also served as a board member for the Watson Children’s Shelter, and on advisory boards and committees for the United Way, YWCA, Camp Mak-A-Dream, the Breast Cancer Resource Guide, Sailing into the Arts, and the Missoula Food Bank.