Katie Krotee

Senior Business Development Executive, Office of CEO @ Kong

About

Sales and marketing professional with a strong track record of driving revenue growth through strategic sales execution, relationship management, and data-driven go-to-market initiatives. At Kong, I work with organizations modernizing their cloud and API infrastructure to support AI adoption, secure connectivity, and agentic readiness. Focused on the evolving AI gateway landscape, I help position scalable API and cloud solutions that enable businesses to securely operationalize AI, manage intelligent agents, and build future-ready digital ecosystems. Passionate about emerging AI infrastructure, cloud-native technologies, and forward-thinking growth strategies that accelerate innovation and enterprise transformation. I earned a B.A. in Communications with a specialization in Public Relations from University of Maryland in 2022, where I was also a four-year Division I soccer player. My experience spans sales, brand development, digital marketing, social media strategy, content creation, and product development, with hands-on leadership experience driving marketing initiatives within a startup environment. I thrive in fast-paced, collaborative environments where technology, strategy, and relationship-building come together to drive measurable business impact.

Country

United States

City

Greater Chicago Area

Industry

Sports

Skill

Strategic Business Development, Lead Management, Outbound Prospecting, Sales Strategy, Demand Generation, Brand Partnerships, Business Strategy, Lead Generation, Content Strategy, athlete , Tiktok, Video Editing, Public Relations, Journalism, Photography, Microsoft Word, Written Communication, Leadership, Doer, Research Skills

Experience

Senior Business Development Executive, Office of CEO

Kong

2026-5 - Present · 5 mos

Chicago, IL

Helping companies transform and innovate by modernizing how they build, secure, and scale APIs — now with AI-driven capabilities and MCP-powered automation at Kong.

Business Development Executive

Kong

2025-2 - 2026-5 · 1 yr 4 mos

Chicago, IL

Senior Marketing & Business Development Specialist

DSA Laboratories, Inc.

2024-5 - 2025-1 · 9 mos

- Drove lead generation and pipeline growth by designing and executing targeted campaigns across Meta, TikTok, and Pinterest—boosting website traffic by 500%+ and significantly increasing qualified leads. - Developed and refined sales pitch materials and digital outreach strategies in collaboration with the executive team, directly supporting new-business acquisition. - Implemented data-driven marketing and branding strategies that measurably increased engagement and contributed to revenue growth. - Mentored and trained interns to improve content strategy, creation, and analytics, ensuring consistent messaging and scalable processes.

Marketing & Business Development Associate

DSA Laboratories, Inc.

2022-5 - 2024-5 · 2 yrs 1 mo

- Built and launched brand identity from concept to commercial rollout—including logo design and Squarespace website—creating a professional digital presence to support sales growth. - Planned and executed a high-impact TikTok campaign around the 2023 Women’s World Cup, driving a 500%+ increase in website traffic and significant inbound lead activity. - Generated and managed a pipeline of 5,000+ sales leads using Pipedrive, improving lead tracking, follow-up, and conversion visibility. - Created and executed outbound email marketing campaigns via MailChimp to support prospecting and early-stage sales outreach. - Collaborated cross-functionally with marketing, product development, and UI/UX teams to enhance product interface design and customer usability, aligning product features with market demand. - Analyzed market trends and competitive gaps to identify new revenue opportunities and pitch ideas to product and development teams.

Communication Intern

DSA Laboratories, Inc.

2022-1 - 2022-5 · 5 mos

- Executed market research to build media lists, sports and tech industry trend reports, competitor innovations and risk assessments leveraging social media and search engines. - Produced SWOT analyses to identified strengths and weaknesses in communicating with DSA Labs’ target market and potential customers. - Wrote newsletters for investors to provide company and industry updates.