Katherine Armstrong

Katherine is a purpose-driven leader who partners with boards and senior executive teams across arts and culture, education, philanthropy, and social impact organizations to solve their most complex leadership changes. She also supports leaders across industries through transitions with the firm’s Executive Mentoring program.

Katherine Armstrong is the global co-lead of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Arts and Culture Practice. She partners with leading social impact and educational organizations in navigating complex leadership transitions, challenges, and opportunities. She is also a core member of Russell Reynolds’ Education Practice, a leadership advisor with its Executive Mentoring program, and a member of the firm’s Board & CEO Advisory Partners.

In her role co-leading RRA's Arts and Culture Practice, Katherine specializes in working with cultural and philanthropic institutions. She brings particular expertise in the visual and performing arts, as well as a track record of partnering with natural history and STEM museums, historic preservation organizations, and other visitor-serving institutions. Katherine has also conducted a wide range of executive searches across higher education, philanthropy, and conservation. She focuses primarily on partnering with boards and leading complex CEO searches, and also has extensive experience around succession planning and governance, as well as transition support, assessment, and development.

Katherine also provides leadership advisory support to clients across industries around executive mentoring. Through the RRA Mentor program, an extraordinary cadre of prominent leaders, including chairs and ex-CEOs, mentor executives in a tailored development program. Backed by more than 50 years of executive assessment and development experience, RRA Mentor offers the structure, specificity, and reach that CEOs and C-suite leaders need to accelerate their success.

Prior to joining RRA, Katherine was with Dunleavy & Associates, where she specialized in providing professional services to nonprofit organizations, as well as leading engagements focused on strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. She has an extensive record of working with executive leadership teams and boards of nonprofit organizations at local, regional, and national levels, spanning health and human services, mental and behavioral healthcare, economic and community development, cultural and educational institutions, and national foundations.