Sometimes the most transformative career moves happen when entire industries shut down overnight. Canva's Kate Marsden's shift from airline marketing to tech partnerships during the pandemic reveals what happens when you combine desperation with audacity—and why the best opportunities often come disguised as complete collapse.
Her role at the intersection of creativity, technology, and human expression shows what happens when someone who understands connection applies that knowledge to giving people their voice back. Her insights about business risk-taking and strong opinions on authenticity will challenge how you think about professional growth and personal courage, while her vision for surrounding yourself with beauty offers a refreshing take on success.
Kate Marsden: Her Vision for Making Design Accessible to Everyone 🫂
- The DM Success Story: Slid into Canva CMO's DMs during COVID furlough asking "Do you need a partnerships person?" and got a laptop shipped four days after—five years later, still there 💬
- The Design Democracy Champion: Leads Canva's mission to "empower the world to design" by breaking down gatekeepers and making design accessible to everyone from grassroots organizers to Fortune 500 companies 🎨
- The Two-Step World Changer: Canva's plan is beautifully simple—step one: become one of the world's most valuable companies, step two: do the most good possible 📈
- The "Playing It Safe" Rebel: Her controversial opinion? "Everyone's playing it too safe"— she believes in being unapologetically yourself because "that's where the good stuff happens." 🚫
- The Art-Confidence Curator: Would teach a masterclass on finding art that speaks to you and creating a home that represents you, with a deck full of confetti and travel 🏠
📰 News That Matters
Sarah Perez
Daniel Kaplan
Kaitlin Reilly
☀️Tomorrow on ATM
She proves that when you J"aim-e" for greatness, you'll hit the creative bullseye 🎯
XOXO,
