Cathleen Benko, former vice chairman and managing principal at Deloitte LLP, is known as a strategist, innovative thinker, and market cultivator with a pattern of being tapped for roles where breakthrough progress is needed. These strengths are evidenced throughout her career traversing senior operational appointments within Deloitte, a Fortune 100-equivalent professional services organization and market-facing client service roles for global companies and digital giants alike.

Appointed Deloitte's first global e-business leader, Benko positioned the firm's services and capability development for the post-internet marketplace. She then took on the role of technology sector leader. Both practices grew at double-digit compound growth rates during her tenure. As Deloitte's first chief talent officer, leading a 2,500-person organization with nearly a half-billion-dollar budget, Benko oversaw the restructuring and offshoring of talent-related delivery models and integration of Bearing Point, the firm's largest acquisition. And as leader of the firm's award-winning Women's Initiative, she led vanguard efforts that spurred innovations in diversity and inclusion, ultimately eliminating the gender turnover gap and improving engagement.

During this time, Deloitte became renowned for being among the first to design and implement a systemic response to the changing world of work. Her signature corporate lattice framework is internationally recognized as a model for building careers, getting work done, and fostering collaboration in the digital economy. These efforts positioned the enterprise as an employer of choice with recognitions including Fortune's Best Places to Work and BusinessWeek's Best Place to Launch a Career and Best Place to Intern, induction into Working Women magazine's Hall of Fame, and recipient of the revered Catalyst award.

Benko then went on to lead brand, reputation, digital, and citizenship functions, where she helped lay the groundwork for the profession-leading market position Deloitte enjoys today. Most recently she served as senior partner for several "digital giant" clients overseeing multifaceted account relationships, while also serving as CMO of the emerging Products and Solutions group leading the positioning of an asset-based products category within a well-established services brand.

Benko serves as a member of the board of NIKE Inc. and the advisory councils of early-stage companies BetterUp, Fourteen33, Frontive, SwarmVision, ReBoot , and Bersin Academy, and she has an exemplary record of nonprofit board service. Recognizing her son's conviction to serve in the U.S. military, she is engaged with veterans' causes and sits on the Board of American Corporate Partners. Benko has an exemplary record of nonprofit board service, serving as chair of Harvard Business School's (HBS) Advisory Council and member of its regional alumni board. She is senior advisor to the Federal Institute for Inclusion. Her previous nonprofit board positions include the Global HBS Alumni Board and Deloitte Foundation.

Benko is a U.S. patent-holder and best-selling author of three books and numerous articles published in top-tier publications. She has been frequently acknowledged for her professional achievements including Consulting Magazine's Frontline Leader, 25 Most Influential Consultants, and the publication's inaugural Leadership Achievement Award for Women Leaders. She was also inducted into the San Francisco Business Times Forever Influential Honor Roll.

Benko earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from Ramapo College of New Jersey where she was awarded the President's Award of Merit, the School's highest distinction.