About

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Catherine Nelson is a senior executive, board director, and strategic advisor recognized for recommending the actions able to yield the most value within the elements of time, resources, and reputation.  She has extensive Board and Board leadership experience in start-up and non-profit organizations, and as a member of executive, audit (an SEC defined Audit Committee Financial Expert), risk, and finance committees.  Catherine prioritizes robust discussions as an integral part of the board decision-making process to demonstrate credible challenge.  Her global perspective, strong business judgment, and corporate finance expertise are hallmarks of her career.

 

As a Board member, Catherine leverages her strategic vision to drive meaningful change and foster consensus between boards and management. She is adept at identifying and addressing complex business risks and financial issues that demand board-level attention. Catherine serves on the board of CMMB, a global organization focused on delivering health solutions through medicine distribution. She chaired the Audit and Finance Committee for the Private Directors Association and offered strategic counsel as an Advisory Board member for Foundera, an emerging beauty company specializing in AI-driven foundation matching. Catherine is known for leveraging her trend-forward approach at pace with shifting consumer behaviors and markets to create value.

 

Currently, Catherine leads Windmill Lane Advisors LLC, a strategy and financial advisory firm specializing in corporate strategy development, financial and risk scenario planning, capital structure optimization, and due diligence for M&As and IPOs. She provides C-level and Board leadership to a diverse range of enterprises and start-ups.

 

Previously, Catherine served as a Senior Equity Analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, where she created the consumer sector model portfolio that guided decision-making for the firm's institutional clients. She was also a member of the Proxy Committee, ensuring transparency and fairness in the voting process. With over 20 years of experience advising institutional investors and mutual funds on capital market transactions, Catherine has been instrumental in helping C-suite executives and Board members anticipate and address activist shareholder proposals. She has engaged with the leadership of Fortune 500 and Russell 3000 firms across premier consumer-facing brands, including Coca-Cola, Colgate, Diageo, Kellogg’s, Sysco, General Mills, Mondelez, Anheuser Busch, Kraft Foods, Clorox, Mead Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Estée Lauder.

 

Earlier in her career, Catherine served as Vice President and Senior Equity Analyst for Cosmetics, Household, and Personal Care at Morgan Stanley, after beginning her finance career with Ark Asset Management Company. A strong advocate for women-led start-ups, she is an alumna and former Managing Director at Golden Seeds, LLC, and currently serves as an Advisor at Astia Angels.

 

Catherine holds a B.A. with Honors from Boston College and a M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned the NACD Directorship Certification®, Qualified Risk Director® designation from the DCRO Institute and certifications in Cybersecurity Oversight from the NACD, and CERT Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Women on Boards from Harvard Business School Executive Education, Corporate Governance from Wharton Executive Education, Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT from Vanderbilt University, and Cybersecurity Board Governance from the Private Directors Association. Catherine and her husband have two daughters and divide their time between New York City and Bridgehampton, NY. She is a dual citizen of the United States and Italy.