Katharine Dalton

About Katharine Dalton

Throughout every stage of her career, Katharine has operated at the intersection of strategy development and execution, multi-functional program leadership, and rigorous data analytics. She is deeply experienced in amplifying the voice of the customer within organizational missions, working closely with executive leadership, and translating complex data into clear, decision-ready insights that drive strategy. Katharine brings a depth of experience in driving end-to-end strategies, managing complex cross-functional programs, and ensuring that all facts are clearly documented and presented simply to support informed executive decision-making.As Director of Global Research, she leads consumer insights and voice-of-the-customer analysis, competitor intelligence, market research, and pricing analytics across the Payments and POS ecosystem. Her work directly connects primary research, public information, and behavioral data to inform strategy, product direction, and growth decisions at enterprise scale, including during periods of significant organizational change.Katharine is a strong advocate for disciplined, methodologically rigorous use of AI in research and analytics. She champions AI as a powerful force multiplier for speed, scale, and discovery, while maintaining clear guardrails around research rigor, data integrity, privacy, bias, transparency, and human accountability. She is passionate about building and sharing innovative digital and data-centered solutions that can change the world for the better, recognizing that today’s technologies can be used for meaningful good only when paired with rigor, judgment, and responsibility.

Experience

1. Director of Global Research

   Global Payments Inc.

   Oct 2025 — Present

   Lead Global Payments’ enterprise research and insights function to inform strategy, product, marketing, and customer experience across key verticals. Build and manage a high-performing team to deliver market sizing, segmentation, competitive intelligence, pricing research, and customer journey insights that translate directly into revenue outcomes. Partner with Product, Marketing, Sales, Finance, and Operations to turn data into decisions through clear storytelling, executive-ready recommendations, and go-to-market guidance. Own the research roadmap and tool stack, elevating methodologies and enabling repeatable, scalable insight delivery for both structured initiatives and fast-turn ad hoc needs. Positioned within the Global Payments Research Group in Marketing, this role strengthens our reputation for rigorous, actionable research that accelerates growth and customer adoption.

Education

• Cornell University

  Master's Certificate, Data Analytics & Hospitality Administration

  2020 — 2021

• American University

  Master's degree, Art History/Museum Administration

  1991 — 1994

• University of Mary Washington

  Bachelor's degree, American Studies/Communications

  1985 — 1989