Katie Gillespie

About Katie Gillespie

Passionate about the employee experience and the role communications plays in creating a community of inclusion, transparency and authenticity.

Experience

1. Principal Corporate Communications Director

   Burns & McDonnell

   Apr 2025 — Present

   As Principal and Corporate Communications Director at Burns & McDonnell, I lead a high-performing, award-winning internal communications team focused on amplifying and preserving our unique employee ownership culture. Our work helps foster engagement, alignment, and pride among employee-owners worldwide.My team delivers strategic communications through a variety of channels—including targeted emails, intranet, digital signage, printed materials, video, environmental branding, live events, and more—to ensure consistent, meaningful connection across our global workforce.Key accomplishments:*Spearheaded the launch of a personalized intranet experience, generating over 3.7 million homepage views in the first nine months.*Led successful, enterprise-wide campaigns across multiple channels, enhancing communication and engagement across a global employee base.*Partnered directly with executive leadership—including the CEO and CAO—on high-impact communications.*Expanded team services to better support business lines, subsidiaries, and regional offices.*Served as a panelist, moderator, and interviewer for internal and external events, showcasing thought leadership.Created an interactive onboarding guide to enhance the new hire experience.*Led communications strategy for a CEO transition and a major ERP system rollout.*Selected for the inaugural class of the Burns & McDonnell Corporate Services Leadership Growth Program.*Featured speaker at IABC’s global conference (June 2022) and ALI’s Internal & Corporate Communications Conferences (2023, 2024).*Published contributor in Gallagher’s Journal of Communications (December 2022).I’m passionate about purpose-driven communication, empowering teams, and creating experiences that build connection and culture.

Education

• William Jewell College

  BA, Organizational Communications

  2002 — 2006

• Avila University

  Master's degree, Organization Development

  2012 — 2018

Skills

• Event Planning
• Wedding Photography
• Budgets
• Process Improvement
• Healthcare
• Digital Photography
• Human Resources
• Organizational Development
• Coaching
• Leadership
• Customer Service
• Visio
• Strategic Planning
• Employee Relations
• Team Building
• Management
• Hipaa
• Vendor Management
• Account Management
• Insurance
• Change Management
• Business Process Improvement
• Data Analysis
• Program Management
• Photography
• Project Management
• Photo Editor
• Team Leadership
• Access
• Employee Engagement
• Recruiting
• Analysis
• Employee Benefits
• Public Speaking
• Training