Testimonials And References

"Kate Yakim used to work for CDW, a $23.8B Fortune 500 IT reseller company based out of Chicago, IL. While at CDW Kate was employed as a Senior Brand Manager. Her role was to support Schneider Electric, a $30B (euro) French-based, a multinational company that specializes in digital automation and energy management. Specifically, Kate supported the Secure Power division within SE and helped promote APC branded power, cooling, software, and service solutions to approximately 4,000 IT sellers, as well as senior executives throughout CDW. Kate helped manage a large marketing budget, created strategic sales initiatives, and implemented programs with key executive leaders. 

Kate's strongest attribute is her overall drive and willingness to see projects through from start to end. Whether it is a large sales opportunity or a complex issue that needs to be resolved, Kate will knock down any door and accomplish the task at hand. During her time spent as Senior Brand Manager for Schneider Electric, Kate poured her heart and soul into the position. She was the greatest ambassador for Schneider Electric and the APC brand. 

Additionally, Kate would lead quarterly review meetings and present the overall business to CDW's senior executives across all verticals and segments, including the public sector, corporate, healthcare, finance, and enterprise sales groups. 

Kate is incredibly loyal and dedicated to her job. She is proud to be part of an organization and always represents the highest level of class and professionalism. You want Kate Yakim to be on your team no matter what the cause or fight may be."  

Rod Cappiello

Director, NSP Channel, Schneider Electric

" I had the pleasure of working with Kate for 1.5 years (June 2021 – December 2022) in her role as Sr. Product Manager, Infectious Disease & Immunology at Quest Diagnostics. As a National Accounts Executive with Thermo Fisher Scientific Immunodiagnostics, I am responsible for supporting Thermo Fisher’s commercial relationship with Quest in the areas of allergy and autoimmune testing. 

Kate was a pleasure to support as she always had a “can-do” attitude with a high level of energy. Kate is a positive, enthusiastic leader. She was not afraid to dig into projects. During our time together, Kate:

• Managed a primary market research study evaluating the preferences and practice patterns of allergy and immunology specialists.
• Coordinated a comprehensive allergy business review for senior management.
• Managed an aeroallergen sensitization study which will be the largest assessment of aeroallergen information ever conducted in the U.S.
• Published a comprehensive allergy test menu. 
• Developed sales resources to support allergen component testing.
• Managed a process for collaboration among our commercial sales teams."  

Kevin TenBrink

National Accounts Executive, ThermoFisher  Scientific Immunodiagnostics

"For three years, Kate worked as Schneider Electric’s Brand Manager at CDW, and she was an invaluable asset to our company, our growth and our strong market share. Kate is reliable, hardworking, a team player, and always gives 100% effort every day. Her proficiency in product management, marketing, brand and project management, helped the entire team and APC by Schneider Electric brand succeed. Kate used her creative and strategic skills to accomplish the highest growth in the history of the company for 3 consecutive years between 2018-2021. The amount of work we receive can be very demanding, but Kate always submits her work ahead of schedule and can plan her work ahead of time. She has also been a well-liked partner and coworker and never had a problem with anyone in the company. Kate instantly brings high quality and dedication to any workplace thanks to her qualifications, experience and cultural background."  

Lovisa Tedestedt

Global Strategic Account Director, APC by Schneider Electric

 "I met Kate at a career development networking event. Her enthusiasm, experience, and confidence initially drew me to her. Once we connected Kate instantly jumped into the process by analyzing where I currently am to where I want to be. She is a go-getter type who is efficient in her mentorship. I was in a place of self-doubt as I was looking to begin my career but having trouble finding a job to kickstart my career. We had conversations that explored my passion and skillset, which focused me on the direction I wanted to go. The next conversation concentrated on my resume and other documents that I would be packaging with my applications. She aided me in completely revamping my resume to look professional and up to date. Kate then introduced me to principles of job hunting that I was not familiar with. She also went through mock interviews with me and worked with me until my answers were perfection. During the whole process, Kate was not only there to help me whenever I needed it, but she helped me find my confidence and value. I was at a low point of the job hunt, and she completely turned my attitude and outlook around. Kate also armored me with knowledge of modern processes of landing a job and other tips and tricks. I would not have been able to land the job that I did in a month if it was not for her guidance. I cannot thank Kate enough for everything she has done for me. She made me ready for the next big step in my career."  

Michelle Berin

Talent Acquisition, Abbvie

"I partnered with at Grainger where I met Kate. She is a Russian immigrant who came to the USA long time ago. She is a prime example of capturing the American spirit. She came to the USA at the age of 17. She was very brave in not understanding or speaking English. She took a waitress job and worked hard. Then she was discovered by a Russian customer at the restaurant. Since she was tall, he asked if she played basketball. She played ball in Russia on a superior team. She ended up at U of I in Chicago and graduated. She told me how she used to tape professor’s lectures, then in the very early am hours, translate each word of the lecture. She said it was very hard and time consuming. Her competitive spirit helped her gain a foothold in the business world as you can see by her résumé. She has helped me immensely in my dealing with Grainger. I worked with several other people at Grainger over 5 years. She did more for me in 2 years than all the rest in all my time dealing with Grainger. She is a hard and dedicated worker that really understands product management. Here are the attributes I look for in people I work with: Integrity – Kate does what she says she is going to do and goes beyond that in most cases. Leadership – she is the right-hand person for partners and team members. They look to her for answers. She also guided me on numerous internal contacts and product dealings. Business background – she has worked at Grainger, a huge company, finding her way around people and systems. She understands business processes., tools, and marketing, a rare background for most females. I do not typically find a person of this caliber in my dealings with business contacts. Kate knows how to get the job done, is good with her people skills, and has an international background."

Ron Kirsch

Director of National Accounts, Test Products International 

"Kate Yakim worked with me for approximately three years and reported into me for two additional years at CDW (senior brand manager role covering APC). Over this time, Kate demonstrated strong business acumen, ability to form relationships across all levels of the company and advanced communication skills to interface with internal and external C-level executives. She also displayed a great sense of self-awareness and was always eager to take on stretch initiatives and grow her talent. I highly recommend Kate Yakim and she will undoubtedly be a beneficial addition to your team."

Francisco Melendez

Category Manager, CDW

"I have known Kate for many years, when I was a college Basketball coach and Kate played on the team. At that time Kate knew no English, but she worked very hard to learn it and understand what was being taught off and on the court. I watched Kate develop into a very good player and a great woman. Kate has had to work hard for everything she has accomplished, which is why I asked her to come work for me at ATS when she finished college. As a manager, you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with and Kate is definitely an individual, I would want to go to battle with me. Kate may not know everything, but she sure will learn quickly. Kate us bilingual which is an irreplaceable trait for any person."

Misty Opat

General Manager, ITS

"It is my great pleasure and honor to write about Kate's qualities and competencies. I have known Kate for over 10 years. Her strong interest and eagerness in becoming a mentee impressed me from the day I connected with her. She was responsive and extremely organized when working on projects. I had a great pleasure mentoring Kate throughout her professional career. I would describe Kate as a highly motivated professional who has strong ambitions and goals to develop into a servant leader and facilitator for success. Kate’s confident attitude and extreme energy positively influence other people and it is the reason that she is so well liked by them. One of Kate’s successful accomplishments was her becoming a mentor for others. Kate has a proven ability to coach and guide people through cross-functional work and projects. Her achievements and skills along with her determined work ethic make her a tremendous asset for any organization that looks for driven and ambitious candidates."

Lena Jouran

Vice President of Finance, Smith Drug Company

"Kate exceeds expectations on a regular basis. Her approach toward her job becomes particularly impressive when compared to the performance driver model. Wowing the customer: Kate exceeds expectations with internal customers (Technical Product Support, Product Managers, Suppliers) by consistently coming up with new ideas to help these partners more effectively do their jobs and interact with Product Management. For example, she created a feedback mechanism for Tech Support which has received rave reviews from that group of important cross-functional partners. Drive for the Best Results: Kate exceeds expectations for her drive through a tireless work ethic and her willingness to own processes and responsibilities for the business and the team. Specifically, her outstanding work to drive accuracy in the portfolio planning and implementation exemplifies her drive for results. Making the Team Better: Kate exceeds expectations by taking personal responsibility for the team's success. Specifically, she did a fantastic job in partnering with the coworker and me on the development and presentation of the Executive Category Review."

Jim Biel

Vice President, Product Management, Zoro Tools

" For a long time, I have struggled to get my resume to a professional level. I was reading online and following templates and looking up videos to help. However, after the research I have done, I was not able to gain enough materials to make my resume look professional and relevant. 

I met Kate through a mutual friend and Kate has transformed my resume into something I didn’t think was possible. I had a lot of work experience and my resume was full of great points, but Kate really took it upon herself to have my resume go from basic to professional. When we first met, Kate asked me about what I wanted from this experience and where I wanted to end up after. She took notes and really studied me. She took the time to research things that she wasn’t familiar with and took that knowledge and applied it to my resume. She said that we will set a goal to find me the job that I wanted within the 3 months. Kate regularly texted me and asked questions and made sure that what I portrayed on my resume reflected on me. Aside from the resume, Kate helped me prepare for interviews by teaching me how to best answer interview questions and how to ace the conversation with interviewers. Her advice was worth all the time and efforts. After working with Kate for 2 months, I was hired by AbbVie. Thank you for everything, Kate!"

Sarah Mainaev

Quality Support Operations, Abbvie