Dear technology leader…

If your comms are slowing you down, let’s talk. 

Signed, your strategic comms partner.

As a CIO or technology leader, you’re expected to drive transformation and innovation while ensuring your team is aligned and communicating effectively.

So if your comms aren’t delivering results, it could be holding your leadership back.

I’d love to help you fix that.

Are any of these challenges sound familiar? ↘

  • You’re tired of IT being seen as a cost centre & roadblock.

  • The business is late to engage and projects stall due to resistance or unclear comms.

  • Your updates are ignored or missed because they’re unclear, jargon-heavy, or too long.

  • You’re juggling cost-cutting pressures with innovation demands.

  • Your slide decks are too long and don’t land, but you don’t have time to fix them.

  • Your teams are disconnected and your vision isn’t cutting through.

  • The board is disengaged and you’re not sure how to fix it.

How would it feel to…?↘

  • Lead IT teams that act as a business enabler, not a roadblock.

  • Get IT updates read (and acted upon) by end-users.

  • Deliver strategy packs that move the needle with the board.

  • Feel confident that the board understands the true value of IT.

  • Communicate in a way that gets attention and respect?

  • Relax knowing your change comms is top shelf and primed for impact.

You don’t need more emails, slide packs (or 6-month discovery sessions).

You do need a strategic, agile comms partner who:

  • understands the IT landscape

  • gets to the heart of your priorities fast

  • starts delivering (not just “discovering”) value immediately

  • navigates complex, sensitive environments with ease

  • reflects your voice and leadership style, and

  • uplifts your team’s capability along the way.

As your strategic comms partner, I help you use your comms to drive business outcomes, align with business objectives, drive change, and influence stakeholders to understand IT’s true value.

Fast engagement. Immediate uplift. Strategic outcomes.

  • Saved a major IT migration with just 3 weeks’ notice:

    Called in at the last minute to fix a client’s failing change comms plan for a global transition to an outsourced partner, I aligned stakeholders, prepped all comms, contributing to a seamless execution with zero escalations.

    Rebuilt trust for an interim CIO with major morale challenges.

    Working closely with the interim CIO, his EA, and leadership team, I helped turn around a demoralised team after significant change. By aligning messaging and addressing leadership communication challenges head-on, we rebuilt trust and improved team engagement.

    Unified a fragmented IT team:
    I wrote, designed, and launched an interactive IT team playbook that clarified roles, aligned team goals, and empowered geographically dispersed IT staff to act as a cohesive unit, improving collaboration and effectiveness.

    Restored IT>business trust and confidence:
    Created a high-touch engagement plan to elevate IT’s role in the business, driving visibility and understanding through speaker sessions, customer panels, and a high-impact IT newsletter —transforming IT’s reputation across the organisation.

    Kickstarted vital conversations with frustrated internal customers:
    Lobbied IT leadership to run a live customer panel during an internal conference. The follow-up engagement sparked productive conversations that mended a broken relationship and reignited trust between IT and the business.

    Launched a successful Tech Bar campaign:
    Managed a full internal campaign, including promotional design, to introduce an onsite IT help centre, boosting both awareness and usage while positioning IT as a proactive business partner.

    Helped a CIO secure multi-million-dollar funding for an innovative AI tool:
    Crafted a compelling narrative that helped a CIO pitch and secure funding for a game-changing AI-driven predictive analytics tool —aligning with business priorities with a clear ROI.

    Transformed board-level reporting into a strategic tool:
    Revamped a 35-page monthly board report into a 2-page visual dashboard, turnaround board engagement and saving 30 hours of leadership time each month.

    Streamlined comms with MSPs during change:
    Simplified and improved NZ-India vendor communication during a complex program, cutting through the noise and improving engagement and clarity across the board.

How I can support you…

  • ✺

    Communication plans

  • ✺

    Operating model, roadmap and strategy pack design & launch.

  • ✺

    IT transformation & org change comms planning and messaging.

  • ✺

    IT-Business newsletters, updates and engagement.

  • ✺

    SharePoint microsites design, build & launch

  • ✺

    Large team conferences or leadership offsites.

What clients say…

  • Kate has been an instrumental part of large programs...

    "I have worked with Kate for years. She has been an instrumental part of large programs by leading the communications, customer engagement and organisational change streams. Kate has innate skills to to understand how change will impact upon multiple stakeholder groups, and how best to run organisational change and associated communication and training programs. I have no hesitations in recommending Kate.”

    —Andy Evans. | Former Head of Cyber-Security Operations - Downer Group

  • "Your presentation 'showed me the win’, thank you!”

    —RM | Group CEO | Telco industry | Australia

  • “Kate is a superb communicator, full of creativity, insight and business passion.

    She pro-actively identifies business needs, designs comms solutions, and makes those initiatives happen where most people would not have had the drive to do so."

    —Erin O’Keefe | Former Global Head of Brand | KPMG

  • “Love, love, love, …love. this!”

    —CIO client | NZ

  • "Kate sees the big picture in business…and can communicate effectively at all levels of a global organisation.

    If you want someone to really make a positive impact to your organisation and inject loads of great ideas and enthusiasm, then Kate is your person!”

    —Ian Forbes | Managing Partner, Artemis Consulting | UK.

  • "We could not have done it without the amazing work of Kate!!”

    —CB. | Downer Group | IT transformation comms.

  • “Kate is a remarkable writer, truly gifted...

    She can take words and frame them in a way that is meaningful to users – educational or persuasive as the situation dictates. And, she can write to meet the tones for individual needs; or provide a tactical approach, when required.”

    —Priya M. | Senior Manager/Product Owner | Waka Kotahi.

  • “I really appreciate where you have taken Comms here; it has been a step change, so thank you.”

    —A.Clark | Former EGM | NZ telco company.

  • "Kate’s funny, she's creative, she's amazing at comms, she reminds me to make my comms more 'human', and she shares her knowledge freely."

    —Nancy D’Agrosa. | Senior IT Change Manager | Greenfields Consulting | AU

  • “Kate does an amazing job! So insightful!”

    Robyn Gillespie | CDO | NZ

Hi, I’m Kate Hurdley, your internal comms partner.

I’ve worked in comms almost my entire career — and extensively with CIOs, CTOs, and IT program leaders in Australia and NZ for the last 10, helping them communicate their strategy, increase engagement, and build clear bridges to the business and with boards.

I’ve held roles in the Big 4, finance, telco, construction, utilities, and engineering across UK, Australia and NZ — and I know how to make tech-heavy comms interesting.

I partner with CIOs to bridge the gap between IT and the business, ensuring that your communication isn’t just a report or update, it’s a strategic tool that drives real change.