Catherine Kitcho is a consultant and author focused on strategic marketing, with a specialty in product launch. She assists companies of all sizes and entrepreneurs in evaluating and validating new venture ideas, developing marketing and business plans, and identifying strategic partners.

Ms. Kitcho is the author of three books on launch and product management. In 1999, the First Edition of "High Tech Product Launch" was published, and it quickly became a widely used reference for product launch. It has sold in more than 14 countries, and was also translated into Mandarin. It's a practical marketing and management guide for launching any type of product or service. In 2001, her second book was published: "From Idea to Launch at Internet Speed". This book is focused on proven processes for screening product ideas with an eye on profitability for today's dynamic economy. It also explains how to conduct due diligence on new product ideas, choose the right strategies and business models, and find the right partners. In 2005, the Second Edition of "High Tech Product Launch" was published, with lots of new content, illustrations and updated examples. The Second Edition truly captures the best practices of product launch.

Catherine has more than 25 years experience in product launch, new business development, strategic alliances, marketing and management. She has been a strategic marketing and product launch consultant since 1995. Catherine has conducted numerous consulting engagements for companies of all sizes and in several technologies and markets, including networking products, software, mobile devices, Internet-related services, CRM systems, electronic commerce, intelligent agents, wireless software and systems, data storage, computers and peripherals, telecommunications, and semiconductors.

Her specialization in new venture marketing and development is derived from her industry experience at TRW in Sunnyvale, where she was on the executive staff as Director of New Ventures and managed a private new business incubator. This innovative program she founded at TRW received national and international publicity.

Catherine's prior experience includes product and program management at TRW and NASA. These management assignments were in the fields of telecommunications, hardware and software systems, communications and intelligence systems. Catherine was a program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C., where she managed development programs for Space Shuttle science payloads.

Catherine received her Bachelor's degree from Michigan State University in Earth Science and Math, and her MBA from Golden Gate University.