The Talent Studios Recruits Chief Marketing Officer for Peet’s Coffee
April 24, 2025 – The Talent Studios has recruited Katie Keil as the senior vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer of San Francisco Bay Area-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer Peet’s Coffee. Gretchen Koch and Serena Smith led the assignment.
Ms. Keil brings over 20 years of consumer products, beauty, and consumer technology marketing leadership experience. She has a strong track record of driving results on both big and startup brands, existing and new to the world products, turnaround and high growth businesses. Ms. Keil previously served as CMO of MyFitnessPal. In this role, she grew revenue 1.6x over three years, leading business strategy, International, customer service and full funnel marketing (growth, lifecycle, creative, brand). She also led development and implementation of new business strategy resulting in more strategic focus, clearer innovation roadmap and better collaboration across functions.
Prior to MyFitnessPal, Ms. Keil was SVP of omnichannel marketing for Madison Reed. In this position, she led all client marketing from acquisition through retention and brand campaigns across three channels of business (Madison-Reed.com, Wholesale, company-owned Hair Color Bars). Before this, Ms. Keil was marketing director for Renew Life. During her career, she has also gained experience in various roles with Burt’s Bees, The Clorox Company, among others.
Founded in 1966 in Berkeley, CA, by Alfred Peet, Peet’s Coffee operates retail cafés across the U.S., sells products through major grocery stores and online, and supplies coffee to a network of foodservice partners. The company is a part of JDE Peet’s, one of the world’s largest pure-play coffee and tea companies.
The Talent Studios is a business-to-consumer focused retained executive search firm, working across consumer technology, digital commerce, four-wall commerce & service businesses, iconic brands, entertainment, media & content and consumer services. Its vertical focus includes: fashion & apparel, food & beverage, beauty & personal care, lifestyle brands, action sports, fitness/wellness, creator economy, media & content, digital and physical consumer services (healthcare, FinTech, education, two-sided marketplaces). The Talent Studios was founded by Jeremy Cohen and Kelli Telling.
Portfolio of Clients
The firm’s clients include: Apollo Global Management, Advent International, Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, L Catterton, Red Bull, Mattel, Disney, Burton Snowboards, Restoration Hardware, Pure Barre, TOMS Shoes, Boardriders, Aston Martin, Fanatics, Health-Ade Kombucha, SmartyPants Vitamins, Lulus.com, Edmunds.com, Philz Coffee, and Public Goods. Representative investor partners include Apollo Global Management, Advent International, Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, L Catterton, Institutional Venture Partners, Summit Partners, HIG Growth, Searchlight Capital, Norwest Equity Partners, and North Castle Partners.
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Ms. Koch is an associate partner in its executive search practice. She joined the firm from Russell Reynolds Associates, where she was a member of the customer activation & growth executive search practice, focused on omnichannel consumer brands, digital marketplaces and B2C edutech. Prior to entering the search industry, Ms. Koch was a brand executive at Peet’s Coffee and Nestle and began her career consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers and then spent three years at retail/consumer strategy consultancy firm, Kurt Salmon & Associates.
Leading and Scaling with Talent
Talent has become the cornerstone of value creation in private equity, shaping the success of portfolio companies and driving superior returns. As traditional levers like financial engineering and cost optimization face diminishing returns, private equity firms are increasingly focused on leadership and operational excellence to unlock growth. The role of talent leaders has never been more critical—they are the architects of transformative strategies, aligning people and processes to maximize organizational potential and achieve sustainable scalability.
Hunt Scanlon Media is convening hundreds of operating partners, chief talent officers, and executive recruiters at the Harvard Club in New York on May 15, 2025. We will examine the vital role talent professionals play in driving value creation—from shaping investment strategies and operational initiatives to fostering leadership excellence and organizational growth.
Ms. Smith is a senior associate. She is entering her third year at The Talent Studios, where she support search execution on senior leadership searches. She joined The Talent Studios following graduation from Bucknell University.
United Sports Brands Search
The Talent Studios has placed Kyle Schlegel as senior vice president of marketing of United Sports Brands, a Fountain Valley, CA-based global leader in sports performance and protective products. Jeremy Cohen and Serena Smith led the assignment. “We are thrilled to bring Kyle on to lead the United Sports Brands marketing organization,” said Phil Gyori, CEO of United Sports Brands. “He brings an incredible passion for sports, team-building, and extensive leadership experience that will play a huge role in growing the United Sports Brands portfolio in the coming years.”
Mr. Schlegel most recently served as the VP of marketing & DTC of Weber, LLC, and has also held senior marketing leadership roles at top sports and consumer brands such as Wilson Sporting Goods, Hillerich & Bradsby (Louisville Slugger), and Procter & Gamble. He has over 25 years of executive and management experience, and a track record of helping to transform brands and marketing teams.
Related: The Talent Studios Recruits CEO for ZICO Coconut Water
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
