Kathryn Kemper is a seasoned finance and accounting executive whose career has been defined by a commitment to building strong financial foundations, improving operational excellence, and helping organizations successfully navigate periods of significant growth and transformation. As an accomplished Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with more than 24 years of progressive leadership experience, Kathryn has developed deep expertise across public company reporting, IPO readiness, SEC compliance, financial operations, internal controls, and strategic process improvement. Her professional journey reflects a unique ability to combine technical accounting excellence with practical business leadership, making her a trusted advisor to executive leadership teams, boards of directors, investors, and cross-functional stakeholders.
Throughout her career, Kathryn has successfully led finance organizations in both rapidly growing startups and globally recognized Fortune 500 companies. Her experience spans an impressive range of industries including medical technology, healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing, robotic farming technology, renewable energy, consulting, and technology. Rather than limiting herself to a specific sector, Kathryn has intentionally built a career centered around organizations whose missions align with innovation, operational excellence, and long-term value creation. This industry-agnostic perspective enables her to quickly understand complex business models while applying proven financial leadership practices that scale alongside organizational growth.
Most recently, Kathryn served as Vice President of Finance at HeartFlow, a leading MedTech company generating approximately $100 million in annual revenue. In this role, she was entrusted with one of the company’s most critical initiatives: remediating material accounting weaknesses while preparing the organization for its next stage of growth and public company readiness. She successfully rebuilt and managed a fully remote accounting organization, strengthened financial reporting processes, accelerated month-end close timelines, modernized revenue recognition systems, and led multiple software implementations that significantly improved operational efficiency. Kathryn also partnered extensively with third-party specialists to implement Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance programs, tax initiatives, international reporting structures, and internal control frameworks while regularly communicating financial progress and governance matters to the Board of Directors.
Prior to HeartFlow, Kathryn served as Controller for Iron Ox, an innovative robotic farming technology startup. Joining during a critical stage of development, she established the company’s accounting infrastructure from the ground up by implementing NetSuite, designing accounting structures for multiple legal entities, developing internal controls, creating accounting policies, hiring and mentoring staff, and establishing scalable month-end close processes. Her ability to build finance organizations from scratch demonstrated her strength not only as an accounting expert but also as an operational architect capable of positioning emerging companies for sustainable growth.
Kathryn’s extensive public company and IPO experience was further demonstrated during her tenure as Controller at NeuroPace, where she played a pivotal leadership role in successfully completing the company’s initial public offering. Working with a lean finance organization, she implemented the controls, reporting processes, and financial infrastructure necessary to support a successful transition to the public markets. She also introduced numerous operational improvements that enhanced efficiency, reduced reporting timelines, and delivered measurable cost savings while improving financial visibility across the organization. Her practical leadership helped position the company for success in the highly regulated public company environment.
Earlier in her career, Kathryn held progressively responsible finance leadership positions with Silego Technologies, eBay, TriQuint Semiconductor, Vestas Wind Systems, KongBasile Consulting, and KPMG. At Silego Technologies, she led preparation of the company’s S-1 registration statement, managed SEC response letters, oversaw financial statement preparation, and directed ERP implementation efforts. At eBay, she managed the preparation and filing of Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and quarterly earnings releases, consistently delivering high-quality SEC filings within aggressive reporting deadlines. Her experience at TriQuint Semiconductor expanded her expertise in SEC reporting, stock compensation accounting, SOX compliance, and financial disclosures, while her time with KPMG provided the technical accounting and auditing foundation that continues to influence her disciplined leadership style today.
Kathryn’s leadership philosophy centers on building organizations that are both financially disciplined and operationally resilient. She believes that strong accounting functions serve as strategic partners to the business rather than simply reporting historical results. Whether implementing ERP systems, improving internal controls, streamlining close processes, or mentoring accounting professionals, she consistently focuses on creating scalable systems that allow companies to make better decisions with greater confidence. Her reputation for organization, analytical thinking, collaboration, and calm execution under pressure has earned the trust of executive leadership teams navigating periods of rapid change.
Beyond technical expertise, Kathryn brings an exceptional understanding of corporate governance and board engagement. Having regularly participated in board meetings and worked closely with directors throughout her career, she appreciates the critical role that finance leaders play in helping boards fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. She recognizes the increasing demand for financially sophisticated directors, particularly within public companies and organizations preparing for IPOs, and believes her extensive background in accounting, SEC reporting, governance, risk management, and compliance positions her to make meaningful contributions in the boardroom. As she enters the next phase of her professional journey, Kathryn is actively pursuing board service opportunities where she can leverage decades of financial leadership experience to help organizations strengthen governance, accelerate growth, and successfully navigate strategic transitions.
Kathryn views board service as a natural extension of her career rather than a departure from it. She is motivated by the opportunity to apply more than two decades of experience helping organizations solve complex financial challenges while supporting executive teams as they pursue ambitious growth objectives. Open to working with organizations across a wide range of industries—including healthcare, semiconductors, finance, accounting, startups, and pre-IPO companies—she values mission alignment above all else. With a strong technical foundation, extensive public company experience, and a collaborative leadership approach, Kathryn offers boards a unique combination of financial expertise, operational insight, and strategic perspective that enables organizations to build stronger futures with confidence.
Character:
Kathryn demonstrates integrity, accountability, and professionalism in every leadership role she undertakes. She consistently earns the trust of executives, colleagues, auditors, and board members by approaching challenges with transparency, reliability, and a commitment to excellence.
Knowledge:
She possesses extensive expertise in accounting, SEC reporting, IPO readiness, SOX compliance, financial operations, and corporate governance developed through more than two decades of executive leadership. Her ability to translate complex financial and regulatory requirements into practical business solutions allows organizations to operate with confidence and precision.
Strategic:
Kathryn approaches every organization with a long-term perspective, designing scalable financial processes that support sustainable growth and organizational maturity. She understands how finance serves as a strategic driver of business performance and consistently aligns operational improvements with broader corporate objectives.
Communication:
A thoughtful and collaborative communicator who effectively partners with executive leadership teams, boards of directors, auditors, investors, and cross-functional stakeholders. She has the ability to simplify highly technical financial matters into meaningful insights that support informed decision-making and strong corporate governance.
