If we haven’t met – let this serve as an introduction.
I love working hard, with interesting people, on things that matter. I like to eat well, but I don’t particularly enjoy cooking. I love spending time with friends and family, skiing, biking, playing board games, dancing, listening to music… the list goes on.
Here is a timeline if you are into that, or follow along on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Now it’s your turn: introduce yourself!
Send me an email: hello [at] katerinacronstedt.com
Let’s stay in touch, and better yet, let’s work together.
/K
PS
Someone once told me: “I can tell when and where my friends know me from by the name they call me.”
Below is my when and where, a brief history of Kait*.
I was born in Sochi, then part of the Soviet Union, in 1980.
My parents were expecting a boy and had chosen the name Ilya. To their surprise, a girl was born, so instead of Ilya: Ekaterina. Of course, no one calls a baby Ekaterina. The given diminutives are Katya, Katyusha, Katienka and there are many more.
In 1989, our family moved to Sweden. On my first day of 3rd grade, my classmates were quick to ‘Swedify’ me: “We’ll call you Cattis” (with a C, because there was already another Kattis in our grade).
In high school, I was in the Natural Science program. After briefly considering becoming a lawyer, I decided I wanted to be an industrial designer focused on ergonomics. I wasn’t accepted into the best school in Sweden for that, so a little by chance I started my first company: A Mass Uniform, designing, producing, and selling womenswear. My collections included knitted cardigans, jeans, jackets, and tops (produced in Estonia). I was still Cattis.
In 2002, I moved to London to study Fashion Design Technology at the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts. On day one, my classmates said: “We’ll call you Kate.”
Later, I worked as a designer at Whyred and H&M. In 2005, I saw a vacancy, in Russia. I moved to St. Petersburg to work as a brand manager at Zarina (now Melon Fashion Group). No longer a little girl in Russia, my colleagues called me Ekaterina.
In 2006, I started working at Katerina City Hotel in Moscow. I spent a year rotating through all departments, then became General Manager, and later Managing Director. The formal work culture meant I was addressed as Ekaterina Alexandrovna, which made me feel 100 years old. So instead, I asked to simply be called Katerina.
That same year, I met my future husband. He’s Swedish, but speaks Russian, so he calls me Katya, and so do many friends from the Moscow years (2006–2016).
From April to June 2016, I lived in Celebration, Florida, helping my father open the Katerina Hotel Orlando. The first time I got a Starbucks coffee there, they wrote Kait(!) on my cup.
In December 2016, we moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Most people from the Boston years (2016-2022) know me as Katerina, but old friends still call me Cattis or Katya.
In 2018, I started working at Suvie, and early on another Katerina joined the team. She became KK (hi KK, you’re the best!), and I became KC. A good old friend of mine is KW, so I’ve grown fond of the abbreviation format (hi KW, you’re awesome!). I like KC.
In the summer of 2021, our family moved back to Sweden. It was time to Swedify our children, who were born in Moscow and had never lived here. I continued working for Suvie until the summer of 2022, which meant a lot of travel back and forth.
Since the fall of 2023, we’ve been living in central Stockholm. Reconnecting with old friends, I’m once again Kattis or Katya.
Online, I occasionally use Kat when I’m too lazy to type out my full name (though I have another good friend who goes by Kat – so that’s her name!). In emails, I often just sign off as K.
What’s your name?
PS 1: Love is the answer.
PS 2: NO to war.