Nataly Kelly is a seasoned business and tech executive, international business expert, and longtime Harvard Business Review contributor on topics of global business and international marketing. Nataly is passionate about enabling people to connect across borders of geography, language, and culture – to help businesses and people achieve their full... Read more
Nataly Kelly is a seasoned business and tech executive, international business expert, and longtime Harvard Business Review contributor on topics of global business and international marketing. Nataly is passionate about enabling people to connect across borders of geography, language, and culture – to help businesses and people achieve their full global potential. She has been cited and published in the New York Times, CNN, Forbes, Financial Times, Inc, Entrepreneur, Adweek, The Drum, Campaign, and many other major media outlets.
She is Chief Marketing Officer at Zappi, a consumer insights platform. Previously, Nataly served at HubSpot as Vice President of Marketing, Vice President of International Operations and Strategy, and Vice President of Localization, where she helped drive international expansion. She built and managed remote teams of professionals located in Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, Singapore, and the U.S. She led numerous strategic, high-visibility cross-functional initiatives, including launching new offices on three continents.
Prior to that role, Nataly served as Vice President of Marketing for Smartling where she built and led a team of SaaS marketing professionals covering demand generation, content marketing and SEO, brand, PR and social, product marketing, sales enablement, partner marketing, web development, and a team of business development representatives.
Previously, as the Chief Research Officer for CSA Research, Nataly oversaw the company’s subscription- based research practice and overhauled the company’s research processes, nearly doubling total content output while reducing costs.
To help business leaders expand internationally and gain a competitive advantage, Nataly is launching Take Your Company Global: The New Rules of International Expansion (Berrett-Koehler Publishers) on September 26, 2023. She is the first author to detail the new realities of international expansion and share a comprehensive guide for businesses that seek to grow globally in a predictable, sustainable, and effective way.
Nataly is an Adjunct Professor in the M.A. program in localization management at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. She was named a Remote Work Influencer in January 2022 by Remote, a Top 25 Content Marketers in Enterprise Software and Women Worth Watching in 2015, and Marketing Executive of the Year by Best in Biz, a 40 under 40 by Direct Marketing News, and a Stevies Women in Business in 2014.
She received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in Intercultural Communication from Wartburg College. While at Wartburg, she spent a semester at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in 1997, and spent a year abroad at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador in 1998. She received a Fulbright grant to study sociolinguistics and pursue her Master’s degree at the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Ecuador.
Nataly’s newest book, Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures, will be published in June 2025. The book explores how global brands can successfully navigate cultural differences to build strong international identities while staying true to their core values. Drawing on insights from top brands like Nike, LVMH, Nestlé, Shiseido, Natura, and Marriott, it offers practical strategies for developing a global mindset, localizing marketing efforts, and leveraging cultural understanding to drive meaningful consumer connections across markets.
As a female executive in the male-dominated tech industry, Nataly delivers an inspiring message about navigating both gender and geographic barriers to success. She shares her personal journey and the strategies that helped her thrive in international tech environments, offering both practical advice and motivational insights for women pursuing tech...
As AI transforms how we communicate, its impact on international business is profound. Nataly explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, language, and culture, drawing on her unique perspective as both a tech executive and language expert. She examines how AI is breaking down language barriers while creating new challenges for...
After being abducted at gunpoint, Nataly faced her mortality in ways few ever experience. In this powerful and deeply personal talk, she shares her harrowing story and the profound insights it revealed about human resilience, communication under extreme pressure, and finding strength in vulnerability. Drawing parallels between crisis situations and...
Younger generations increasingly seek meaning beyond a paycheck. In fact, all of us do, and are opening our eyes to the fact that it’s possible. Nataly shares her journey from interpreter to global tech executive, revealing how she aligned her passion for languages and cultures with meaningful career opportunities. Drawing...
Most professionals focus on external marketing while overlooking the importance of how they’re perceived within their own organization. In this transformative talk, Nataly applies her marketing expertise to the challenge of internal positioning, teaching audiences how to strategically “rebrand” themselves, their teams, or their functions for greater organizational impact. Drawing...
In an increasingly connected world, professionals need to think globally about their personal brand. Drawing from her own journey from interpreter to international tech executive and author, Nataly shares strategies for building a personal brand that transcends borders. She provides practical guidance on leveraging digital platforms, multilingual content, and cross-cultural...
In today’s interconnected world, success depends on our ability to connect across cultures. As a former Fulbright Scholar in sociolinguistics and Spanish interpreter, Nataly explores how linguistic and cultural intelligence creates competitive advantages in business. Through interactive examples and personal stories from her work across diverse markets, she demonstrates how...
Language shapes how we see the world and how we do business. In this engaging talk, Nataly draws on her background as a translator and international marketing executive to reveal how language influences consumer behavior and business relationships across cultures. She shares fascinating insights from her Harvard Business Review contributions...
The future belongs to organizations that embrace global equity. In this forward-thinking talk, Nataly introduces her pioneering concept of the “GEO” (Globally Equitable Organization) and provides a framework for transforming international businesses. Drawing from her extensive experience leading remote and distributed teams across continents, she addresses the challenges and opportunities...
As companies expand globally, they often struggle to provide consistent, inclusive experiences across locations. Drawing from her experience leading international teams and building global organizations, Nataly addresses the critical challenge of headquarter-centricity and offers practical strategies for creating truly equitable experiences across all office locations. She explores how to build...
With remote work experience dating back to 1996, Nataly brings pioneering insights to the challenges of managing distributed teams across time zones, cultures, and work arrangements. Drawing from decades of leading global remote teams before it became mainstream, she shares battle-tested strategies for creating high-performing hybrid and fully remote environments....
Does international growth sometimes feel like it will push your business beyond its breaking point? Drawing from her extensive experience at HubSpot and other global tech companies, Nataly reveals the practical strategies that helped grow international revenue from $170M to $1.7B. This talk combines compelling case studies with actionable frameworks...
Successful international expansion requires a methodical approach tailored to each market’s unique characteristics. In this strategic talk, Nataly introduces her proprietary MARACA Model – Market Availability (MA), Real-time Analytics (RA), and Customer Addressability (CA) – for systematic global growth. Drawing from her experience scaling HubSpot internationally and advising numerous businesses...
Behind many successful careers lie untold personal struggles. In this candid and powerful talk, Nataly shares her experience as a woman in tech who faced significant barriers: from her upbringing in a rural farming community as a factory worker’s daughter, to being abducted at gunpoint, to facing significant health challenges...
Successful global marketing requires both universal brand principles and local adaptability. In this data-driven talk, Nataly shares the marketing frameworks that drove international success at companies like HubSpot and Zappi. Drawing from her upcoming book “Brand Global, Adapt Local,” she provides a practical playbook for scaling marketing efforts across borders....
Today’s B2B tech buyers expect B2C-like experiences while navigating increasingly complex purchasing processes. Drawing from her CMO experience at companies like Zappi and HubSpot, Nataly reveals strategies for bridging the best of consumer and business marketing to influence diverse stakeholder groups. She explains how to map and influence buying committees,...
The journey from promising startup to established tech company is fraught with predictable yet often overlooked communication and operational challenges. Drawing from her experience at HubSpot during its explosive growth phase, Nataly reveals the critical infrastructure needed for tech companies to successfully scale beyond 500 employees. She identifies the warning...