Strategy director and Hackney Laces founder Katee Hui on football, community and side projects
Originally from Ontario, Canada, Katee Hui is a strategy director at creative agency, Kindred in London. As a strategist, Katee strives to figure out how and why things work – whether that’s a business model or society itself. But when she’s not doing that, you’ll often find her on a football pitch. On the podcast this week, she tells us about founding female community football club, Hackney Laces, shares insights from some of her favourite projects and offers tips on getting side projects off the ground.
Katee Hui
Job Title
Strategy Director, Kindred (2018–present)
Founder, Hackney Laces, (2011–present)
Based
London
Previous Employment
Strategy and Business Director, Nice and Serious (2016–2018)
Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Manager, Sainsbury's (2015–2016)
Communications Manager, Pentagram (2012–2015)
Digital Strategist, Do The Green Thing (2010–2012)
Education
MSc Environmental Policy and Regulation, London School of Economics and Political Science (2007–2008)
Certificate in Disruptive Strategy and Innovation, Harvard University (2017)
BA Geography, Queen's University (2003–2007)
Website
Social Media
Having grown up with a love of sport, when Katee moved to the UK, she found that there weren’t many clubs where girls could play football. So in 2011, she founded community football club, Hackney Laces. Starting with a small team, the community has since grown. Hackney Laces now supports over 200 girls in East London with developing skills both on and off the pitch – offering help with things like job applications and securing work experience.
“As technology divides us, it’s a sense of community that can bring us together.”
Katee’s endeavours have since landed her a plethora of accolades – from the Prime Minister’s Point of Light Award, The Telegraph’s British Volunteer of the Year award and most recently the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Unsung Hero for London award. But for Katee, the worlds of strategy and football aren’t so far apart, explaining to us how studying everything from human geography to environmental policy equipped her with easily transferable skills.
It’s clear that Katee is driven by work that has the opportunity to create real impact. In the past, she has also worked at agency Nice and Serious, as a corporate and sustainability manager at Sainsbury’s, and for initiatives such as Pentagram’s Do The Green Thing.
Looking back on her journey so far, Katee fills us in on some of the challenges she faced after graduation, balancing her time, and how her love of football helped her create not only professional connections, but real communities.
