Kate Vitasek an international authority on how to build – and sustain – highly collaborative business relationships. She received the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award in 2025 and is lauded by World Trade Magazine as one of the “Fabulous 50+1” most influential people impacting global commerce. She has been featured on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, Fox Business News, and Forbes.

Vitasek – a Distinguished Fellow and Graduate & Executive Education Faculty at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business – is passionate in her quest to help companies transform their business relationships. Her award-winning research on the Vested® business model has been adopted by over 150 organization such such as bp, Intel, EY and the Canadian government for its ability to create true win-win business relationships.

Vitasek is the author of eight books and over 400 articles in publications including Harvard Business Review, Chief Executive Magazine, The Economist, FAST Company, Information Week, CIO Magazine, World Financial Review and Supply Chain Management Review.  

She is in both the Sourcing Industry Group and the International Association of Outsourcing Professional’s “Hall of Fame,” and is a World Commerce and Contracting “Fellow.” Prior to making the shift to academia, Vitasek held positions on all sides of the business table: the buy side (Microsoft), the sell-side (Stream International and Modus Media) and the consulting side (Accenture).

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