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Catalina Laverde
Senior Engineering Manager at Spotify
Catalina Laverde, also known as Cata or Cat, is a 28-year-old Colombian woman who currently holds the position of Senior Engineering Manager (Director-Level Scope) at Spotify.13 She is a multifaceted professional, combining roles as a Public Speaker, Female Activist, and Senior Software Engineer.1
Background and Education
Catalina was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and moved to the United States in 2010 to pursue her education and career aspirations.1 She completed her Computer Science degree at Rutgers University before joining Spotify in New York City.1
Career at Spotify
Catalina's journey at Spotify has been impressive:
- She joined the company in 2014 as one of their first female Software Engineers in the U.S.1
- Over the years, she has been promoted through five roles, showcasing her rapid career progression.2
- Currently, she leads a multi-disciplinary and international team of 50 software engineers and engineering managers.3
Notable Achievements
Throughout her tenure at Spotify, Catalina has worked on several impactful projects:
- Designed, implemented, and scaled the company's ad platform infrastructure
- Project managed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance efforts
- Developed marketing systems for user conversion
- Currently improving the recommendation experience on the Home screen
- Leading a large reliability effort to guarantee 99.95% Home service uptime1
Advocacy and Mentorship
Catalina is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. She actively participates in women in tech initiatives and provides mentorship for girls.1 Her commitment to creating change is evident in her regular speaking engagements, where she shares her personal journey and empowers women in technology.1
Personal Philosophy
Catalina strongly believes that moving the needle on technology's diversity and inclusion metrics is more fulfilling and important than any amount of code or technical expertise.1 This belief drives her advocacy work and shapes her approach to leadership in the tech industry.
