Kathleen Sarpy

For nearly 35 years, Kathleen Sarpy has enjoyed a diverse career in public relations and marketing, working with the world’s most recognizable brands and corporations, and also serving as the driving force behind emerging start-ups and charities. With unrivaled energy and enthusiasm, Kathleen expertly connects people, events and ideas to generate meaningful and lasting impact. A former senior executive at the leading global PR firm, Kathleen left her “big agency” life behind in January 2001 after the birth of her first child to bootstrap her own firm without a solid backup plan. Alone in her suburban basement, 7 months pregnant with her second child and only armed with a laptop, tons of tenacity and goodwill, Kathleen’s goal was simple: offer world-class strategy and unbridled creativity to the world’s most respected companies by eliminating bureaucracy without ever sacrificing kindness or being able to focus on motherhood. 

Now 25 years later, Kathleen manages an incredibly talented team of professionals that support dozens of global, national and Chicago-based clients in the consumer-packaged goods, hospitality, finance, real estate and non-profit spaces. 

Kathleen has never lost sight of the “5” in her value-driven company’s name that remains the cornerstone of her business: kindness, creativity, passion, hustle and integrity. Throughout its evolution, Agency H5 has been recognized alongside the best PR firms in the world having won numerous awards and recognition over the years, most recently being inducted as a Purdue Old Master, the university's most prestigious alumni award. 

Beyond her professional commitments, Kathleen finds deep value in giving back through mentorship and empowering future generations of female leaders. She also proudly supports a number of business and civic organizations (Economic Club of Chicago and Executives’ Club of Chicago) as well as local philanthropies that reflect her dedication to the city. A proud Distinguished Alumni and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Purdue University, she founded the Purdue Women’s Network in 2017 to unite, motivate, engage and inspire 200,000 alumnae worldwide. 

If you ask her, though, her biggest and proudest achievement to date is being a mother of six incredible children ages 17-26 who are changing the world. She resides in Wheaton, Illinois with her husband Chris.