Give to Gain: Katherine Moore

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Katherine Moore: Resilience, Reinvention and the Power of Showing Up for Others

As Head of Customer Experience at True Protein, Katherine brings a rare blend of emotional intelligence, commercial instinct and human-centred leadership to one of the Northern Beaches’ fastest growing brands. Her path, from aerobics studios and personal training floors to building high performing CX teams, reflects a lifelong commitment to helping people, elevating service and guiding the next generation with warmth and honesty.

Known for her straightforward realism, humour and fierce care for her team, Katherine’s influence extends far beyond customer experience. She champions internal mobility, nurtures early career talent, and leads with an authenticity shaped by resilience, reinvention and a deep belief that women can and should take up space. In a community where connection, wellbeing and purpose matter deeply, Katherine embodies the spirit of Give to Gain, gifting her knowledge, lifting others and creating opportunities for people to grow into versions of themselves they never knew were possible.

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A journey that began on a squash court floor

Katherine’s leadership story does not begin in a boardroom. It begins in childhood, watching her mother, one of Australia’s early aerobics trailblazers, lead classes with energy, confidence and joy. Growing up surrounded by movement and strong female role models shaped who she would become, a woman driven by service, connection and an unwavering desire to help others thrive.

That early spark took her into sports science, then into a 30  year career in fitness across group training, personal training and business ownership. Katherine spent over a decade as Head Trainer at Fitness First Chatswood, long before female leadership in gyms was commonplace. She built a reputation for her rapport with clients, her resilience and her ability to hold her own in male dominated spaces, often with humour and always with heart.

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The pivot that demanded courage

After stepping out of the workforce for five years to raise her daughters, Katherine returned to work through a series of roles powered by community connection and a belief that she had one more big job in her. When the opportunity at True Protein emerged through a chance introduction, she took the leap.

It was not easy. She found herself learning new systems, new terminology and entirely new worlds of logistics and workflow design.

“There were so many meetings where I did not understand the acronyms,” she recalls. “I would write them down, go away and teach myself. It was hard, but it stretched me.”

That stretch became transformation. Six years on, Katherine has shaped a customer experience function known for its empathy, agility and connection to True Protein’s customers, and for being a launchpad for emerging talent across the business.

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Navigating spaces not built with women in mind

Katherine’s early career unfolded in fitness environments where women had to be louder, funnier, tougher or more adaptable to be taken seriously. She learned to defuse tension with humour, lean into banter and build rapport across personalities, ages and backgrounds.

But she also learned a deeper lesson:

Tough does not need to mean hard.

As her leadership evolved, she found ways to lead with strength without losing softness, to be firm, clear and direct while staying human. Today, she challenges the assumptions that persist around women’s ambition, tone and leadership styles.

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Leadership built on giving and letting go

One of Katherine’s greatest strengths is her commitment to lifting others. She has guided young team members from entry-level roles into marketing, wholesale and management, championing their growth even when it meant losing the talent in her own team and starting the hiring process again.

Recently inspired by Molly Graham’s concept of giving away your Legos, Katherine sees this as essential to both organisational scaling and personal growth.

“You cannot move into your next challenge,” she says, “if you do not make space for it.”

She also advocates for her team and others across the business, ensuring credit goes to the person who earned it, not automatically to the manager who presents it.

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The invisible load, resilience and the truth about women’s careers

Katherine’s career, like many women’s, is marked by reinvention. She is open about navigating midlife, rebuilding after marriage breakdown, raising children as a single parent and the resilience forged through hard seasons.

“Hard things create strong people,” she says. “You come out the other side knowing you can  survive, and thrive.”

She challenges age bias openly, advocating for the value of older women whose wisdom, stability and life experience enrich teams in ways no training can replicate.

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Give to Gain and the legacy she is creating

For Katherine, this year’s IWD theme reflects a philosophy she lives daily. She gives generously, her time, her knowledge, her encouragement and her honesty, and in doing so gains connection, fulfilment and the joy of seeing others rise.

Her leadership reminds us that influence is not about command, it is about contribution.
Not about holding tightly, but about lifting freely.
Not about perfection, but about courage.

From the frontlines of customer experience to the heart of True Protein’s people culture, Katherine leads with empathy, humour and a belief that we are all capable of more than we think, especially when someone chooses to believe in us.

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Human Insights

A woman you admire:

Michelle Obama, always. When they go low, we go high is a mantra I come back to often.

A book, podcast or idea shaping your thinking right now:

Molly Graham’s work, especially her “give away your Legos” philosophy. It is powerful for leaders in scaling companies learning to evolve.

A piece of advice you return to often:

“It’ll all be ok in the end, and if its not ok, its not the end”

It speaks to resilience in the human experience…and that life has a funny way of giving us a different kind of okay than we thought we would have.

What is one thing you wish people understood more about leading:

It can be lonely. And growth is not linear.

My pivot into this industry was hard. I did not know what an ERP was, or how to use two screens. There were days I felt lost. But stretching into the unknown is where the real growth happened.

What would you tell your 18-year-old self:

You are enough.
Slow down, it will all come.
Stop chasing approval.
And remember, you can do hard things.