Kat Roberts Bulldozes Her Way as Product Manager
Kat Roberts, a product manager for dozers and crawler loaders, has an intriguing and heartfelt story to tell.
Growing Up
Kat's enthusiasm for John Deere was inspired by her father, who worked as an engineer with excavators. She remembers driving around and stopping to inspect different excavators with her dad, as he talked with customers, ensuring the product met their expectations. This early exposure instilled in Kat a deep appreciation for the importance of delivering high-quality equipment that serves customers’ needs.
Today, as a product manager
Kat sees herself as the voice of the customer. She learns about their pain points and strives to deliver tailored solutions to add value for both the customers and the company. She takes pride in her role, explaining, "It's such an honor that I get to be the face of John Deere dozers to the world."
Kat’s dedication also extends beyond the office, she travels the globe, meeting customers and hearing their inspiring stories. One impactful encounter involved a formerly incarcerated man who, after being given a second chance, built a successful business that greatly impacted his life and community. “Meeting him was so inspirational,” Kat explained, “Every customer has a unique story and I think that’s one of the best parts of my job – getting to know our customers and share their stories with others.”
Every customer has a unique story and I think that’s one of the best parts of my job – getting to know our customers and share their stories with others.
Smarter, Safer, More Sustainable
In a fast-paced and ever-changing role, Kat finds fulfillment in the outcome of her efforts. “My job really fits in with our John Deere strategy of smarter, safer, and more sustainable construction in a real way. The products that I work with directly impact our customers in those three ways, which is neat to see. And then when I think about getting to work with our amazing teams in product development, operations, and sales and marketing to deliver solutions that provide value to customers, dealers, and Deere – I know I’m in the right place.”