Kat Cole

Kat is the President and COO of Athletic Greens, the wellness company bringing comprehensive and convenient daily nutrition to every user through AG1, their flagship single-serving nutrient powder that’s been perfected over the course of a decade. 

Prior to AG, Kat served as President and COO of FOCUS Brands, better known as the parent company to Auntie Anne’s, Carvel Ice Cream, and Cinnabon.

On her AM and PM routines.

I’m typically asleep by 9:30 PM. I crush deep sleep like a freak of nature — I get four hours of Oura Ring-proven deep sleep consistently. I’m pretty sleep obsessed, which leads to why my mornings can be so fluid. 

I’m up around 6 AM. I’ll stretch my body and get as much movement as possible while I drink my AG1. I have two toddlers, so it’s my quietest moment of the day.

For that time, I know I’ve meaningfully put my mind and body first. 

From there, I’ll make my French press coffee with grass-fed collagen butter and MCT oil. Old Bulletproof habits die hard.

I’ll also get food for the kids ready before they wake up at 7. I go straight from protected me time to protected family time. I don’t look at emails, texts, or Twitter.

They’ll get ready for school while my husband and I catch up on plans for the day over coffee — it’s a reliable, warm bonding moment for us.

Depending on if I’m taking the kids to school, I’ll dive into my calendars and to-do lists around 8 AM and connect with my executive assistant on how I’ll be spending time.

On energy management.

I’m a busy mom. I can do a lot on little sleep, but I don’t want to and I definitely can’t let it become a habit. I might miss steps of my necessary routine at least once or twice a month for different reasons. 

So when that happens, I’m careful to be even more disciplined about what I put in my body and what I do for the rest of the day — simply because I cannot compound those negative effects from lack of sleep or whatever’s going on. 

Really, it’s about energy management, which I personally care about much more than time management. 

On those off days, I’m hyper-aware of the pluses and minuses in my energy column, so it takes careful decision-making to ensure I create more energy than I might lose.

On growing up.

I dropped out of college when I was 20 because I was traveling around the world: opening franchises, working nonstop across time zones, partying when I wasn’t working. The sun did not set in my mind. 

A lot of things really hit me once I became an executive at 26. I had people depending on me and a compounding sense of responsibility. 

And I realized they all needed and deserved better from me. They deserved my all, which meant I’d have to learn to say no to things and take better care of my body. 

Truthfully, I realized there were a lot of small mindless things I was doing — and I would have to grow the fuck up and recognize those mindless things actually made an impact. 

I also found that the world was getting crazier and I was getting busier — and that there is so much beyond our control. 

But what I do with my mornings or what I put in my body — those are things in my power and totally within my control.

On setting boundaries.

I’ve regularly dealt with this for a long time. I remember starting to drink less in my late twenties because my dad was an alcoholic, which deeply impacted my family. 

And as I started seeing behaviors in social circles that were reminiscent of the dark side of drinking as a young person, I just said, “This isn’t fun. I don’t feel great. It’s not worth it anymore.” 

So I hang out less with folks if it’s a rager every single time. If I care about them or they ask what’s up, I’ll say, “I love you but this is less what I’m about these days.”

I just have to be okay with the fact that it’s good enough that, if I care about them, I’ll tell them I’ll still see them and love them — but my priorities have changed. 

Then I should be comfortable voicing it and moving on. And if they feel a certain way about it, it’s also not my burden to bear.

On bridging work and life.

I left my decade-long career at FOCUS because it was time. I’d done everything I could, I set it up for its next stage of growth, and it was the end of a beautiful chapter of my career. 

It almost felt like a retirement, but I’m only 43. 

I knew I wanted to take time off to help younger businesses build for the future, as opposed to my experience in running these behemoth commercial businesses — which were basically like steering the Titanic. 

So I began organically and energetically being pulled toward certain founding teams on the cusp of really leveling up their organizations.

And that was definitely the case for AG. 

Why would I miss a once-in-a-generation opportunity to empower people’s health with a product that’s trusted by so many who’ve done the research and the work? 

It’s been a bull's eye in terms of my personal beliefs and purchasing behaviors, especially as they relate to wellness tech and Web3. There’s no gap between my personal priorities and the companies I work with. It’s beautiful.