Kathleen Chan is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Calico, a sourcing co-pilot for consumer brands that streamlines the most complex and fragmented parts of production—using AI to help teams generate manufacturable design concepts, compare regional factory pricing, source the right partners, manage costs, and move from concept to production faster.
 
A three-time founder with deep experience in fashion and retail, Ms. Chan previously built and scaled DTC brands in the jewelry and apparel space, where she oversaw everything from design to sourcing to go-to-market strategy. Her frustration navigating global production across time zones, spreadsheets, and unreliable partners became the spark for Calico, which is now used by leading brands to bring speed and resilience to their supply chains.
 
She began her career at Microsoft and was named one of Sourcing Journal’s 2025 Female Founders to Watch.