Kate Blair

I am a human living and working in Cambridge, MA. Cell and developmental biologist by training; user-centered product person by trade. My interests range from technology and basic research to design and entrepreneurship.

As Director of Incubation for IBM Research, I am responsible for executing on zero-to-one opportunities to discover the viability, feasibility and desirability of emerging technologies from IBM Research. Partnering with researchers and leading with user-centered design, my team’s mission is to provide headlights into the future of IBM technology, accelerate time to value of bleeding edge technologies, and discover user value in disruptive spaces.

Most recently, I served as a Director of Product Management for watsonx, focusing on generative AI tooling and watsonx platform synergies. Before that, I spent 5 years in IBM Research as the Digital Platform lead, leading cross-functional teams to relaunch the division's digital presence, develop engaging and immersive experiences for emerging technologies, and incubate the generative AI interfaces that were launched into watsonx.ai.

In previous professional lives, I have trained junior product managers, modernized project management software, run data-driven field ops for an underdog congressional campaign, built software for bioinformaticians, and explored the molecular underpinnings of cellular pluripotency.

I enjoy a good, strong tea.