Kate Santore || Atlanta Spotlight

By Staff Writer Atlanta Trend

• Oct 31, 2026

Guardian Sports is entering its next chapter of growth with the addition of Kate Santore as Chief Marketing Officer.

Santore joins Guardian after 14 years with The Coca-Cola Company, bringing extensive experience building and growing some of the world’s most recognized consumer brands. Her addition comes at a pivotal time for Guardian Sports as the company continues to grow beyond its roots in football and introduce its expanding portfolio of products to more athletes, coaches and families.

Over the past four years, Guardian Sports has grown 5x, with its products now used by more than 750,000 athletes worldwide. The company has achieved adoption across 95% of Power 4 football programs, entered its fifth consecutive NFL-mandated season for Guardian Caps in contact practices, and expanded its presence across professional, collegiate, youth and international sports.

At the same time, Guardian’s consumer business is accelerating. The company recently achieved more than 40% growth in retail revenue and more than 100% growth on Amazon as more consumers discover Guardian products outside of traditional team sales.

Adding Santore to the leadership team represents Guardian’s next investment in building a broader consumer brand around a mission that has guided the company since its founding: better protecting athletes at every level of play.

During her 14 years at The Coca-Cola Company, Santore held leadership roles across some of the company’s most recognized brands and global marketing platforms.

Her experience includes helping lead marketing initiatives connected to the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup and contributing to the global Share a Coke campaign. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of smartwater, where she helped expand the brand’s reach, gain more than a point of dollar share and drive double-digit growth for smartwater alkaline with antioxidant.

At Guardian Sports, Santore will lead brand strategy and architecture, integrated marketing, partnerships and commercial growth initiatives across the company’s expanding portfolio.

“We’ve spent years earning trust at the highest levels of sport. The opportunity now is helping more athletes and families understand who we are and what we stand for,” said Jake Hanson, Chief Operating Officer of Guardian Sports. “Kate has spent her career building brands people trust, and we’re excited to bring that expertise to Guardian.”