Mark Cate

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Mark Cate

( Tennessee,  )

Stones River Group

Introduction

Mark Cate is the Founder and President of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He formerly served as Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's chief of staff, where he was his top advisor, strategist and negotiator.

Achievements  Client List  Number of Years as a Lobbyist  Biography 
Achievements

I have been recognized by the Nashville Post list of In-Charge: Government & Politics for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022

Our firm was recognized nationally by the Public Relations Society of America for our comprehensive public affairs campaign to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville

Clients

1) Acadia Healthcare

2) ACT Education Corp.

3) Advantage Capital

4) Aunt Bertha, a Public Benefit Corporation d/b/a findhelp

5) BlackRock Funds Services Group, LLC

6) Blount Partnership

7) Campaign for Great Public Schools dba as City Fund Action

8) Capitol Towers Ltd.

9) CFKAA Holdings, LLC

10) CG of Tennessee LLC

11) CHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART

12) CMH Services Inc.

13) Cognia

14) Communities In Schools of Tennessee

15) CooperSurgical

16) Critical Nurse Staffing, LLC

17) Curriculum Associates, LLC

18) DELTA DENTAL OF TN

19) DGA Residential LLC

20) Emerald Youth Foundation

21) Energy Systems Group, LLC

22) Ernst & Young LLP

23) Esper Regulatory Technologies Inc.

24) FACT

25) Family First, Inc.

26) Fertility Providers Alliance

27) Fisk University

28) Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

29) Graduation Alliance, Inc

30) Greater Nashville Regional Council

31) INGRAM INDUSTRIES, INC.

32) Jackson Madison County School System

33) Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee

34) Kleo, Inc. d/b/a ClassWallet

35) Knox County

36) Knoxville Zoological Gardens Inc.

37) Koch Government Affairs, LLC and Affiliates

38) L3Harris Technologies

39) Lorraine Civil Rights Foundation dba National Civil Rights Museum

40) Maryville College

41) Maximus, Inc.

42) Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Inc

43) Memphis Shelby Crime Commission

44) Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

45) Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

46) Nareit

47) NASHVILLE ELECTRIC SERVICE

48) Nashville Soccer Holdings, LLC

49) Opportunity Tennessee

50) PathGroup

51) PayIt, LLC

52) Pilot Travel Centers LLC

53) Possip, Inc.

54) PowerSchool Group LLC

55) Salesforce, Inc.

56) SAS Institute Inc.

57) SH Advisors LLC

58) SME Education Foundation

59) Southeastern University, Inc

60) Southern College of Optometry

61) STV Incorporated

62) SWVP NYards Services Company LLC

63) Tech901

64) Tennessee Charter School Center

65) The Adoption Project

66) The United Company

67) TN Development District Assn

68) Uptown Property Holdings LLC

69) WASTE MANAGEMENT

70) Wolf River Harbor Holdings, LLC

71) YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South

Number of Years as a Lobbyist

6-10 years

Biography

Mark Cate is the Founder and President of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He formerly served as Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's chief of staff, where he was his top advisor, strategist and negotiator.

During his tenure with the Haslam Administration, Mark led several legislative policy initiatives, including K-12 education reform, workers' compensation reform, civil service reform, an alternative approach to Medicaid expansion, and postsecondary education reform, including the nationally-acclaimed Tennessee Promise program.

Prior to serving in state government, Mark successfully managed Governor Haslam's first gubernatorial campaign in 2010, which led to a record-setting general election victory. He previously worked as an executive in real estate management and development and served for 16 years as a higher education leader. Over the course of his career, Mark has served as a chief development officer, chief planning officer, chief marketing officer, and as a chief financial officer - working on budgets ranging from $10 million to $30 billion.

Mark grew up in Maryville, TN and currently lives in Brentwood with his wife Cathy who serves as the Executive Director of Leadership Tennessee. He and Cathy have two daughters, Bailey who is a recent graduate at Rhodes College and currently serves as a fellow at the Crop Trust in Bonn, Germany; and Abbie who is rising junior at George Washington University.

Cate received a B.S from Carson-Newman College, an M.S from the University of Tennessee, and Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management certificate program. He's served on a wide variety of non-profit boards and was an elected member of the Maryville Board of Education.

Last Updated: March 24, 2026