|| Mark Cate ||

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) Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

28) Graduation Alliance, Inc

29) Greater Nashville Regional Council

30) INGRAM INDUSTRIES, INC.

31) Jackson Madison County School System

32) Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee

33) Kleo, Inc. d/b/a ClassWallet

34) Knox County

35) Knoxville Zoological Gardens Inc.

36) Koch Government Affairs, LLC and Affiliates

37) L3Harris Technologies

38) Lorraine Civil Rights Foundation dba National Civil Rights Museum

39) Maryville College

40) Maximus, Inc.

41) Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Inc

42) Memphis Shelby Crime Commission

43) Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

44) Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

45) Nashville Soccer Holdings, LLC

46) Opportunity Tennessee

47) PathGroup

48) PayIt, LLC

49) Possip, Inc.

50) PowerSchool Group LLC

51) Salesforce, Inc.

52) SAS Institute Inc.

53) SH Advisors LLC

54) SME Education Foundation

55) Southeastern University, Inc

56) Southern College of Optometry

57) STV Incorporated

58) SWVP NYards Services Company LLC

59) Tech901

60) Tennessee Charter School Center

61) The Adoption Project

62) The United Company

63) TN Development District Assn

64) Uptown Property Holdings LLC

65) WASTE MANAGEMENT

66) Wolf River Harbor Holdings, LLC

67) 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: January 11, 2026