Pillar 01
Be known for how you lead.
Strategy, websites, books, and demand for trades leaders — priority offer.
Explore Personal BrandBest next step
Start with one clear action. We’ll help route the rest.
Pillar 02
Operator counsel that installs.
Strategy, AI, brand, and leadership work for trades companies ready to move.
Explore ConsultBest next step
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Pillar 03
Conversations worth carrying.
Long-form thinking from the operators shaping the next decade of the trades.
Explore PodcastBest next step
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Pillar 04
Build something worth inheriting.
Hands Up is Jennifer L. Bagley’s letter to the generation carrying the work forward.
Explore BookBest next step
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Pillar 05
Deal work with expert DNA.
Buy-side, sell-side, diligence, and post-close growth for the trades.
Explore AcquisitionsBest next step
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About
The Catalyst for the Trades is a nationwide consulting, podcast, leadership, and acquisitions platform run by the trades experts behind CI Web Group.
The story
The Catalyst for the Trades exists for operators who build, buy, and scale with intent — not spectators. Five pillars with Personal Brand as priority: Personal Brand, Consult, Podcast, Hands Up, and Acquisitions.
The brand sits on CI Web Group's platform: Hydra OS, AI search, and a team that has lived supply-chain discipline, agency rebuilds, and field operations. Jennifer founded CIWG in 2006 — a twenty-year company — and concentrated it on the trades in 2015, so the trades focus is a decade deep. Catalyst is where that expert DNA shows up as strategy, media, authorship, and deal work — the OS, not another marketing shop.
Specialized delivery stays with the ecosystem: CI Web Group helps contractors evaluate, brand, and market newly acquired businesses; JustStart AI provides AI training for operators and teams.
Leadership bios and photos come from ciwebgroup.com/team— the public source of truth for the people behind both brands.
Years in review
2023
Catalyst's identity was finalized while storyboarding, travel, and the realities of operating kept the show from launching before it was ready.
2024
The team refined the format, explored more specific trades topics, and built the partnerships that gave the podcast its early momentum.
2025
Interactive sessions and a broader range of industry voices moved Catalyst from a new show toward an active resource for trades operators.
Leadership
Founders, operators, and hosts — not a generic agency roster.
Leadership
Founder & CEO
Jennifer Bagley is the Founder & CEO of The Catalyst for the Trades and CI Web Group — the AI-first operator platform built exclusively for the trades. She founded CI Web Group in 2006, concentrated the company on the trades in 2015, and rebuilt the agency for the AI era after ChatGPT launched in late 2022. Before the…
Leadership
COO
Melanie Osio is COO of The Catalyst for the Trades and Chief of Staff at CI Web Group. She designs the processes, team structures, and accountability frameworks that give a fast-moving technology and marketing company the operational backbone to scale without losing precision. Before CIWG she worked inside high-growth…
Growth & Media
Executive Director, Growth · Podcast Co-Host
Jazmin Ramirez is Executive Director of Growth at CI Web Group and co-host of The Catalyst for the Trades podcast. Her path began on the front lines of the trades — plumbing office manager in 2014, then HVAC operations (dispatcher → CSR → operations manager), where she built end-to-end inventory automation with…
Growth & Media
Director Digital Strategy and Editor
Liz Slone is Director of Digital Strategy and Editor for The Catalyst for the Trades — shaping personal-brand systems, editorial voice, and content that helps trades operators show up with clarity online. She turns strategy into publishable assets operators can actually run. Source: ciwebgroup.com/team/liz-slone
Behind the scenes
Producer · PR & Communications
Krista Glasser is PR/Podcast/Communications Manager at CI Web Group and producer of The Catalyst for the Trades — the person who makes the show ship. She has been with CI Web Group since 2021. Source: ciwebgroup.com/team/krista-glasser
CIWG profile →
Executive Assistant to Jennifer Bagley
Rose is an original CI Web Group team member and the operational force behind Jennifer Bagley — coordinating her schedule, speaking circuit, partnerships, and high-leverage Catalyst initiatives. Source: ciwebgroup.com/team/rose
CIWG profile →Next step
Consulting, podcast collabs, Hands Up, or acquisitions — start a conversation with the operators who run Catalyst.
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