Laurie Benson

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

NURSES ON BOARDS COALITION, Executive Director 2016-present

Created in 2014, nationwide non-profit improving health in communities across the nation through the service of nurses on board

• Hired as first Executive Director March 2016
• Coalition became independent, 501 (c) (3) public charity June 2017
• Created and successfully implemented fundraising strategy to support and sustain the organization
• Built nationwide infrastructure, including network of volunteers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
• Engaged diverse stakeholders including 28 national nursing association members and 50+ strategic partners and sponsors
• Key strategy of 10,000 board seats held by nurses achieved January 2021

LSB UNLIMITED, CEO Madison, WI 2009–present Business consulting firm

• C-Suite Advisor to CEOs, Presidents, and Entrepreneurs on complex issues including board governance, strategy, business growth, innovation, high performance teams, human resources and succession planning
• Serves as an active, engaged member of corporate boards
• National and local keynote speaker – leadership, governance and innovation

INACOM INFORMATIONS SYSTEMS, Co-Founder and CEO Madison, WI  1984-2009

Business solutions provider specializing in technology consulting, education and procurement

• Co-founded and led statewide IT systems integrator from inception to time of sale
• Developed the enterprise-wide business strategy and grew revenues from start up to $80M with 150+ employees across 3 offices
• Created a focused vision for organizational growth leveraging organic and M&A strategies
• Developed business optimization strategies resulting in the evolution from a commodity-based solution to a service-centric solution.
• As part of the evolution, built one of largest Microsoft Education Centers in the US; recognized as Microsoft’s Worldwide Education Partner of the Year for client-centered implementations
• Achieved high level national industry strategic partner rankings with Cisco, Microsoft, HP, and EMC
• Selected by Ingram Micro executives to chair VentureTech Network Council, an industry peer group representing aggregate revenues of $1.2B
• Served on Hewlett-Packard Small and Medium Size Business (SMB) Advisory Council, 2002 -2008 and US Microsoft Value Added Reseller (VAR) Leadership Council, 2002–2004
• Developed a corporate board of directors, created the board charter vetted board candidates
• Created and implemented organizational plans to ensure a successful transition post sale of the company

XEROX – Sales/Sales Manager 1976–1984

AMERICAN RED CROSS – Nurse 1975–1976

Ms. Benson has received honors and awards including WAA (University of Wisconsin Alumni Association) Distinguished Alumni Award 2013, University of Wisconsin Madison Chancellor’s Entrepreneurial Achievement Award 2013, induction

“”In Business” 2011 Executive Hall of Fame, ATHENA Award 2010, National SBA Women Business Champion 2009, and “Top 25 Most Influential IT Executives-U.S.” Computer Reseller News 2004.