Laura Flessner

I Help Diverse Professionals Break Free Of Bias And Level Up Without Changing Who You Are // Ready To Do More, Be More? Register for my Personal Branding Masterclass, July 7 (free) -> Link in Featured Section

I help diverse professionals to break through unconscious bias so they can be seen, heard & valued. 

Essentially, I help you to be recognized as a leader in your organization, no matter your level, experience or role.

What is a diverse professional? Women, minorities, introverts, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse… anyone who looks, sounds, or thinks different from others in the workplace. 

Is this you? 

It’s me. I’m a woman, Asian, an introvert, who looks really young. 

In past corporate roles, I felt frustrated, like I could do more, but I wasn’t always given the chance. The confusing thing was, I was getting fantastic feedback. 

There wasn’t any obvious bias or anything overtly intentional… but that didn’t change the fact that I wasn’t where I knew I could be. 

Unfortunately the traditional advancement system puts diverse professional at a disadvantage. Unconscious bias sneaks in, without people noticing - because it disguises itself as logic. 

It took me a while… but I found a way to break through - outside of the system. 

If the normal path to advancement:
- giving your all in quality work, 
- increasing your expertise, 
- directly asking for more

isn't allowing you to move forward... 

--> You need a different strategy. 

Transform what makes you “diverse” from a disadvantage to a superpower.  Your competitive advantage. 

I use neuroscience to help my clients break through unconscious biases their leadership and peers don’t even know they have. 

I use proven innovation tools and processes to help you to lead an idea, something you know will make a big impact, a meaningful difference. 

This strategy works at any level, in any industry, and at any organization.

Here’s 3 ways to work with me:

📚 Take a self paced course: Daring Different is a video based course with a step-by-step process to establish your authentic leadership. For the pre-manager and new entrepreneur. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/daringdifferent

🚀 Join a live training cohort: Rise is a 8-week program where you will rise to your next level and people will notice a difference in you, guaranteed. For the committed pre-manager and new entrepreneur. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/rise

🎯 Partner through coaching: Individualized guidance to create your next level of impact and personal power. For senior managers and business owners. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/catalyst-coaching

It’s time for your voice to be heard. 
For your authentic leadership to be seen. 

Send me a DM (direct message) to explore your options!

💜 Laura

Founder & CEO

Be Recognized. Be Valued. Being You. 

Mindtap helps diverse professionals break through unconscious bias so their authentic leadership can be seen and valued using proven innovation techniques and applied neuroscience. 

Change how others see you, without needing to change who you are. 

Mindtap offers services for professionals at all levels, from entry to CEO. 

Reach out to explore how we can help you reach your next level of impact!

Black & Veatch

I am a Client Innovation Leader in the Enterprise Evolution organization at Black & Veatch, an employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction (EPC) company that is at the leading edge of Sustainable Infrastructure Development. 
In my role, I listen to top-tier clients to understand their enduring needs and deliver innovative solutions that create value and differentiation at scale. 

Our organization is actively seeking and advancing innovation in AI Data Center Infrastructure (e.g. Gas-Fired and Nuclear Power, Cooling Technologies), Water Quality & Availability (e.g. Contaminants like PFAS, Lead and Copper, Water Re-Use, Desalination and Zero Liquid Discharge), Energy Transition (Large Scale Solar, Hydrogen, and Energy Storage), and Climate & Resiliency Technologies (Carbon Capture, Grid Modernization, Emergency Response, Preparedness, and Cybersecurity). 
We are also helping our clients build enabling capabilities that improve Safety, Quality, Speed, and Resource Efficiency.

Client Innovation Leader, Strategic Client Programs 

I served as an Innovation Leader on the Enterprise Evolution team at Black & Veatch. Our mission was to drive innovation and growth for the company by investing in internal and external startups, incubating and mentoring new businesses, advising on corporate strategy, and scouting for new technologies and trends. Our team was actively seeking innovation in climate tech, food/ag tech, AI/ML, biotech, energy and renewables, advanced transportation, sustainable fuels, and robotics. 

My specific focus was on applying and scaling Robotics, Automation and Artificial Intelligence in Large-Scale Utility Solar Construction in order to improve Safety, Quality, Speed, and Resource Efficiency. Note: While a robot is a machine designed to sense, process, act, and communicate, automation refers to technology that executes tasks with minimal human input; enabling the functioning of robots, as well as reasoning and decision-making systems.

KEY BUSINESS RESULTS: Two of the Solutions I brought to the company in 2024 are being scaled in 2025. 
(1) A Software Solution that will enhance equipment and speed up a rate-limiting step in Solar Construction by over 20%, with 50% lower labor needed, without impacting quality or safety. Break-even on the investment is about 6 months. 
(2) An Inspection Robot which will significantly improve Warranty, Quality Assurance, and Operations and Maintenance aspects of the Utility Solar Construction business, with a cost-savings of over 70% and schedule improvement of more than 30%.

Innovation Leader, Enterprise Evolution

Kebotix

Kebotix lives at the leading edge of materials discovery, and our mission is to enable society’s transition to a more sustainable world. We have IP in materials and technology, which we use to discover and produce new molecules and chemicals. We use both AI and robotics to deliver high-speed low-cost options to customers. Our strategy spans short- to long-term, from licensing tools and providing a discovery service, to developing materials and licensing IP. Because AI/ML is still new, we offer business flexibility – low-cost subscriptions for digitally native clients, consulting for traditional ones, and cost- and revenue-sharing for cash-constrained customers. Our team includes industry veterans, academics and ex-consultants who focus us on important projects in pursuit of our mission.

Vice President, Business Development

GLG is the world’s largest insight network, with almost 1 million members. GLG connects decision makers to the right experts so they can act with the confidence that comes from true clarity. 
As a GLG Network Member, I bring 25+ years of experience as a consultant, industry practitioner, people manager and innovation leader in Aerospace & Defense, Healthcare, and Consumer Purchased Goods & Services (specifically Chemicals, Food and Beverage, Personal Care, and Consumer Durables). 
I have helped clients solve some of their toughest business challenges around technology strategy, innovation ecosystems, and talent management - bridging the chasm between aspiration and action. Some of the topics on which I have expertise and extensive real-world experience include:
- Enterprise Strategy, Innovation and Leadership
- Innovation and Transformation Talent Management
- Open Innovation and Partnership Ecosystems
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Expert

Swarm Vision

I led Customer Success for Swarm Vision, an innovation platform that Fortune 500 Brands use to identify their innovation talent and harness it to drive sustainable innovation and rapid growth. Swarm Vision is a SaaS platform that enables Innovation, R&D, IT, and HR leaders to identify, upskill and organize the talent in their workforce and candidate pipeline. Swarm Vision's tools help uncover the innovation talent hidden in the workforce, and cut through the hype and guesswork in innovation by enabling executives and leaders to:
*Identify and engage more innovation talent
*Form stronger innovation teams
*Hyper-target innovation training
*Measure and Identify Gaps in Innovation Culture

Senior Director, Customer Success

Shoshin Works

Shoshin Works is the world’s leading advisor for Ecosystemic Transformation. Traditionally organized businesses, such as vertically integrated companies or hierarchical supply chains, struggle in a digital world. Business ecosystems can foster innovation, scale quickly, and adapt to changing environments. Shoshin Works helps forward-thinking organizations build mission-focused ecosystems that deliver inclusive growth by tapping into a global network of platforms and specialist providers. 

HOW WE DO THIS: Shoshin Works delivers ecosystemic operating models and advanced work design by deploying open innovation, open talent, skills mapping and development, and digital workforce models – transforming nations, regions, sectors and organizations. We leverage the crowd, cloud, and AI to orchestrate the definitive ecosystem of futurists, innovation and talent communities, helping organizations transform operating models for greater velocity, elasticity, resilience, and performance. Learn more at Shoshinworks.com

Vice President, Global Ecosystem Development

The Clorox Company

Led 7-person Open Innovation team at Clorox. Focused on developing and delivering usable OI systems, tools, and capabilities that achieved results across all BUs and functions. The OI team enables better decisions by delivering external perspective and capability to all BUs and functions, staying abreast of relevant trends, and sharing ideas and best practices within and outside the enterprise.
•	Created internal connectivity by developing OI onboarding program, which was shared with all internal BU’s and functions, driving awareness and pull while providing VOC that made OI more useful and usable.  
•	Rebuilt the OI team by hiring candidates with skills to match the technical and business needs of today and tomorrow, such as startup mindset. 
•	Drove discipline and focus to prioritize highest-value work that delivers visible impact, while continuously automating, outsourcing, and pushing lower-value work to self-service. 
•	Continued learning and pushing for the next frontier of capability, such as tracking and engaging startups, sensing for growth and disruptive trends, and competitive intelligence to inform BU strategy. 
•	Kick started key functional and enterprise initiatives such as Digital Transformation (R&D Modeling and Simulation), hiring for and training Innovation Leadership Skills, and Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging with the objective of delivering innovation-led growth.

Head of Open Innovation

Delivered business results via existing Open Innovation tools and processes, while developing new ones to meet evolving needs of the BUs and functions.  Maintained key tools for the enterprise around product and market intelligence, IP, and technology scouting.  Worked on key growth initiatives for Clorox Retail, Clorox Professional Products, Brita, Burt’s Bees, and RenewLife brands.  Managed 4-6 external cross-functional experts on various advisory boards.
•	Championed and owned the capability around networking, engaging and learning from external experts, first for R&D and then for all Clorox. This put Open Innovation on the radar of C-suite executives.
•	Built Advisory Boards with BU General Managers as key stakeholders in order to promote external perspective and tackle execution challenges. This enabled BUs to grow into new spaces. Key example – the Burt’s Bees Beauty Advisory Board which led to the $50M+ launch of Burt’s Bees Color Cosmetics.
•	Developed system to identify new spaces for growth which ultimately led to the acquisitions of RenewLife and NutraNext (totaling $1 billion).
•	Engaged Clorox Legal to develop an effective way to receive and manage unsolicited external inventor submissions, then outsourced the process to an external agency for 30% of the cost. This saved millions of dollars as it shielded the company from nuisance lawsuits.
•	Scouted for and found external agencies which could do product, technology, and market landscapes 3-5X faster, cheaper, and better, then converted the process to self-serve.
•	Developed an innovation network in India and China which could conduct early-stage research and development at a fraction of the cost. E.g. Development of Brita Stream Water Pitcher Filtration System in 6 weeks for $10,000 vs. 6 months for $250,000.
•	Pivoted the company’s internal crowd-sourcing process from Ideas Seeking Businesses to Businesses Seeking Ideas, then wound down the program as it still wasn't delivering business value.

Associate Director, R&D

Corporate Executive Board

Provided Fortune 500 Research, Technology, and Innovation Executives the insights they needed to solve their most urgent and pressing challenges in driving innovation, growth, and profitability. 
•	Worked with the Research team to develop content on topics relevant to member organizations and presented them to executives and their teams via Annual Executive Retreats, Leadership Staff Briefings, Webinars, and in-person on-site meetings across North America and Europe. 
*** Capstone achievement – organized and delivered conference with 40 CTOs and Obama Administration’s Office of Science and Technology to promote STEM education in order to make the nation more competitive globally. 
•	Co-managed a $10-$20M book of business. Partnered with Business Development to grow membership and worked with Account Managers to meet renewal targets under varied economic circumstances and challenging team turnover.

Senior Director & Headliner, Research & Technology Executive Council (RTEC)

Provided Fortune 500 Procurement, Quality, and Real Estate Executives the insights they needed to solve their most urgent and pressing challenges in driving profitability, quality, and growth. 
•	Worked with the Research team to develop content on topics relevant to member organizations and presented them to executives and their teams via Annual Executive Retreats, Leadership Staff Briefings, Webinars, and in-person on-site meetings across North America, Europe, and Australia.
•	Partnered with Business Development to grow membership and worked with Account Managers to meet renewal targets under varied economic circumstances and challenging team turnover.

Director & Headliner - Procurement Strategy Council, Quality Exec Board, Real Estate Exec Board 

Cessna Aircraft Company

Applied knowledge and skills in the area of aerospace materials and processes to support the development and manufacturing of single-engine and business jet aircraft. Managed 2 direct reports. 
•	Led cross-BU technical project which benefited Cessna and other Textron Company BU’s. 
•	Materials & Process liaison on Supplier Management team with Procurement, Quality, and Manufacturing.

Materials and Process Engineer, Product Engineering

Innovation Leader. Ecosystem Builder. Problem Solver. TEDx Speaker. Published Author.

I am a problem-solver and builder at heart. Delivering impact is my North Star. My personal "why" is to stay abreast of how the world is changing, so I can solve real world problems faced by organizations, society, and the planet. I do this by staying curious, inclusive, and collaborative. 

I am currently a Client Innovation Leader in the Enterprise Evolution organization at Black & Veatch, a US-based EPC company that is at the leading edge of Sustainable Infrastructure. In my role, I listen to clients to understand their enduring problems and deliver innovative solutions that create value and differentiation at scale. 

We are actively seeking and advancing innovation in Data Center Infrastructure, Water Quality & Availability, Energy Transition, and Climate & Resiliency Tech.

Before Black & Veatch, I worked for Kebotix - a startup that uses AI/ML and Automation to develop and improve materials and chemicals. Before that, I worked as an Open Innovation practitioner and people leader at The Clorox Company, and as an Advisor to Innovation and Operations executives at The Corporate Executive Board.

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Laura Flessner

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