Speaker

Sue is a CEO, founder, speaker, advisor, investor, mentor, professor, former civil rights attorney, creative visionary, operator, and catalyst. Sue is the co-founder and CEO of MergeLane, an investment fund and accelerator targeting companies with at least one woman in leadership. Sue also works closely with high-potential leaders, executive teams, and tech-enabled startups and growth companies on topics including conscious leadership, partner dynamics, and in various growth-focused areas of business. Sue has been a CEO, president, and chief marketing officer for digital companies since the earliest days of the Internet. She began her career as an attorney – last as a federal prosecutor with the US DOJ Civil Rights Division. She transitioned to business by founding an online baby gift company in 1999, and she then joined Discovery Communications, parent company of Discovery Channel and 15 other international networks. Since Discovery, Sue has led companies in the interactive travel, digital publishing, ecommerce, and online education sectors. Two of these firms had successful exits. Sue serves as a mentor for the Techstars Accelerator and an adjunct professor of law and entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Law School. Sue is a sought-after speaker who inspires audiences with her authenticity, directness and humor. She speaks often on the topic of optimizing the contributions of women in growth companies and on a range of core principals of conscious leadership. Sue also hosts the popular Real Leaders Podcast, featuring the “story behind the story” of some of the most authentic, talented leaders in the world. Sue earned a B.A. from Oberlin College and a J.D. and M.A. from Duke University. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.