Surprise, Pivot, Scale

Laura Rowley is an empathetic and strategic storyteller with wide-ranging experience building content that drives business goals. An award-winning journalist and author, Laura held editorial and executive roles at CNN, The Huffington Post, Yahoo! and Meredith Corporation. She is currently Director of Content for SitusAMC, a New York-based global technology and services firm, focused on real estate finance.

Laura is also the founder of Rough Meadow Digital Media, a consulting firm that helps businesses connect with the right audiences through digital platforms; turning complex stories into crackling good prose and mesmerizing audio and video; and developing meaningful analytics to measure outcomes. Her clients have included a Fortune 100 real estate firm, a Hollywood studio, and multiple global consumer brands.

Laura was previously Vice President of Video Production and Product at Meredith Corporation and Executive Producer of Original Video and Partnerships for The Huffington Post. She worked as a field producer and reporter for CNN Business News, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Self, Parents, the Des Moines Register, Time, and other media.

Laura is fascinated by the values and strategies that drive successful businesses, and has authored the histories of four Fortune 500 companies, including The Target Corporation (John Wiley & Sons), Humana, Family Dollar and CBRE (Fenwick Publishing). She also wrote the personal finance guide Money & Happiness (John Wiley & Sons), which she translated into an award-winning Yahoo!Finance column and AOL video series. Laura has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS, CNBC, Fox, Bloomberg, NPR and other media.

Laura is mom to three young women; avid reader, runner and traveler; earnest data geek; and fanatical dog lover. She is a TechStars mentor and supports non-profits focused on women and children, poverty alleviation, diversity, equity and inclusion, and education.

This is part of the Iowa State University Student Innovation Center noon talks. Attend @ SICTR or via Zoom. For details, go to https://sictr.iastate.edu/