Dr. Laurie Barkman

Biography

Laurie teaches Corporate Startup Lab at Carnegie Mellon, a unique project course on corporate entrepreneurship, where diverse teams of graduate students partner with large companies to test and develop real startup ideas. In addition to teaching, Laurie is a business transition M&A intermediary. She works with owner-led companies to maximize value by anticipating succession and provides advisory services for acquisitions and sell-side transactions. Laurie hosts the award-winning podcast, Succession Stories, and has spoken to hundreds of entrepreneurs about their shared journeys of succession. She is the author of the Business Transition Handbook: Avoid Succession Pitfalls Create Valuable Exit Options. Previously, Laurie was CEO of GENCO Marketplace and served as Officer & Senior Vice President at FedEx after the company acquired GENCO in 2015. With over 25 years of experience, Laurie has driven scalable growth through corporate startups and transformation efforts at corporations such as American Eagle Outfitters and Ingersoll-Rand Company, with broad industry experience including Software, eCommerce, Logistics, and Professional Services. Laurie serves on the Advisory Board of Massaro Corporation and as an Advisory Board Member for Safety io, a subsidiary of MSA Safety Incorporated. She earned her MBA from the Tepper School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University.

Research Interests