Laura Born

About Laura Born

Laura Born is a highly experienced finance professional with a 30-year background in capital markets and advisory roles. With a career spanning nearly two decades at JP Morgan, Laura has garnered extensive knowledge in mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital raising, IPOs, capital structure, payout policy, and other corporate finance advisory projects. After leaving JP Morgan, Laura embarked on a dual-track path of board work and teaching. Since 2008, she has been an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, where she consistently receives top ratings from students. Laura is an experienced board member and Audit Chair and has led the audit committee for a >$200 million EBITDA global company operating in 150 countries with employees and has designed and leads the audit committee for a VC-controlled company preparing for an IPO. As a board member, she leverages her M&A and capital markets expertise to guide organizations and mentors senior finance leaders. Laura has repeatedly helped companies design cyber security oversight programs, enterprise risk management plans, create a board level framework for capital allocation decisions and optimize capital structures. She can serve on the Audit, Finance, Risk, Cybersecurity and HR and Compensation Committees.Laura\'s current board portfolio consists of Carlson Inc.(formerly hospitality, restaurants and travel and now private equity business), ezCater (food for work) and the Independent Oversight Advisory Committee of the World Food Programme (https://executiveboard.wfp.org/independent-oversight-advisory-committee). She has previously served on the boards of Carlson Travel, Columbia Acorn Funds and Driehaus Capital Management.In order to stay \"cutting edge\" on board governance, audit and capital markets, Laura participates regularly in webinars/conferences given by EWOB (Extraordinary Women on Boards), the Big 4 firms, Wall Street firms and the NACD. In addition, Laura has been nominated to the NYSE Diversity Initiative {a set of NYSE public company-ready directors who participate in educational programming sponsored by the NYSE).In her personal life, Laura is passionate about humanitarian aid to Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war and has traveled to Poland to assist. Finally, along with spending time with her family, she loves to hike and ski in Big Sky Montana, listen to music and frequent restaurants in Austin, TX and travel to new and unique places.

Experience

1. Board Member and Audit Chair

   World Food Programme

   Mar 2023 — Present

Education

• Duke University

  BA, Economics, Political Science

• The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Finance, Accounting

  1991

• The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

  MBA, Finance and Accounting

• The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Finance, Accounting

• Duke University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Economics, Political Science

  1987

• Duke University

  Bachelor's degree, Economics, Political Science