Laura Banovic Flessner

Laura Flessner has over 20 years of experience in innovation, beginning her career as a packaging engineer at Procter & Gamble. She would move on to become the director of R&D product design for new benefit innovation at Pfizer, leading new business innovation strategy and implementation within Global Wellness. In 2019, she founded several start-ups while at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). In November 2020, she launched Mindtap to coach diverse professionals to break through unconscious bias and lead authentically, using proven innovation tools and neuroscience. She also supports non-profit organizations such as Ascend Leadership, American Chemical Society and Women in Manufacturing, giving leadership workshops and training. Flessner earned her B.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has since expanded her knowledge and skills through several programs and certificates, including a CORe Business Essentials Certificate (the pre-MBA program at Harvard University).