Lauren Hasson
Senior Silicon Valley Engineering Leader. Award-Winning Founder & CEO. Best-Selling Author.
I'm Lauren
After graduating from Duke University with top honors and a rare triple major in electrical engineering, computer science, and economics, I thought I had my future all mapped out.
Seven years later, after working as an investment banking analyst and hedge fund researcher, I’d built a 6-figure company that was helping thousands find meaningful work.
I was flying high.
Then the 2008 crash hit, and everything changed overnight.
The real kicker wasn’t that I suddenly found myself unemployed:
IT WAS THAT MY ORIGINAL DEGREE WAS OBSOLETE.
When I graduated, the iPhone didn't exist and SMS text messaging wasn't even a thing. Now I had to cold call every company I could find, desperate for work‚ with maxed-out credit cards and no money in my bank account.
Finally, I persuaded one tech company to say yes—and give me 90 days to teach myself iOS and prove I belonged.
The gamble paid off.
Before I knew it, I was one of 100 innovators in tech being flown on a private 747 jet to London for the UK G8 Innovation Conference to present ideas to the United Nations. In just two short years, I’d gone from being laid off and left behind to leading innovation and culture at one of the top tech agencies in the world.
But as I advanced, I noticed something:
I wasn’t the only one playing catch up.
I kept hearing from other women in tech who felt like they were falling behind, too. So I founded DevelopHer, a career development platform designed to help women in technical fields stay competitive—built with no outside investment while working on the front lines of tech myself, where I was being promoted into senior leadership.
As DevelopHer grew, so did its reach.
What began as a resource for women in tech quickly expanded into a global movement—one that earned me a seat on the United Nations EQUALS Leadership Council, 22 awards including recognition from IEEE, and multiple UN nominations for my work advancing skills, equity, and readiness in the workforce.
Soon, leaders far beyond the tech world began showing up too—wanting to understand how to navigate disruption and help their teams adapt faster.
Today, I don't only teach the framework I used to reinvent myself. I apply its principles every day.
As a senior engineering leader on the frontlines of AI disruption, I walk my talk: helping leaders drive adoption, reinforce new behaviors, and build agility into the way their teams operate.
My work now reaches far beyond tech. I’ve helped people across industries - from roofing to high-tech, finance, law, and IT - build the skills and confidence to navigate disruption and lead what’s coming next.
Because Next Starts Now™ and there’s no time to wait.
As Seen In:
If you told me 15 years ago I'd be where I am today, I wouldn't have believed you.
But looking back, I see now that the career disruption I experienced happened to me for a reason, so I could use what I learned to help others fully embrace the unexpected.
No matter what tough moments life presents me with, I’ve learned to turn them into forces for good.
I openly share my mental health journey, lost over 130 pounds using the same framework I teach, and built a global network of more than 15,000 people despite being a neurodivergent introvert.
THE SAME PRINCIPLES THAT FUEL MY WORK ALSO SHAPE MY LIFE...
As an adventurer
In 2013, I’m one of 100 innovators in tech flown on a private 747 jet to London for the UK G8 Innovation Conference to present our ideas to the United Nations.
As an athlete
I lost 130 lbs in less than 2 years. On December 30, 2024, I pick up weight training—and for the next 365 days (and counting), I don’t miss a single workout.
As a lifelong learner
In 2025, I join Jesse Itzler's - Sara Blakely's husband - private mastermind and climb “Hell on the Hill” at their Connecticut lake house in Spanx and Sneex.
As a speaker
I’ve taken the stage everywhere from Google to the United Nations, sharing the frameworks that helped me reinvent myself and now help leaders drive change in their own organizations.
In my Relationships
My greatest success will always be the life I’ve built with my partner, Kris. We’ve been together for over twenty years and still choose each other first: averaging three to five date nights a week, usually dinner and a movie. It’s the rhythm that anchors everything else I do.
With my family
I stay just as connected to my family, with multiple calls a week and regular trips home, and I make time for the close friends I meet for breakfasts and long conversations. These relationships keep my life full, balanced, and rooted in what matters most.
