Lauren Kelly
Founding Member
Lauren Kelly is the Chief Commercial Officer at ThoughtExchange where she oversees the company’s Product, Marketing, and Sales functions to ensure that ThoughtExchange customers have unbridled access to the true collective intelligence of their organizations.
ThoughtExchange’s collective intelligence platform enables leaders to quickly gain critical insights, improve strategic decision-making, and unlock performance across complex, matrixed organizations. In 2021, Lauren Kelly also joined the global consulting firm, Prophet, as the newest member of its board of directors.
Lauren has 20+ years of experience successfully launching new, innovative platforms and repositioning established businesses for sustainable growth. A pioneering business executive and digital marketing expert whose leadership roles span consumer and B2B, she helps companies across industries thrive in an uncertain landscape.
Lauren was previously SVP and CMO at Irvine Company, where she repositioned the company’s 50 million square foot workplace portfolio to meet evolving Millennial workforce needs via industry-leading digital and account-based marketing, new product and experience innovation, and a comprehensive rebrand. Irvine Company is a founder-led, multi-billion dollar enterprise and California’s largest private land owner and developer.
Previously, Lauren also led commercial strategy for two Fortune 50 companies: Dell, representing nearly $60B in global revenue, and PepsiCo Americas Foods, a $22B division of PepsiCo. Prior to her CMO and corporate strategy responsibilities, she held progressively increasing Marketing and P&L ownership roles at PepsiCo, including two $1 billion+ portfolios.
Lauren began her career as a consultant with Monitor Group (now Monitor-Deloitte). She was the engagement leader on several long-term strategic consulting projects for pharmaceutical, vaccine, beverage, packaged food, and utility clients. As a complement to her go-to-market and brand positioning expertise, Lauren helped establish the firm’s Organizational Strategy practice with senior Monitor leadership.
In addition to her commitment as a founding member of the Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA), Lauren is the Lead Brand Advisor for the CEO Leadership Alliance of Orange County, a CEO-driven organization committed to accelerating sustainable and inclusive economic development. She serves on the Internet Marketing Association advisory board and is a member of The Executive Leadership Council.
Lauren holds a BA (1998) and an MBA (2004) from Harvard University. In 2020, she was honored as a Top Diverse Leader by California Diversity Council and the Internet Marketing Association’s CMO of the Year.
