Shona Brown was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony on Saturday, November 15, “in recognition of her groundbreaking leadership and innovation in engineering, social media, and business.”
As a member of Google’s executive team since 2003, Shona Brown’s responsibilities as Senior Vice-President, Business Operations were to build both the People Operations and Business Operations groups. In 2011, she transitioned to a role leading all of Google’s technology for social impact efforts and, in January of 2013, she became a Googler Emeritus and moved into an advisory role with the company.
In addition to her ongoing role with Google, Dr. Brown is currently serving in an advisory role with a small portfolio of technology startups. Prior to joining Google, she was a partner at McKinsey & Company, a management consulting company, where her focus was working with consumer technology companies on growth, innovation and transformation.
She is the author of Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos, which introduced a new strategic model for competing in volatile markets. She is a director of several non-profit organizations, including the Bridgespan Group, the Nature Conservancy, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), Code for America, Goru and the Exploratorium. She also serves on the board of PepsiCo.
Dr. Brown has a bachelor’s degree in computer systems engineering from Carleton University, a master’s degree in economics and philosophy from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes Scholar, and a PhD and postdoctoral degree from Stanford University’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management