Alumnae News & Highlights

Effective December 13, Lauren Gibson ’01 is returning to HB as chief finance and operations officer. Lauren is taking on the role as Valerie Hughes’ is retiring at the end of the month. 

Lauren graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Akron with a B.S. in accounting. She has excellent accounting and controller experience, served as a manager in assurance and advisory services at Ernst & Young, and, most recently, served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Gibson Machinery, her family’s heavy construction equipment dealership. Lauren’s efforts were most recently focused on facilitating the sale of Gibson Machinery to Alta Equipment, a $1 billion publicly-traded company. 

Lauren’s strong communication, financial management, and organizational skills enabled her to succeed as one of the only women leaders in the heavy machinery industry and will bring the same trailblazing strategic skills to HB. Financial sustainability and long-term endowment growth to support scholarship, programs, and salaries are high priorities, and Lauren possesses the expertise to achieve these ambitious goals. 

As a student, she learned firsthand what it means to “learn for life” and she brings her extensive education and career experience to the school’s present-day operations.