Presenter Details

B.S.E.'04, Founder, Keynote Speaker, and Advisor

Lauren Hasson is a global keynote speaker, senior Silicon Valley engineering leader, and award-winning founder who helps leaders and organizations turn disruption into momentum, especially in the age of AI. After graduating from Duke with top honors and a rare triple major in electrical engineering, computer science, and economics, Lauren built a high-performing early career spanning investment banking, hedge fund research, and entrepreneurship. The 2008 financial crisis wiped it out nearly overnight, leaving her to confront a harder truth: the technical training she once relied on had become obsolete. With no safety net, Lauren persuaded a tech company to give her 90 days to teach herself iOS and prove she belonged. That reinvention gamble paid off. Within two years, she was operating at the top of her field in iOS, with her work featured in Apple's global iOS keynotes, and was selected as one of only 100 global innovators invited to present ideas to the United Nations at the UK G8 Innovation Conference. Her work has since been featured in Duke Magazine (Summer 2020), and she has attended the United Nations General Assembly in recognition of her leadership and impact. As her career accelerated, Lauren noticed a pattern among high-performing women and leaders: smart, capable people feeling pressure to keep up with nonstop change. She founded DevelopHer to address that gap, building it without outside investment while continuing to lead on the frontlines of technology. The platform grew into a global movement, earning Lauren a seat on the United Nations EQUALS Leadership Council, recognition from IEEE, and more than 20 awards for advancing skills and leadership readiness. Today, Lauren brings rare dual credibility to the stage and the boardroom. She actively leads engineering and AI adoption as a senior leader at a top Silicon Valley fintech, while translating that lived experience into practical, action-driving frameworks for leaders and teams. She has applied the same system to her own life, losing more than 130 pounds in just two years through small, consistent actions that compound into lasting change. Her keynotes and advisory work are trusted by organizations including Google, Microsoft, Dell, Intuit, ADP, and the United Nations. Known for her high-energy, deeply relatable style, Lauren equips leaders to drive adoption, build agility into daily operations, and perform under pressure.