Lori Cross

Lori Cross is the president of Mind Span Consulting, a firm that specializes in the development of exceptional, authentic leaders in high-tech environments. She coaches and develops CEOs and leaders of all ages on strategy formulation, execution, teambuilding, innovation, and followership. Cross currently serves as a board member on several for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and is teaching strategy and leadership courses in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Enterprise MBA and Executive Education programs.

Cross has over 25 years of experience in leading global organizations through turn-arounds, start-ups, and the execution of new business models. As group president of VIASYS NeuroCare, she led an aggressive turn-around with an innovative strategy and global implementation model. Previously, she led the renewal of GE/Datex-Ohmeda, where her team’s success was recognized with the Wisconsin Forward Award. She has also started several successful new businesses in medical and information technology both in the United States and Europe.

Cross's career has taken her around the world—California, Boston, Germany and Sweden—and she has spent the last eight years in Madison. She earned a bachelor's of chemical engineering from Northwestern University and a master's in biomedical systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She also holds an Executive MBA, with a focus on international marketing.