Christy Lauridsen is a business and technology consultant committed to working with governments and firms to overcome innovation hurdles and promote economic growth, education, and employment opportunities in the developing world. Currently with McKinsey & Co. in Silicon Valley, Christy formerly served as a Sr. Business Development M&A Specialist at IBM, where she was also designated a Master Inventor.  She has worked with multiple international innovation programs and in public-private collaboration settings in research, engineering, and business roles.  Christy holds a Master of Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where her policy research focused on innovation in Colombia. Christy also earned a M.S. in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas and a M.S. in Computer Science from Columbia University.