INDIANAPOLIS – Lisa Laughner, president and CEO of Indiana-based startup Go Electric Inc., has received the 2018 Barnes & Thornburg Hi Tech Woman of the Year Award. The firm recognized Laughner for her achievements at Go Electric as well as over her impressive career in technology during the biennial Women & Hi Tech Leading Light Awards dinner on Oct. 4.
“As an energetic, hardworking and strategic leader, Lisa Laughner embodies the characteristics we seek in an honoree for this award,” said Deborah Pollack-Milgate, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg who presented Laughner with the award. “In addition to excelling at all she does, Lisa is a champion for women in the tech industry and is a role model to all rising through the ranks.”
The Barnes & Thornburg Hi Tech Woman of the Year Award is presented to a woman who stands out among men and women peers in STEM or STEM-related fields. A mechanical engineering graduate of Purdue University, Laughner’s career includes 11 years at Rolls-Royce, where she quickly ascended to various leadership positions. Her work there culminated with her promotion to vice president of corporate ventures, in which she led a world-class technology commercialization and venture team. Her team reviewed and mined 8,000 patents and created 28 spin-out projects.
Laughner also has made an impact in the advanced manufacturing and logistics industry by helping launch Conexus Indiana, which promotes and grow the sectors by leading collaborations between industry, academic, and public-sector partners. Likewise, she served for eight years with the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, which was formed to bring together the chief executives of Central Indiana’s prominent corporations, foundations and universities.
Laughner founded Go Electric, a green technology company, in 2011. Go Electric delivers turnkey distributed energy storage solutions that provide energy security and energy efficiency to facilities and the grid.
Women & Hi Tech aims to change the landscape of women represented in STEM to be equally inclusive to all by connecting female STEM professionals with each other and the Indiana community. Its members work in various industries, including life sciences, accounting, engineering, psychology, statistics, and information technology.
Pollack-Milgate is a former Women & Hi Tech board president. Also active in the organization from Barnes & Thornburg are Angela B. Freeman, who is President-Elect, and Lori Boyer, who serves on the board.
With more than 600 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from 14 offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C.
