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About Lauren

Award Winning Marketer, Entrepreneur, Investor and Advisor, Former CEO, digitalundivided,

Lauren Maillian is a change agent committed to diversity, innovation, equity, and inclusion. She’s an award-winning marketer, prolific investor, advisor, entrepreneur, and board member with a multi-hyphenate career spanning over 15 years. Lauren was the CEO of digitalundivided, the leading nonprofit leveraging data, programs, and advocacy to catalyze economic growth for Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs and innovators. The mission is to create a greater world in which all women of color own their work and worth. The former Board Chair of digitalundivided, Lauren took the helm to evolve and grow the organization to further support women of color entrepreneurs, especially in the wake of the racial reckoning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Bilingual in Spanish, Lauren continues to expand the reach of the organization’s mission and programs across the United States and its territories.

She is continuing the legacy of the groundbreaking ProjectDiane research that has generated billions of media impressions globally for being the first-ever data report on the state of Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs in the United States. Lauren’s new partnership strategy secured support from over 20 brand partners including JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways, LinkedIn, American Express, Nasdaq, Amazon Web Services, Shopify, Gusto, Pine-Sol, Silicon Valley Bank, EY, and others.

Lauren advised and invested in over 40 startups and her portfolio represents over $5 billion in market capitalization. She is a Senior Advisor for Pipeline Angels and an Investor and Advisor for Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp, the second all-women Athena SPAC, trading on the NYSE. Her board advisory also includes The Folklore (a luxury fashion company), Kroma Wellness (the innovative superfoods brand) Ephemeral Tattoo (the made to fade self-expression lifestyle brand), and Diem (a new social community focused on inclusive content and conversation for women). Lauren served on Walmart’s Board of Disruptors and Innovation Council and on the Board of Directors for technology company CoSign and the spirits brand, LIQS (which was acquired by E. & J. Gallo).

With a deep understanding of consumer brands and culture, she is a serial entrepreneur of a number of ventures committed to brand building and investment. Lauren is also the Founder and CEO of LMB Group, a strategic marketing and advisory company partnering with brands like Cover Girl. She also started Straight Up and Successful, a women-focused community and professional development platform. A pioneer in the tech and funding space, Lauren was the first Black woman to start an early-stage venture capital fund, as a founding partner and managing director at Gen Y Capital Partners. At 19, Lauren became the youngest winery owner in the country, co-founding the internationally recognized Sugarleaf Vineyards.

Lauren is on the Board of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Advisory Committee on Cultural Engagement. She created The Collab art series, which uplifts the work of artists of color. She was also the Vice Chair of The Apollo Theater Foundation’s Young Patrons Steering Committee, and a founding member of the Young Entrepreneur Council. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Lauren in Action
Speech Topics

Uncovering Hidden Revenue: Leveraging Partnerships to Expand Your Brand and Increase Profitability

In today’s competitive business landscape, it’s more important than ever to find new ways to generate revenue. Join Lauren Maillian as she shares her proven strategies for uncovering hidden value and creating profitable partnerships. From expanding your brand reach to increasing awareness, Lauren will provide you with actionable insights and practical takeaways to help you tap into new revenue streams. Whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, this talk is a must-see for anyone looking to boost their bottom line and stay ahead of the curve.

Partnering for Impact: Harnessing the Power of Authentic Collaboration for Social Good

This talk will explore how purpose-driven partnerships can drive real change. Learn how to identify the right partners, create authentic collaboration, and amplify your social impact initiatives through marketing, media, and brand experiences. Discover how to achieve an impact that influences millions, sparks sustainable change, and drives business success. Take your purpose-driven initiatives to the next level and make a real impact in the world.

The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms

Lauren shares her own path to personal growth and offers the valuable lessons she learned along the way. In this talk, Lauren empowers women to dream big and challenges them to push themselves outside of their comfort zone to maximize their full potential and become pioneers by embracing risk and seizing opportunity. Become comfortable with who you are, and learn to maintain your voice amidst the noise of modern society. Learn to recalibrate how you define success, normalcy, and sanity with real solutions and practical insight so you can thrive!