Influential Woman · Skunk Works for Hire manufacturing

Laura Marie Henderson

Technology Executive - CEO, Gulf Works Lab

St Petersburg, FL

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Associate Degree Degree Bachelor's Degree (2005) Cert Scrum Master Certified

Her Story

About Laura

I've been in my field for 27 years, starting as a technologist and leader in a publicly held company. Being a female technologist 27 years ago was pretty rare. I ran a restaurant while I was in college, so the combination of those people skills, emotional intelligence, along with the technical skills and business acumen really set me up to be a successful leader young in my role. I was part of Brady Corporation's executive leadership development program, where I went on to run a software division. They divested that business, and I ran it successfully as the CEO of TechLinks Americas. Then I raised capital to start an ed tech business called Effective Learning. After that, I ran a software business in construction, an ERP software business, and recently ran another software business in the youth activities space. It's the culmination of those four experiences that led me to a really unique opportunity to partner with the economic ecosystem here in the Tampa Bay area. There are some really exciting things happening relative to technology, emerging technology, cybersecurity, defense, and the local university system, and a lot of very talented, extremely motivated solopreneurs. That's how Gulf Works Lab is born. Gulf Works Lab is a Skunk Works for Hire organization, really focused in manufacturing and advanced manufacturing and supply chain. It allows large, very successful, EBITDA-strong businesses to start to bring opportunities that are more startup-like into their organizations. We help staff a backlog of really fun, creative, exciting opportunities for successful, established businesses, and help them start to realize the benefit of agile thinking and startup incubator mindset while continuing to keep their stable business running and satisfying the needs of their customers.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Laura

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think the combination of being a technologist balanced with really understanding business has been key to my success. I've experienced what it's like to be in a publicly held company, in a bootstrap startup, in a private equity-funded startup, and that breadth of experience has been invaluable. I also have really high empathy for the problems that business leaders face, and I have a passion to make sure we leverage the excellent talents we have here in the U.S. and create opportunities and economic growth, in particular in the Tampa Bay area.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I've ever received is to take advantage of opportunities that help you grow and feel like they honor the values and the experiences you bring to the table. And leverage those as an opportunity to propel yourself forward, and to make sure you're humble in your approach to bring people along with you.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

The advice I would give them is that this is a really exciting time to be a female in this work. They should really practice something called positive intelligence, where they have a really good understanding of who they are and how they can approach the challenges and problems ahead of them with a positive mindset, and allow themselves to be differentiated. Don't assimilate so that you lose the value prop that you bring to the table in an effort to try to fit in.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

There's a lot of noise, and there's a lot of fear-based messaging, which has people overreacting or underreacting. So there's kind of a fight-or-flight mode right now, in particular for businesses that have long-standing cultures, have been around for a long time, have grown successfully, and are getting a lot of pressure and kind of fear-based propaganda forcing them to feel uncertain about what the future state looks like.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I work with and center myself around individuals who put mission first, and they are self-actualized enough to understand how their values can improve the world around them, which sounds really ambiguous, but the world around them being their community, the environment, the people around them. I really seek to be around people who are humble, hungry, and smart.

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