Corporate Startup accelerator Slingshot has appointed business executive Karen Lawson to spearhead the next stage of its growth. Lawson takes on the top job after five months working as Slingshot’s head of innovation for its corporate Scaleup program.
Lawson, former CEO of online job marketplace CareerOne, has over a decade of experience working in executive roles within Australia’s tech sector, including taking CareerOne from being just a job board into a broader technology business.
Prior to CareerOne, she worked as Yahoo!7’s general manager of business development and partnerships, leading several of the company’s experimental new media and technology endeavours.
“Over my career, I’ve learned the importance of reinvention and innovation and how it can make or break a legacy business,” Lawson said.
“Slingshot plays a unique role in helping corporates innovate. Driving transformation is extremely challenging. It starts with us building the innovation capital within a business.
“Startup’s bring ideas, corporates bring scale. Enabling collaboration between these huge forces in our economy is how we turn ideas into impact, on a global scale. The jobs of the future are being created and it’s something we should embrace from a board level down.”
Slingshot supplies large corporates with world-class innovation programs, enabling them to create competitive advantage and growth. It’s delivered strong outcomes for a number of leading corporates including NRMA, banking disruptor ING Direct, health fund HCF and global food giant Simplot.
Slingshot chairman, Gary Flowers, said, “Karen’s appointment further strengthens Slingshot’s market positioning as Australia’s leading accelerator and business generator.
“She will bring invaluable guidance and expertise to the role having transformed complex organisations and created new platforms and marketplaces. Our accelerator programs, scale up initiatives and corporate partnerships will flourish under her stewardship.”
Craig Lambert, Slingshot’s co-founder, added, “As our business grows and the opportunity expands, its critical our leadership reflects the original values and passion for the innovation space. Karen is all those things and more.”
