Christine starts, architects and grows businesses- building teams, raising capital, crafting go-to-market strategies and building brands. She focuses on companies that can make a meaningful difference in the quality of people's lives and experiences, working with boards and management teams to create great organizations. She runs TEDxSanFrancisco, is a Green Dot Award juror and is actively engaged in work supporting innovation, human potential and sustainability.
Colleagues and clients consider her to be a creative, high energy, hardworking and hands-on leader -- someone who can go broad or dig into the details as needed:
"I have known Christine for over 10 years. In that time, I have been impressed with the energy, commitment and creativity that she brings to each of the projects that she engages in. I have seen her repeatedly create great results, on tight budgets against tough odds. She is a thought leader who is great at organizing missions and people. Everything that she touches is improved for her having been there."- Jeff Stern
"Christine is one of the brightest and most web savvy CEO's. She has tremendous vision and creativity around community building and social networking, search, Web 2.0, consumer marketing and brand building. Christine has an extremely high energy level and passion for company building. Strategic thinker and team builder. Would enjoy the opportunity to work with her again on another project." - Greg Buchholz
"Christine came into a difficult situation with a very early stage technology looking for a customer, and founders/directors whose expectations were not in line with reality. Christine created a rational go-to-market plan, put appropriate research into place to validate the value-proposition, repositioned the company, and crafted several high-profile strategic partnerships. The business was successfully spun out of the incubator because of Christine's specific presence in the business--it would be a pleasure to work with her again!"- David Falter
As a company founder and CEO, Christine has built online companies from a blank sheet of paper to millions of dollars in recurring revenues. Christine founded and served as CEO and board member at venture-backed SpringCM, the leading Software-as-a-Service provider of Enterprise Content Management (that's software provided on a subscription basis). She served on the board of MSDSOnline, an online subscription provider of compliance information, and was the founding CEO at Intellext, a contextual search technology spun out of Northwestern University. She was a cofounder at LeadAmerica and MetalMaker. In addition to her own companies, she has worked with global organizations, such as Nabisco, Omnexus, Texas Pacific Group and Alcoa, as well as the many European clients, to open new markets or solve strategy challenges. During her early career, she worked in Mergers and Acquisitions for a global consulting firm, and in established companies in consumer packaged goods and heavy industry, leading new market development, trade marketing and strategy. She is a Springboard Enterprises alumna.
In 2008, Christine began to realign her work life to a larger life mission of spreading big (culture shifting) ideas, and created the SweetMedia Network, a group of content sites serving the LOHAS market, with an emphasis on sustainability, conscious business, personal wellness and community building, and began curating/producing local communites, including TEDxSanFrancisco, LoveSpring, Exquisite and WiredSonoma.
Christine holds a MBA from the JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Northwestern University in Political Science, with a senior thesis in Arab Nationalism. She has lived and traveled all over the world, and speaks French and German, and a smattering of other languages. Christine has received recognition for her leadership and contributions in technology, marketing, entrepreneurship and community service. She is a yogini, artist and writer, and mother of 6.
Organizations
- TED, 2004-present
- TEDx San Francisco Curator/Producer, 2009-present
- SIIA, Software Division Board Member, 2004-2006
- Economic Club of Chicago, 2004-2007
- SmartBet Organizing Committee (Entrepreneurship), 2006-2007
- Wired Magazine NextFest Chicago Host, 2006
- SpringBoard Enterprises Alumna
Speaker/Panelist/Coach
- TEDxEast
- Success Boston
- SocialGOOD
- TiE Midwest
- Chicago Technology Leadership Forum (TechForum)
- Union League Club of Chicago
- Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum
- Kellogg Venture Forum
- Kellogg Entrepreneurship Forum
- Illinois Venture Capital Association/ Illinois Technology Association Roundtables
- Illinois Information Technology Roundtable
- SIIA Content Forum
- SIIA Software Division Conference
- Springboard All Things Media Coach and Panelist, 2008
- Green Dot Awards Judge, 2008, 2009
- Illinois Technology Association, CityLights Awards Judge
TV/Radio
- CBS Morning Show, December, 2008
- NBC TV California affiliates, December, 2008
- NPR, December 2008, All Things Considered with Scott Simon
- Something You Should Know National Syndicated Radio, November 2008
Authored Articles and Publications
Software as a Service and Contextual/Semantic Search: Articles in eWeek, Intranet journal, KM World, Information Today. Various white papers on On-Demand Software, Best Practices in SaaS Operations.
Emerging Technology and Tech Transfer: Portfolio.com, Coverage includes Complete Nanotechnology Report; Robotics; Mobile Media and Advertising; Commercializing Technology; BioTech for iStreet, Chicago Tribune and 60035
Sustainability, Conscious Leadership: Original content for Huffington Post, Start Up Nation. All content for GoGreenOnline.com, including surveys and downloads.
Entrepreneurship: Complete Leadership and Entrepreneurship Curriculum for LeadAmerica. Series of articles for Portfolio.com.
