Today, I’m joined by Laura Francis from the Stanford MBA Class of 1995 and Aislin Roth from the Class of 2025.
Laura is the CEO of SI-BONE (Nasdaq: SIBN), a global leader in the medical device industry. She recently joined the board of Bruker Corporation (Nasdaq: BRKR), a life science and diagnostics company, and was previously a board member for Shockwave Medical (Nasdaq: SWAV) prior to its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. She also serves as an executive board member of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, advocating for the future of the medtech industry and mentoring the next generation of industry and medical professionals. Prior to SI-BONE, Laura held executive roles with both public and private life science companies, including Auxogyn (now part of Progyny, Nasdaq: PGNY), Promega Corporation, and Bruker Corporation. Earlier in her career, she was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company and began her professional journey as an Audit Manager with Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Aislin is a second-year MBA student at Stanford GSB, originally from Toronto, Canada. Before business school, she worked as a consultant at BCG and as Director of Strategy and Special Projects at Life House, a venture-backed hospitality technology startup. She also completed a pre-MBA growth equity internship at Georgian, investing in high-growth technology companies. After graduation, Aislin will join KKR’s private equity operations group in Menlo Park, helping portfolio companies drive operational improvements and growth. She is passionate about building companies from the inside, blending strategic insight with hands-on execution, and is drawn to the intersection of leadership, transformation, and long-term value creation.
Together, we explore what it takes to grow companies—from venture-backed startups to public markets and private equity ow nership. We talk about the challenges and rewards of CEO leadership, the new career pathways emerging for operators like Aislin, the evolving conversation around women in leadership, and the choices we all make between work, life, and purpose along the way.
Chapters
00:00 Women in Leadership: The Journey to CEOship
13:33 Navigating the Public Company Landscape
22:38 Balancing Career and Family: A Personal Perspective
31:07 The Gender Dynamics in Business Leadership
32:39 Navigating Career and Personal Life
33:24 The Stanford Experience: Expanding Horizons
35:58 Cultural Exposure and Diversity in Education
37:16 Travel and Life Experiences
40:08 Leadership and Purpose in Business
46:48 Work-Life Integration: Balancing Career and Personal Goals
52:46 The Impact of Technology and AI on Work
58:14 Purpose-Driven Leadership in Today's World
Join the Podcast Series
Stanford MBA: From Baby Boomer to Gen Z | Class of ‘95 Meets Class of ‘25
Each of these episodes will feature a different pair of Stanford MBA people -- one from the class of 1995, and one from the class of 2025.
Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to stay connected with future episodes!
📺 Also available on YouTube:
Entire series playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSaVisoF0D_GKxVmHmakNxdpAJCb5_VTP
More info: https://www.katharinemclennan.com/
Contact: kath@katharinemclennan.com
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