Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: LAURA K. IPSEN

After 25 years in Silicon Valley working as an executive for Oracle, Microsoft and Cisco Systems, Ipsen was hired to lead higher education tech company Ellucian in 2017. With 3,800 employees worldwide — including 230 in Virginia — Ellucian boasts an annual revenue approaching $1 billion.

In October 2023, Ellucian announced an agreement to purchase United Kingdom-based education services software company Tribal Group in a $210 million deal. In March, it announced the acquisition of edtech company EduNav, and in April, Ellucian announced product innovations for higher ed that include AI-driven lifelong learning.

Ipsen is a University of Virginia alumna who also studied Arabic at Yarmouk University in Jordan. Last year, she was named Digital Revolution Awards’ 2023 Outstanding Leader of the Year for North America and the globe. EdTech Digest named her one of its 2023 Top 100 Influencers. She was also presented a Power of Women Award by ASU+GSV in 2021 and was named a 2022 Gold Globee winner as a Female CEO of the Year.

She also serves on Daimler Truck Holding’s supervisory board and the Business-Higher Education Forum’s executive committee. She is a member of the Fast Company Impact Council, Fortune’s CEO Initiative, and Women Corporate Directors.