Shirley Lawson
Director, Global IT Business Partner R&D/Strategic Marketing, Bayer
Shirley Lawson is a dynamic Innovation Futurist with experience developing and executing strategic growth plans for leading consumer goods companies. In her current role as Director, Global IT Business Partner R&D/Strategic Marketing at Bayer, Shirley leverages her experience to further collaboration between the Consumer Health R&D, Marketing and IT Operations to drive digital transformation with a focus on digital health innovation.
As a leader in identifying future consumer trends, she’s helped many well-known brands launch successful new products and programs that consistently exceed sales goals. She developed a strategic innovation roadmap for Dr. Scholl’s digital technology platforms & services and received the Bayer IT Innovation Gold Award for her work with the brand. Other notable brand work includes Colgate, Dove Chocolate, Claritin, and Aleve.
While Shirley began her career in sales at Xerox, she pursued a career in consumer goods marketing after receiving her MBA from The University of Michigan. She found her passion working in product innovation and spent the past several years lending her expertise to major companies including Wella Hair Care, Motorola, and now Bayer.
Her diverse experiences are grounded in understanding the consumer journey and establishing critical product positioning and branding strategies to enhance their brand experience. Shirley creates and executes integrated marketing programs, while collaborating cross-functionally to bring the products to market quickly and profitably. Having worked in large and small organizations, she brings an “intrapreneurial” spirit that produces results.
Shirley is recognized as an inspiring leader, strategic thinker, trusted mentor, and an accomplished trailblazer who consistently drives consumer-oriented companies to innovate successfully. She is a member of the American Marketing Association, Promotion Marketing Association World Futurist Society, Society of Industry Leaders, the Gerson Lehman Leadership Council, among others.