Laura Owen

Education

A native of Buckinghamshire County, Pennsylvania, She attended Council Rock High School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Delaware Valley University and attended the Sorbonne.

Career

Under the name Laura Nicholl, she was the first woman appointed to be Kansas Secretary of Commerce in 1991–1992. Owen was the first woman executive hired as part of an executive training program at Saint Regis Paper Company. Owen worked as a financial advisor, and for Stephens Incorporated. investment bank, in the 1980s.

In January 1991, she was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Governor Joan Finney, at the start of Finney"s administration.

Finney claimed to have dismissed Owen in June 1992, officially because the governor disapproved of her overseas travel expenses. The dismissal was one of many during the first eighteen months of Finney"s administration, in which 10 cabinet posts were held by 21 people.

She served as President and Chief Operating Officer while David Owen served as Chief Executive Officer. ICOP"s first international market was Saudi Arabia. The company ceased operations in December 2010 and was in bankruptcy proceedings when it was acquired by Safety Vision Limited Liability Company in 2011.

The company is part of the Global Innovation through Science and Technology initiative and collaborates with the United Nations Foundation"s Global Accelerator program

In 2012 she was named to the Board of Trustees of Delaware Valley University.

Achievements

• The company traded in the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation under the ticker ICOP and received the Patriot Award from the United States. Department of Defense in 2008. Owen is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ponscio, an online social network that aims to advance the lives of women entrepreneurs through education, mentoring and access to capital. Owen was also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of PontSalus, a healthcare consulting company.

Views

Owen claimed to have resigned, defended her travel expenses and pointed out that her departure came after a disagreement between her and the governor about a proposed mortgage revenue bond issue, which later came under fire by Kansas state lawmakers.