Lorraine Hariton (born November 7, 1954) is the president and CEO of

Catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

, a New York City–based nonprofit organization committed to the advancement of women in the workplace.

Early life and education

Hariton earned a Bachelor of Science in

mathematical sciences The Mathematical Sciences are a group of areas of study that includes, in addition to mathematics, those academic disciplines that are primarily mathematical in nature but may not be universally considered subfields of mathematics proper. Statisti ...

from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and an MBA (1982) from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Career

Hariton started her career in 1977 at

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

, where she worked for 15 years, including in sales and

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

roles. She later served as CEO of two venture-backed

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

start-ups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to ...

Beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...

(1999–2002), which made

audio software Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

for

phones A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

, and Apptera (2003–2005), a

mobile communications Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobil ...

and advertising company. In 2009, Hariton was appointed by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to be

Special Representative Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

for Commercial and Business Affairs (CBA) at the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, where she was responsible for outreach to the business community, commercial advocacy and global entrepreneurship efforts, and where she established the Global Entrepreneurship Program, the WECREATE program for women entrepreneurs, and the International Council on Women's Business Leadership. In 2014, Hariton joined The New York Academy of Sciences as senior vice president for global partnerships, where she helped create the Global STEM Alliance and its ''1000 Girls, 1000 Futures'' program, a global mentoring initiative aimed at encouraging girls to pursue careers in

science, technology, engineering, and math Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

. In 2018, Hariton was appointed president and CEO of Catalyst. During her tenure, Catalyst has raised $28 million toward its major gifts campaign, and has received the single largest grant in its history, $5 million from

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

. Hariton has served on boards of organizations committed to the advancement of women in the workplace, including the

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

Global Innovation Coalition for Change, the

Clayman Institute for Gender Research Stanford University has many centers and institutes dedicated to the study of various specific topics. These centers and institutes may be within a department, within a school but across departments, an independent laboratory, institute or center ...

at Stanford University, and Watermark, a

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

organization of women executives in the

tech industry Tech or The Tech may refer to: * An abbreviation of technology or technician *Tech Dinghy, an American sailing dinghy developed at MIT *Tech (mascot), the mascot of Louisiana Tech University, U.S. * Tech (river), in southern France * "Tech" (''S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hariton, Lorraine Stanford University alumni Harvard Business School alumni IBM employees American nonprofit chief executives Living people 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople Silicon Valley people American women chief executives People from New York City American women business executives 1954 births