Lake Forester Executive Spotlight: Brown keeps investors, media informed about Grainger

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Laura D. Brown

Updated: February 27, 2012 8:19AM

Laura D. Brown, senior vice president for communications and investor relations at Lake Forest-based W.W. Grainger, Inc., is an Indiana University graduate and was designated a certified public accountant in 1985. Before landing at Grainger -- which boasted 2010 sales of $7.2 billion and is often cited as one of America’s best workplaces -- she worked for nine years with Baxter International and five years as vice president of finance at Alliant Food Service.

The Lake Forest resident is the former president of Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation. The group hosts an annual golf outing in June as well as the Festival and Fireworks display on July 4.

Brown talked with the Lake Forester about her work at Grainger, how the uncertain economy has helped the Fortune 500 company and the toughest obstacle she’s overcome at the company:

With a background in finance and my experience leading Grainger’s marketing organization, I gained a solid foundation for interactions with shareholders, the media, employees and a range of external stakeholders. As a business-to-business company, Grainger’s global communications and public affairs is very grounded in the operations of our business, which was the daily focus of my prior roles.

How is your work at Grainger different from what you anticipated when you started?

In 12 years at the company, I’ve served in seven different leadership roles in eCommerce, the U.S. Business and now in Corporate. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed building relationships with customers and now external partners to share all the great things about our company. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with some great people and leading several high-performing teams.

What is the toughest personal obstacle you’ve overcome at the company?

Grainger has a very tenured work force and when I joined 12 years ago, there weren’t very many external senior leaders and particularly not many females. At times, I found myself the only -- or one of the few -- women holding a senior leadership role. This has changed quite a bit in the last 7-8 years.

Is it helpful for a global company like Grainger to be located in Lake Forest?

Our location in Lake Forest helps us to attract a diverse group of talent locally, and the proximity of our facility to the expressway and the airport makes it an easy commute to our headquarters.

How is managing investor concerns and public relationships during a tough economy different than how you were able to work when the world economy was stronger?

In some respects, the uncertain economic climate has helped us. Businesses have been looking in every corner of their operation to remove costs and become more productive. Grainger is in a unique position to help professionals who manage facilities take cost out of procuring facilities maintenance products and services by providing access to a very broad assortment.

This has especially resonated with businesses and the government during recent tough times. Grainger has done very well and we expect that we will continue to gain market share in an extremely fragmented market. There is a great demand for interaction by the investor community. As we become more global, there is increased interest in our international operations.

Is this what you expected to be doing when you graduated from school and started a career?

Certainly not. I graduated with a degree in accounting and am a CPA. I assumed that I would work in accounting or finance. I attribute my success to several key mentors in my career, taking risks and being willing to take on more and diverse responsibility and most of all to my husband, Russ and daughter, Shannon.