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Lindsay Trout

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+1 650 847 3065

Lindsay Trout has spent her career helping companies and their leaders succeed in the digital era. Based in Palo Alto, she leads the Global Digital segment of the firm’s Technology and Communications Practice, advising enterprises and startups on talent, transformation and board composition. She also leads the firm’s partnership with Him for Her, a non-profit focused on accelerating diversity on for-profit boards.

My work is like looking through a kaleidoscope every day. My job is to take all those conversations and synthesize them. I enjoy the broad learning from my day-to-day and am fulfilled by my impact on people’s lives.

Lindsay’s focus on transformation and change precedes her arrival at Egon Zehnder in 2010. Prior to joining the Firm, she was a Project Leader with Boston Consulting Group, where she focused on organizational transformation and post merger integration projects in technology and consumer companies. She also served as Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO of FileNet Corporation, now a division of IBM, and began her career at JPMorganChase in New York, working on Chase.com before moving to LabMorgan, the company’s innovation unit.

Lindsay earned a BS from University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. As a mother of two girls, she is passionate about the empowerment of the next generation of women leaders.

Lindsay Trout, based in Palo Alto, leads the Global Digital segment of the firm’s Technology and Communications Practice and is a member of the Consumer Practice. Lindsay’s experience is focused on executive search and talent advisory services at the C-suite and board levels.

Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Lindsay was a Project Leader with Boston Consulting Group, focused on organizational transformation projects in technology and consumer companies. Previously, she was Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO of FileNet Corporation, a public enterprise content software company, now a division of IBM. Lindsay began her career in the Leadership Development Program of JPMorganChase in New York, where she worked on Chase.com before she transitioned into the innovation unit, LabMorgan, where she assumed a variety of operational, marketing, and business development roles working with leading technology innovators.

Lindsay earned a BS from University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

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Thought Leadership

Thought Leadership by Lindsay Trout

The Art Of The Question: Why The Best Leaders Listen, Ask And Repeat

The Art Of The Question: Why The Best Leaders Listen, Ask And Repeat

Egon Zehnder consultant Lindsay Trout delves into an invaluable trait shared by successful leaders who inspire their teams to achieve great things: being great… Read more

Resolving Founder Fear/Fearless Polarity

Resolving Founder Fear/Fearless Polarity

From fearless entrepreneurship to unexpected fears, uncover the personal transformation a Founder undergoes during Founder succession. Read more

Understanding Potential: Which Leaders Will Scale as the Company Scales?

Understanding Potential: Which Leaders Will Scale as the Company Scales?

To help organizations assess their talent beyond the standard competencies, we developed the Executive Leadership Potential model. Recognized in publications such as Harvard Business… Read more

Lindsay Trout: Transforming the World through Exceptional Leadership

Lindsay Trout: Transforming the World through Exceptional Leadership

CXO Inc Magazine interviewed Egon Zehnder partner Lindsay Trout about her background, leading for a better world, advising leaders to become their best selves,… Read more

Riding the Founder Succession Wave

Riding the Founder Succession Wave

Delved into the stories of 52 Founder CEOs who stepped down in the first half of 2023 to uncover the reasons behind their transitions. Read more

Unlocking Leadership at Scale for Israeli Startups

Unlocking Leadership at Scale for Israeli Startups

Our insights with Israeli firms show three key areas for startup success: IPO-ready board, global executive attraction, and culture for expansion. Read more

The Trapping of a Founder

The Trapping of a Founder

After victoriously envisioning, creating, funding and launching a company, forces conspire to keep founders in that same leadership position forever, even as the role… Read more

Pitfalls of Prosperity

Pitfalls of Prosperity

As organizations grow and thrive, they face unique team building challenges that can hinder their success. In this article, we explore common pitfalls of… Read more

Are You Building a Cabinet or Building a Board?

Are You Building a Cabinet or Building a Board?

President Lincoln appointed three of his rivals to his cabinet. To outsiders, this seemed like a dangerous move, and that’s a profile in courageous… Read more

Building Trust with Founders

Building Trust with Founders

Whether you are a board member, C-Suite leader, or chosen successor, earning the trust of the Founder is the cornerstone of your success. Read more

The Founder Succession Wave Is Coming

The Founder Succession Wave Is Coming

Who follows the founder? The timing and choosing of this leader can be a tricky and often a highly emotional process. And it’s one… Read more

From Dream to Reality

From Dream to Reality

Who are Founders as leaders? Discover key insights on this question from our engagement with dozens of early-stage founders. Read more

CEO Insights — Volume 29: Tapping into Founder Prowess

CEO Insights — Volume 29: Tapping into Founder Prowess

For future transformation, CEOs can take a cue from Founders for powerful examples of organizational creation and reinvention. Read more

In Start-up Talent, Cycle Timing is Key

In Start-up Talent, Cycle Timing is Key

Hiring in the start-up world is no longer a linear path, and leaders will need to stay ahead of their future needs when it… Read more

CDO Decoded

CDO Decoded

The Chief Digital Officer is one of the newer titles in the C-suite, and also one of the least understood. What is this role… Read more

What to Expect When You’re SPAC-ing

What to Expect When You’re SPAC-ing

Board assembly is no game. What Sponsors and Targets should know about assembling a Board under SPAC deadlines: Read more

Executive Mobility is not Dead

Executive Mobility is not Dead

Egon Zehnder's Lindsay Trout discusses what's next for executives after the Covid-19 crisis Read more

Trial by Fire – First-time CEOs During a Pandemic

Trial by Fire – First-time CEOs During a Pandemic

First-time CEOs talk about the importance of focus and authenticity as they take the reins in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

Eight Things CTOs Think Have Changed Forever

Eight Things CTOs Think Have Changed Forever

In March, Egon Zehnder's Lindsay Trout co-moderated an online discussion with 12 CTOs in the high-tech space & learned how the crisis is driving… Read more

Demystifying Courageous Leadership

Demystifying Courageous Leadership

Courageous leaders are the ones who can motivate their employees around a shared purpose, inspire their customers, and bring their companies to international recognition—on… Read more

CEO Insights — Volume 8: Demystifying Courageous Leadership

CEO Insights — Volume 8: Demystifying Courageous Leadership

Cultivating courage is about engaging the whole leader to serve the whole business. Read more

CDOs & Enterprise Transformation

CDOs & Enterprise Transformation

Egon Zehnder's Lindsay Trout discusses the role of Chief Digital Officers in a CogX 2019's panel, "CDOs and Enterprise Transformation." Read more

Chief Digital Officers Speak

Chief Digital Officers Speak

As part of Egon Zehnder's global survey, "CDO Decoded: The First Wave of Chief Digital Officers Speaks", Lindsay Trout spoke with current and former… Read more

Hyatt's Global Head of Digital on Leading a Digital Transformation

Hyatt's Global Head of Digital on Leading a Digital Transformation

As part of Egon Zehnder's global survey on CDOs, Julia Van der Ploeg, Hyatt's Global Head of Digital, shares what it takes to lead… Read more

PepsiCo Head of Global eCommerce Shares the Biggest Challenges Taking on a Transformation Role

PepsiCo Head of Global eCommerce Shares the Biggest Challenges Taking on a Transformation Role

As part of Egon Zehnder's global survey on CDOs, Gibu Thomas, PepsiCo Head of Global eCommerce, shares the traits needed to take on a… Read more

Zaki Fasihuddin Discusses Being a Chief Digital Officer for a Global Corporation

Zaki Fasihuddin Discusses Being a Chief Digital Officer for a Global Corporation

Zaki Fasihuddin, CEO of Volvo Cars Ventures and former digital executive at McDonald's, discusses what it really means to transform global corporations for the… Read more

What Is The Mission Of The Chief Digital Officer?

What Is The Mission Of The Chief Digital Officer?

What is a Chief Digital Officer? In Forbes, Lindsay Trout talks about our CDO Decoded research and how this new member of the C-Suite… Read more

Digirupt.io – New Survey of First Generation of CDOs Show They Have Aspirations for the Corner Office

Digirupt.io – New Survey of First Generation of CDOs Show They Have Aspirations for the Corner Office

Egon Zehnder’s new survey of Chief Digital Officers paints an ambitious future for the first generation of emerging creative leaders. The study taps into… Read more

CDO of Macerich Kevin McKenzie Shares What It's Like Being a CDO Today

CDO of Macerich Kevin McKenzie Shares What It's Like Being a CDO Today

As part of Egon Zehnder's global survey, Lindsay Trout spoke with Macerich EVP & CDO Kevin McKenzie for his personal take on what it… Read more

Digital Executive Laura Merling Shares the Biggest Challenges Facing Today's Chief Digital Officers

Digital Executive Laura Merling Shares the Biggest Challenges Facing Today's Chief Digital Officers

As part of Egon Zehnder's global survey on CDOs, Laura Merling, Digital Strategic Advisor formerly at AT&T and Ford, shares what it means to… Read more

Is Your Board Tech-Ready?

Is Your Board Tech-Ready?

Few boards have enough tech savvy in the boardroom and even fewer have tech committees. Egon Zehnder's Lindsay Trout shares what boards need to… Read more

Directors & Boards — Is Your Board Tech-Ready?

Directors & Boards — Is Your Board Tech-Ready?

Few boards have enough tech savvy in the boardroom and even fewer have tech committees. Egon Zehnder's Lindsay Trout shares what boards need to… Read more

The Amazon Effect

The Amazon Effect

Egon Zehnder hosted an intimate roundtable discussion on the impact of Amazon’s second headquarters, with a focus on the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region… Read more

Lindsay Trout at Innovate 2018
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Lindsay Trout at Innovate 2018

Egon Zehnder's Lindsay Trout spoke at Innovate 2018 on Talent and the Next Generation Workforce. Read more

Responsible for Everything, Owner of Nothing: Finding the Right Chief of Staff

Responsible for Everything, Owner of Nothing: Finding the Right Chief of Staff

The Chief of Staff role is perhaps the trickiest hire for a chief executive to make. Read more

What We Heard – Never Waste a Crisis

What We Heard – Never Waste a Crisis

The combination of overlapping social media networks with passionate and vigilant consumers means that chief marketing officers and chief communications officers are never more… Read more

Building Digital Fluency: An Approach That Lets Us Sleep at Night

Building Digital Fluency: An Approach That Lets Us Sleep at Night

Over the past six months, we have had numerous conversations with traditional consumer companies, from CPG to retail, that are undergoing digital transformation. Read more

Notes from The New York Times’ New Work Summit

Notes from The New York Times’ New Work Summit

The topic of innovation is squarely on the agenda of today’s corporate decision makers. This was in full display at the recent New York… Read more

How CMOs in the Epicenter of Innovation View the World

How CMOs in the Epicenter of Innovation View the World

We recently held a private dinner for 20 CMOs from some of San Francisco’s most disruptive companies in the hospitality, food, insurance, financial services… Read more

Leading in the Connected Age

Leading in the Connected Age

Technological transformation continues to unfold at a relentless pace. To effectively adapt to this new era, companies must recruit and develop a different kind… Read more

Finding the Fulcrum: Transformation’s Essential First Step

Finding the Fulcrum: Transformation’s Essential First Step

Archimedes famously said, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the world.” I’m frequently reminded of that quote these days, whether… Read more

Egon Zehnder’s Lindsay Trout to Lead Round Table at Shift Conference San Francisco

Egon Zehnder’s Lindsay Trout to Lead Round Table at Shift Conference San Francisco

Integrating Digital Talent into Traditional Corporate Cultures is the central theme of the round table to be lead by Lindsay Trout, Digital Practice Leader… Read more

Procter & Google? The Marketing Academy of Tomorrow Takes Shape

Procter & Google? The Marketing Academy of Tomorrow Takes Shape

For a generation, Procter & Gamble has been more than an icon of consumer packaged goods—it’s been the West Point of marketing, producing hundreds… Read more

You Lost Me at “Hello”: How CDO Candidates Evaluate Opportunities

You Lost Me at “Hello”: How CDO Candidates Evaluate Opportunities

As software continues to “eat the world,” the corresponding demand for digital talent from chemicals to insurance to retail is fierce. Read more

The Fire Within: The Two Types of Entrepreneurial Determination

The Fire Within: The Two Types of Entrepreneurial Determination

Transformative enterprises are built around the idea that its members—and particularly its founders—can see things before others do. Building the leadership team for such… Read more

Dispatch from the Near Future: Thoughts on CES 2016

Dispatch from the Near Future: Thoughts on CES 2016

A good way to start debate in the consumer technology world is to ask if CES is still relevant. There is a vocal cohort… Read more

Mapping the Product Manager

Mapping the Product Manager

The product manager’s ability to translate the vision and craftsmanship of software engineering into a compelling and engaging solution and experience is essential for… Read more

Destination Digital – Finding and Building the Talent to Get There

Destination Digital – Finding and Building the Talent to Get There

In a world where consumers tweet complaints in public forums, shop online as much as on high streets, and express brand preferences on Facebook,… Read more

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