Cambridge Innovation Center appoints new Chief People Officer

Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), which operates in creating spaces for innovation has announced that Vanessa Brown has joined the company in a new role as Chief People Officer. In this capacity, Brown will design and implement a global people strategy to drive CIC’s continued success as a “talent-led” organization, while fostering a culture of honesty, transparency, and excellence. 

CIC is a large and growing organization, with offices in six cities in the United States, an innovation center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and a planned global expansion including new offices in Warsaw, Poland, and Tokyo, Japan, opening in 2020. As a key addition to CIC’s leadership team, Brown will help position the company to staff up as it scales out, drawing high-caliber talent.

With 25 years of experience in people operations, Brown has had a successful career at all levels of business and in multiple industry verticals. From regional sports networks to large telecommunications companies, Brown has always made sure that growing organizations preserve — and improve — the quality of their talent as they expand.

“Over the last few years, CIC has become a nexus for some of the world’s most creative people,” says Brown. “I’m privileged to help create an environment where they can thrive.”

In addition, an important goal of CIC is to increase its inclusiveness as it expands. Brown has experience and beliefs concordant with that goal to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). By spearheading targeted workplace initiatives and scaling people operations, she has managed to boost employee engagement, improve mobility, and increase diversity while reducing employee turnover in her prior roles.

CIC Founder and CEO Tim Rowe, said, “Innovation communities are powered by strong teams. It’s not just important to have capable, motivated people — it’s important that they come from a wide variety of backgrounds, bring diverse experience, and learn to collaborate effectively. Vanessa’s track record speaks to the fact that she is able to support teams to become more efficient, productive, and engaged.  We are thrilled to welcome her to the company.”