Connect on Social Media
About
First Name:
Last Name:
Title and Organization:
Bio:
Brown is an experienced Public Company CEO and Board Director. She is the former CEO and director of Fisher Communications (FSCI). Her experience includes chair of the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Governance and the Innovation and Technology Committee. She holds a cyber certificate from Carnegie Mellon.
She has been selected as Director of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). In addition, she was selected by the NACD as a Top 100 Corporate Director for the United States. In 2020, she was identified as “Most Influential Director” by Women’s Inc Magazine. She is also an NACD Leadership Fellow.
Her work includes serving as senior vice president of Belo Corp. (BLC), a Fortune 1000 multimedia company, leading the turnaround as President of Broadcasting for Lee Enterprises (LEE) until its sale. She built her career with Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI) a Fortune 500 company rising from the financial ranks to head of Strategic Planning and various roles as President.
Colleen was the first woman inducted into the Gamco Asset Management Inc. Management Hall of Fame. She was selected for her “outstanding contributions in enhancing shareholder value”. She has been recognized as CEO of the Year by the Seattle Business Journal and within the digital industry as Innovator of the Year for her work in Hyper-local technology and as the Technologist of the Year for work in Mobile Digital TV.
She is a director of True Blue Inc. (TBI) and director for Big5 Sporting Goods (BGFV). She also serves as a director for non-profit Delta Dental of Washington until 2024, when she terms off. Brown also serves on the board of family owned Port Blakely Forestry, a leading company in the carbon credit marketplace.
She was elected Chairman of American Apparel (APP) during its reorganization and of Spark Networks (LOV). She has served on the boards of CareerBuilder.com, Classified Ventures (cars.com) and DataSphere, Inc. She has experience with cyber breaches, proxy contests, and technology disruptions.
Brown has served as director for the National Association of Broadcasters, as the elected Chair of the Washington Roundtable (where she chaired the Highways and Transportation Committee), and as Chair of United Way of King County (UWKC). She’s a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Leadership Institute. Brown is a frequent international speaker on board related matters.
She is married to Guy Brown, a former banker and business owner, and has two children. Her daughter Blair holds a law degree from Seattle University and works in technology. Her son, Pierce, is a five times NYT best-selling author of the Red Rising Science Fiction series and makes his home in Los Angeles.
Fellowship Program
Class