Carolyn Groobey is a trusted board member, executive coach, and angel investor with a deep background in technology-based transformation. She is currently the lead independent director at VHB, a prominent East Coast engineering and design firm, where she serves as the chair of the governance committee and a member of the compensation committee. She recently helped develop and lead two strategic retreats, on climate change and AI, for the VHB board and senior management. Additionally, she is on the boards of Everywhere Communications, a venture-backed SaaS company that connects and protects remote workers; the Seaworthy Collective, a startup community driving regenerative ocean and climate impact; and, Harbor House, a community support organization on Mount Desert Island in Maine.

Carolyn’s career includes over 30 years of leadership experience at PayPal, McKinsey & Company, Fannie Mae, and IBM. At PayPal, she led a global team of product managers responsible for $3B in revenue. Carolyn led the relaunch of the business customer experience, the launch of the mobile card reader business, and the transition to agile development and customer-led innovation. She was a member of the executive team that pioneered the on-line “buy now, pay later” industry at BillMeLater, which exited to PayPal for $1B in 2008. As the head of marketing and product development, she helped grow the BillMeLater/PayPal Credit business from $200M to $1B by leveraging advanced analytics, technology and user experience design to optimize the customer experience and lifetime value. As a 13-year partner and consultant at McKinsey & Company, she helped her clients accelerate growth by capitalizing on disruptive innovations like mobile, e-commerce, and big data. She has an MBA from Cornell University and a BS in computer science from the University of Delaware.

In addition to serving on boards, Carolyn is an active member and sought-after mentor in several angel investing groups and business accelerators, including New World Angels and Endeavor. She also has an executive coaching practice that helps startup founders and corporate executives develop critical leadership capabilities.

Carolyn and her husband, Chris, live in Miami with their two Labradors. They are avid racing sailors and cruisers, and have traveled over 30,000 miles by boat, including crossing the Atlantic Ocean and transiting the Panama Canal.