Meg VanderLaan is an experienced C-suite executive, strategic marketing leader, and board
member with more than three decades of leadership experience across industrial, infrastructure,
engineering, construction, and manufacturing sectors. Known for aligning business strategy,
stakeholder trust, and market positioning, she has led marketing, communications, crisis
management, and brand transformation initiatives for both multinational corporations and highgrowth
regional organizations. Today, she serves as a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer with
Chief Outsiders, partnering with CEOs and leadership teams in Mid-Market companies to
accelerate growth, strengthen market presence, and navigate high-stakes business
environments.

With extensive executive leadership experience, Meg has built and transformed brands for
organizations operating in complex markets. She previously served as Chief Marketing Officer
of Encore Electric, where she led enterprise-wide marketing, communications, branding,
recruitment marketing, and crisis preparedness initiatives during a period in which company
revenue and employee count nearly doubled.
Prior to Encore Electric, Meg served as Senior Vice President and Chief Communications
Officer for MWH Global, where she directed the company’s global brand narrative and
acquisition communications during its $793 million acquisition by Stantec. She also held
executive leadership positions at Gates Corporation, overseeing corporate communications,
public affairs, global aftermarket marketing, and strategic brand initiatives supporting significant
global revenue growth. Throughout her career with both MWH Global and Gates Corporation,
she led communications and marketing initiatives across diverse international markets and
cultures, helping organizations navigate expansion, transformation, and complex stakeholder
environments worldwide.

Meg has led communications and reputation strategies through organizational transformation,
cybersecurity planning, crisis response, workforce growth, and high-profile public campaigns.
She is particularly recognized for her ability to connect business strategy, stakeholder trust, and
market storytelling to drive measurable organizational impact across industrial and infrastructure
sectors.

Meg brings extensive governance and board leadership experience spanning corporate,
nonprofit, higher education, and industry organizations. She currently serves on the Board of
Trustees for Gannon University and has served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado
Chamber of Commerce, contributing to statewide business and leadership initiatives. Her prior
board experience also includes nonprofit and international board service, including the Gates
Winhere Automotive Pump Products Board of Directors, a joint venture operating in both the
United States and China.

A respected advisor and speaker on leadership, marketing, reputation management, and crisis
communications, Meg is known for helping organizations navigate moments of transformation
while building stronger alignment among employees, customers, partners, and communities.