Boards: CelLink, Nauto, Polestar, Vontier.

Karen C. Francis is an experienced CEO, board director, technology investor, and senior advisor to TPG Capital. She is chair of the board and a member of the nominating and governance committee for Vontier (New York Stock Exchange: VNT), which is focused on mobility and transportation businesses. She serves as a director, member of the nominating and governance committee, and chair of the compensation committee for Polestar (Nasdaq: PSNY), the electric vehicle company based in Sweden. 

Karen served on the board and as audit chair of Reinvent Technology Partners Y (Nasdaq: RTPYU), a $1 billion special purpose acquisition company founded by Reid Hoffman that is focused on technology investments. She was previously the lead independent director and chair of the compensation committee of Telenav (Nasdaq: TNAV), which provides embedded automotive navigation systems. She has also served on the AutoNation (NYSE: AN) board of directors and audit and technology committees and on The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG) board of directors and audit and compensation committees. 

Ms. Francis is an independent director for private equity- and venture capital-funded companies in Silicon Valley, including Nauto, an artificial intelligence-based driver technology platform, and CelLink, which develops innovative flexible circuits for automotive use. Karen is NACD Directorship Certified®, an NACD Board Governance Fellow, and was named to the NACD Directorship 100™ in 2019. 

She is a founding member of Women Corporate Directors and Women’s Director Salon of Silicon Valley and is an advisor to several venture capital funds, including Lead Edge Capital, Operator Collective, and Tech Pioneers Fund. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of corporate governance and sustainability for Stanford’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance, National Association of Corporate Directors, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Deloitte and on the future of the automotive and technology industries for the Consumer Electronics Show, Deloitte Smart Cities, and Automotive News. 

Karen’s executive career culminated in more than 10 years as chair and CEO of AcademixDirect, a leading technology innovator in education, and of Publicis & Hal Riney, an advertising and digital marketing agency in the Publicis network. Karen is widely acknowledged for her success in the automotive industry, both as general manager of the $8 billion Oldsmobile division of General Motors and then as vice president of Ford Motor Co., where she was responsible for the corporate venture capital group, global technology business strategies, customer relationship management, and worldwide export operations. Her career has also included executive positions at Procter & Gamble, Internet Capital Group, Bain & Co., and Berol Corp. 

Karen was named one of the Top 100 Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2019, one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising by Advertising Age in 2012, and one of the Top 100 Chief Executive Officers in the United States, ranking eighth among female CEOs, by Exec Ranks. She was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the Most Influential Women in Business in 2005, 2006, and 2007. 

Karen holds a master of business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of arts in economics from Dartmouth College, where she served for nine years on the board of trustees. Karen serves as a trustee for PGA Reach, the foundation for the Professional Golfers’ Association of America and is cochair of its inaugural capital campaign to grow the game of golf to new and diverse players.