Neuman Crosses County Lines, Elected Arundel’s County Exec

The Business Monthly Special Update

Laura Neuman has been elected by the Anne Arundel County Council as the new county executive. She will be sworn-in to office today at 10 a.m. at the Circuit Courthouse.

She replaces John Leopold, who resigned from the position after Circuit Court Judge Dennis Sweeney found him guilty of misconduct in office, and for using his security detail to perform political campaign activities. Leopold will be sentenced on March 14; Neuman will serve the final 22 months of his term.

Neuman has spent the past 22 months serving at CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA). At the HCEDA, where her staff’s efforts were concentrated on five key areas: business development; agriculture; entrepreneurship and innovation; marketing and communications; and operations.

Prior to joining the HCEDA, she also taught, consulted and pursued personal interests after she had served as interim executive director of the Chesapeake Innovation Center for the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp., and as entrepreneur-in-residence with Springboard Enterprises, which helps women-led companies raise venture capital.

Earlier in her career, Neuman became CEO of Howard County-based Matrics as the company was nearing bankruptcy. The company was founded by two NSA scientists who had spent three years developing the conceptual framework for a new approach to the design of a microelectronic circuit, hoping that it could revolutionize radio frequency identification and supply chain management.

Neuman raised more than $17 million in venture capital to make that plan a reality and Matrics was ultimately voted Venture Capital Deal of the Year by Washington Business Forward for 2001. The company was later sold for $230 million.

Before running Matrics, Neuman was co-founder and president of a nationwide competitive local exchange carrier, and raised financing commitments of more than $100 million; she also served as vice president of business development and sales for CAIS Internet; and has held positions with Digex, Global Payment Systems (previously National Data Corp.) and T. Rowe Price.

An Annapolis resident, she holds a master’s in Business Administration from Loyola University in Maryland and completed the Executive Program at Stanford Business School — though she did not graduate from high school or college. She also serves as a role model for rape victims, speaking out on the crime and helping to get important DNA legislation passed to keep criminals behind bars.