The Unexpected Expectedly Happens, with Shannon McCombie

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Shannon McCombie. When Shannon was in college, one of her older brothers was a Navy jet pilot. Just after 9/11, he was killed, and Shannon learned that he didn’t get to finish the mission he started. That launched Shannon into government service. She worked internationally for the CIA and Naval Special Warfare Development Group to finish what her brother was unable to complete. From there, Shannon left for the corporate world and experienced an impactful financial awakening.

Shannon is the Head of Operations, North America, for a British tech company. In addition to this, she consults for several technology start-ups, to include a molecular diagnostics lab. Prior to this work, Shannon was an Executive Director of Strategic Development at Comcast NBCUniversal, where she managed the ideation process for new growth entities, after having served as the Chief Operating Officer of an acquired cybersecurity firm.

Throughout her career, Shannon has worked in both the public and private sectors. She was a Principal at McChrystal Group, advising clients in various industries on leadership and team performance. Shannon lived and worked internationally for the Central Intelligence Agency and Naval Special Warfare Development Group, with the majority of her government career spent in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Shannon combined that experience with time spent building and managing teams within a Fortune 30 company focusing on media, technology, healthcare and security.

Shannon received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Politics with minors in French and International Studies from Penn State University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She completed her master’s degree in Psychology of Leadership from the same university. Shannon is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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