Susan Penta

Susan is an engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and consultant with a passion for products, fascination with technology, and commitment to community that has underscored her 35-year career. As Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MIDIOR, Susan oversees the delivery of professional services and MIDIOR’s operations. For her clients, Susan crosses organizational and cultural boundaries to facilitate a common product and technology perspective, inspire innovative thinking, optimize team output, and improve financial performance. As an educator, Susan served for 18 years as an Executive Professor on the adjunct faculty at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, as well as in Northeastern’s Corporate Education programs where she taught graduate courses in entrepreneurship and innovation. Susan is also a frequent guest lecturer and public speaker on the topics of innovation, entrepreneurship, and product organizations. Susan is active with many nonprofits, most often at the intersection of education, entrepreneurship, and marginalized populations.

Susan currently serves as the Chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network Advisory Board and director on the GBCC board, as Director Emeritus and past Board Chair for the Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE), as Trustee and past Board Chair for Schools for Children, as a trustee with the Children’s Trust of Massachusetts, as a Leadership Advisory Board member for EforAll Cape Cod, and as a member of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers Executive Council.

Susan puts considerable energy into advancing the domains within which she works, lifting up women in business and STEM, supporting small businesses, and investing her time to nurture and support the disciplines aligned with her work. Susan currently serves as a director and Vice Chair on the board of the Product Development & Management Association (PDMA), is a founding member of WPI’s Women’s Impact Network (WIN), and an advisor and mentor to many entrepreneurs and former students.

Susan holds a BSEE degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and an MBA from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) in London, England.