RIVER - Key Persons


Chris Browning - President

Job Titles:
  • President
Chris Browning is President of River. In his role, Chris oversees and drives the performance of the organization, from our award-winning software to our personalized services. Chris has more than 20 years of management, business consulting, and organizational development experience, and has spent the last 15 years at River in various roles. Prior to joining River, he worked at Keane Consulting Group in both internal and external capacities. On the external consulting side, Chris provided business process consulting services to clients in a variety of industries/sectors, including insurance and financial services, IT, manufacturing and government. On the internal side, he served as the Organizational Development Manager and was responsible for all learning and development and knowledge management programs. Chris has also worked in the nonprofit sector in development and counseling/life-coaching capacities. Chris holds MBA and BS degrees from the University of Notre Dame.

Laura Francis

Job Titles:
  • Chief Knowledge Officer
Laura Francis is Chief Knowledge Officer for River. Laura is responsible for consulting River's clients around strategies for launching and expanding their mentoring programs. She also oversees the Marketing Department for River, including all content creation, external and internal communications for the company, branding, marketing strategy, and lead generation. Laura has been with River since 2000 and was part of the team that launched the first-ever commercially available online mentoring software in 2001. She has more than 20 years of experience focused on mentoring, writing, thought leadership, and strategic innovation. The proud mom of a child with disabilities, she enjoys writing about the connections she sees in her personal life and professional life. Her articles can be found on such sites as ATD, Training Journal, Chief Learning Officer, Training Industry, and on River's website. Laura has a BA in Communications from Mount St. Joseph University.