 Brown has a bachelor of computer systems engineering from Carleton University in Canada and a master's degree in economics and philosophy from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.Brown received her Ph.D from Stanford University's department of industrial engineering and engineering management, where she also did postdoctoral work on business theory.From October 1995 to August 2003, Brown was at McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, as a partner in the Los Angeles office since December 2000.