Lives of Consequence
Sabrina Horn '83
An expert in technology consulting with more than two decades of management experience as a president and CEO, Sabrina Horn ’83 is managing partner of US Technology Practice at Finn Partners. In her role, Horn serves as Finn Partners’ technology practice lead, doing business development and counseling clients, across all sectors of technology.
Prior to her role at Finn Partners, Horn founded Horn Group, a digital communications agency that combines public relations, social media and interactive services. She built Horn Group for more than two decades, working in technology markets, employment practices and interactive services to transform the brands of clients ranging from Adobe, Dow Jones, McKinsey & Company, The New York Times, Yammer and Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce), to many startups and fast-growth companies. After 24 years, Horn Group joined forces with Finn Partners.
A strong advocate for women in entrepreneurship, Horn has worked with Illuminate Ventures, a venture capital firm run by women who fund women to launch new companies. She is a frequent speaker at technology and marketing industry conferences around the country, and has been recognized by New York Business Journal as a Women of Influence, and by Paramount Public Relations as a Top Woman in PR. She serves on the advisory boards of The Jordan Edmiston Group, and AirPR.
Horn has served as a board member for the Software Industry Information Association and is a frequent speaker at technology and marketing industry conferences around the country. She is the author of several research papers including "Public Relations for Emerging Growth Technology Companies," and "Advertising in the People's Republic of China."
After earning a master's degree in public relations from Boston University, she started in the field by rising through the ranks at two public relations agencies. Watching as talented professionals cycled through PR firms, she learned what to do and, more importantly, what not to do. In 1997, Horn was named to the Silicon Valley Hall of Fame, and in 1999, she was named one of best employers in the U.S. by Working Woman magazine. She has been recognized by PR Week, The Holmes Report and Inside PR as one of the PR industry's most successful entrepreneurs and innovators. Horn has won multiple awards including the title, "2011 Technology Agency of the Year" by The Holmes Report.
Horn's passion to become an entrepreneur in the communications industry started when she was a student at William Smith. The American studies major chose the field because it allowed easy access to nearly any discipline. "My education at William Smith taught me how to think and to value intellectual curiosity," Horn says. "It was the basis for being comfortable with change and that has parlayed into running my own business."
In 2016, Horn returned to Hobart and William Smith as the Centennial Center for Leadership’s Leader in Residence. She has twice served as a judge for the Stu Lieblein ’90 Pitch Contest, and was the featured alum speaker at HWS IdeaLab, a program in which 18 selected applicants develop products, services or organizations through a semester of refining and workshopping an idea. In 2007, Horn participated in the Colleges’ Professional in Residence series.