Courtney Lischke

Courtney Lischke (born September 4, 1978) is a product marketing manager at Google and a former All-American swimmer at Stanford University. She was world-ranked in the 400, 800, and 1500 meter freestyle events and qualified for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic trials.

Biography

Courtney Lischke was born September 4, 1978 in La Jolla, California to Jon and Nancy Lischke. Her father, Dr. Jon H. Lischke of IGO Medical Group, delivered her. She was raised in La Jolla and participated in a variety of sports. Her first official race was at the age of five when she was the youngest competitor in the La Jolla Rough Water Swim. She would go on to win that event eight times.

She attended La Jolla High School for three years before transferring to Palo Alto High School for her senior year. In 1994 she was the Junior National Champion in the 1650 yard freestyle. Throughout high school Lischke attended USS training camps at the United States Olympic Training Center. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, she became a member of the California Scholarship Federation. She won athlete of the year at Palo Alto High School and helped the team win its first CCS Championship in school history. At the 1995 CCS championship meet she won the 500 yard freestyle, 4x100 relay and 4x100 medley relay.

Lischke was expected to qualify for the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1993 to 1997 she was ranked 3rd in the world in the 1500m freestyle event. However, she was stricken with mononucleosis several weeks before the Olympic trials and was unable to repeat her record times at the event. She also qualified for the 2000 Olympic trials but decided not to compete.

In 1996 she enrolled at Stanford University and became a member of the swimming team. She was a member of Stanford’s NCAA swimming championship team and was a four-time Academic All-American. Lischke majored in economics and was elected to the Omicron Delta Epsilon honor society. After finishing her bachelor’s degree she continued her education at Stanford and completed a master’s degree in sociology.

She spent several years at Goldman Sachs working on M&A, corporate finance, IPOs, and private equity funding. She then accepted a position at Gap, Inc. where she was a consultant in the Strategy and Business Development group of Old Navy. Seeking a new challenge, she moved to London and, after a brief stint with PPQ Fashion as a strategy consultant, decided to enroll in London Business School. During that time she did an internship in Google’s London office. Google offered her a permanent position and she accepted but decided to move back to the Bay Area and work at the corporate headquarters in Mountain View (Googleplex).

Education

• London Business School – Masters in Business Administration
• Stanford University – Masters in Sociology
• Stanford University – Bachelor of Arts in Economics, member of Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society in Economics
• La Jolla High School/Palo Alto High School – Valedictorian

Swimming Achievements

• Participated in the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 400m, 800m, and 1,500m freestyle events
• Qualified for the 2000 Olympic Trials in the 400m, 800m, and 1,500m freestyle events
• NCAA All American
• Four-Time Academic All American
• Member of NCAA championship team, 1998
• Member of PAC-10 championship teams, 1997, 1998, 1999
• California state champion 1996-97: 400m free, 800m free, 1500m free
• PALY record holder: 500m free, 4x100 free relay, 4x100 medley relay
• Won CCS championships in 1996 with Palo Alto High School
• Silver medalist Senior Nationals 1995: 1500m free
• Athlete of the year award at Palo Alto High School 1996
• La Jolla High School current record holder in 500m free
• Gold medalist, Junior Nationals, 1994, 1650 yards free
• Appeared in Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd”
• Elected Captain of U.S. Swimming’s Olympic Training Select Camps in Colorado Springs