May 2008
The FWA Annual Dinner is always a wonderful celebration of the accomplishments of our honorees and of the collective achievements of the FWA. It’s the centerpiece of the year—but the year isn’t even close to its conclusion.
May is bursting with activity. Two distinguished speakers, Deborah Wright, Chairman and CEO of Carver Bankcorp Inc. and Terry McGraw, President and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companines, will be addressing the FWA. Jyoti Bhagavan and Susan Saxe co-chair our Distinguished Speakers Committee. Our Goverment Committee will shed some light on lobbying efforts in Washington on the part of financial institutions as the demand for new legislation continues to rise. This event is organized by Alice Carpenter and Lauren Russell, co-chairs of our Government Committee. Spring weather calls members to the beautiful grounds up at Kykuit, the historic Rockefeller estate, an event organized by Jeannette Paladino and Margarent Platt, Lifestyles Committee.
The most recent trend in professional development opportunities will be highlighted at our “Mass Career Customization” event. And we’ve got another related program: a match up of personality type and career.
And, armed with a crash course in the Russian language, a delegation departs this month for St. Petersburg and Moscow to meet with an impressive array of business and government leaders, and to see some dazzling sights as well.
I hope all members will take advantage of one or more of this month’s opportunities, and that you’ll encourage others to join our dynamic organization.
April 2008
The FWA’s Annual Dinner on April 30th is our premier event, celebrating the accomplishments of two outstanding leaders. This year, Evelyn Lauder, Senior Corporate Vice President and Founder and Chairman of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, is the FWA’s Public/Nonprofit Sector Woman of the Year; Christine Poon, Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Worldwide Chairman Pharmaceutical Group, Johnson & Johnson, is the FWA’s Private Sector Woman of the Year. Their biographies and Dinner details can be found in the newsletter article.
The Annual Dinner is a wonderful opportunity to connect with FWA friends, make new acquaintances, support the FWA’s scholarship, mentoring and educational programs and have a lot of fun. I do hope you will join us on April 30th to hear our honorees, Evelyn Lauder and Christine Poon. The Annual Dinner is organized by Diane Drewery and Karen Rockey, Annual Dinner Co-chairs, and Jennifer Durst, FWA Director of Development.
In January, we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of our College Scholarship Program at Murry Bergtraum High School and, in April, we will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of our Graduate Business Scholarship Program. Throughout the year, this newsletter has featured articles about these exceptional scholarship winners. Funds raised at the Annual Dinner help support our scholarship and mentoring programs. To date, the FWA has awarded over $1.1 million in scholarships to 252 women under these two programs.
These activities have been arranged by our scholarship co-chairs: Denise Seegobin, the first winner in the FWA’s undergraduate scholarship program, is now a member of the FWA Board and chairs that initiative. Susan Becker, spearheads our Graduate Business Scholarship program.
I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Dinner and the many other exciting events we have planned this month.
March 2008
As FWA President, I have had the opportunity to experience first hand the depth and breadth of the FWA Office. The strategic focus, expert implementation and supreme professionalism of our very efficient team enable us to be the premier organization for financial women that we are and will continue to be. At this time, as we are moving into a period with major upcoming events for the FWA, such as our Annual Dinner and our International Conference to Russia, I want to acknowledge the outstanding work of a truly exceptional staff that supports the work of our Board, our 33 committees, our more than 1,000 members, and our 100 plus events.
Nancy Sellar, our indefatigable Executive Director, has a broad institutional understanding and is key to the success of the FWA. I continue to be amazed by the many complex issues she deals with so effortlessly.
Lisa Buddenhagen, our Director of Operations, seamlessly deals with our IT and communications, websites, newsletter, and a multitude of internal processes and issues.
Jennifer Durst is our new Director of Development. Her polish and professionalism have reignited our development efforts, and her organizational skills were evidenced in the success of our Holiday Party and in the planning for our Annual Dinner.
Rosalind Lloyd, our Events Coordinator, is an expert multitasker who expertly fields our events and ensures a flawless registration process.
Janet Vetter, the newest member of our team, recently joined the FWA Office as Member Services Coordinator and has quickly become a valuable member of the team.
I hope you join me in thanking them for their wonderful work in support of the FWA. Personally, I am deeply grateful for the assistance the FWA Office has provided during my presidency. Hats off to all of them!
February 2008
It is my distinct honor to announce that the FWA has received a grant of $900,000 from HSBC in the Community (USA) Inc. to expand its Financial Backpack Program. For several years, the FWA’s Financial Backpack Program has been delivering financial literacy programs to high school students. This grant will permit a significant expansion of the program. Over the next five years, we anticipate that this grant will permit the FWA to train over 2,000 New York City high school students in personal financial management.
We are grateful to HSBC in the Community (USA) Inc. for their strong support of this program. Thank you to Lindsay Starr and Karen Zander, Co-Chairs of the Financial Backpack Committee, Geraldine Gallashaw, Vice President Diversity/Next Generation, and Jennifer Durst, Director of Development for their work in developing the proposal for this program.
Through its mission to advance professionalism in the field of finance, with special emphasis on the role of women and the development of future leaders, the FWA has long been committed to supporting the professional development and education of women. That is particularly true at a time of uncertainty in the financial markets.
At the FWA, we have always been deeply committed to helping our members through economic and job transitions. Our monthly Transition Tuesday events, which are free and open to members only, are focused specifically on that goal. For those of you in transition, please look to the FWA as a resource, and stay tuned for upcoming initiatives. And no one will want to miss our always popular 8th Annual Executive Coaching Summit at Credit Suisse.
Several of our programs have focused on the dynamic global economic interrelationships which affect our markets: BRICs, Russian banking and economy, and global energy issues. A number of our upcoming programs will deal with key market issues: US Treasurer, Anna Escobedo Cabral, a panel with key members of the New York Congressional delegation, and a panel of leading economists.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the exciting programs we have planned.
January 2008
This month, with the start of the new year, I am proud to announce that the FWA is launching two major initiatives: a Diversity Initiative and a Global Initiative.
Through the Diversity Initiative, the FWA will ensure that it is more reflective of the demographics of the marketplace. The FWA will reach out to affinity groups at its 23 President’s Circle firms, informing them of the rich array of the FWA’s programming and inviting the participation of their members in FWA activities. Over the next few months, we will work with four organizations to further advance diversity for the FWA:
- Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA)
- Committee of 100
- South Asian Women’s Leadership Forum
- Urban Financial Services Coalition (UFSC)
With UFSC, we plan an event featuring Deborah Wright, President and CEO of Carver Bancorp. Stay tuned for details about this event and additional information about the Diversity Initiative, which is led by Marlene Debel and LaTanya Robinson, co-chairs of the Diversity Committee, and Geraldine Gallashaw, FWA Vice President.
On January 9th, I will participate in a panel discussion on “Taking Her Place at the Leadership Table: Changing the Game” at the 11th Annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit.
The Global Initiative will help you better assess key economic and financial drivers of the global economy. The kick-off event on January 31st will provide an overview of the BRICs, the major emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China. More information about this outstanding panel is available in the article BRICs Panel. Future events will focus on individual BRIC countries. This initiative is led by Inwha Huh and Amy Shang, co-chairs of the Global Agenda Committee.
In preparation for our International Conference in Russia, we are continuing our series of events about Russia, one of the BRIC countries. On January 22nd, Gail Buyske, an expert on banking in Russia, will speak about “From Perestroika to the Present – The Growth and Development of Russia’s Banking and Financial Services Sector.” This event is organized by Katrina von Hoyer Costas and Katya Varlamova, co-chairs of the International Committee.
Our exploration of Russia extends to a celebration of the Russian New Year and a tasting of flavored vodkas, accompanied by Russian ‘zakuskie’ (appetizers), on January 10th at the Russian Samovar. This event is organized by the Lifestyles Committee, co-chaired by Jeannette Paladino and Margaret Platt.
Moreover, the January 17th event on “Taking Your Leadership to the Next Level: Unique Challenges, Opportunities, and Trends” looks at the impact of global issues on your career by assessing how working abroad can be a fast track for your career, among other options. This event is organized by Christine Birnbaum and Shoya Zichy, co-chairs of the Professional Development Committee.
I hope you will join me in supporting the Diversity and Global Initiatives. I look forward to seeing you at the many outstanding events we have planned.
December 2007
December is a month of holidays, celebrations with family and friends, and a time for giving and receiving. Through the FWA’s mission to advance professionalism in the field of finance, with a special emphasis on the role of women and the development of future leaders, we all have an opportunity to give back. This is particularly true of the FWA’s multi-dimensional next generation programs: one-to-one mentoring at the high school and college level, scholarship support for college and business school, financial literacy for high school students and for adults with minimal financial education, and our summer Wall Street Exchange Program.
You can support the FWA’s outstanding next generation programs by attending our Holiday Gala on Thursday, December 6th. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Thomson Financial, the net proceeds of this fun event will help finance the exceptional programs of the FWA Educational Fund. I hope you will join me and your FWA colleagues for an evening of good cheer, plentiful food, pomegranate martinis, and an opportunity to win one of many outstanding raffle prizes (a round trip flight to Asia, yoga lessons, and clothes galore). This event has been organized by Holiday Gala Co-Chairs, Christine Freda and Diane Wallace.
This month, through a partnership with ReServe, we launch a unique opportunity for stipend-paid volunteer assignments for professionals 55 and over. Thank you to Ann Michell for overseeing this initiative, which is part of our more targeted approach to meet the needs of our members.
At the same time, we are concluding our one year pilot mentoring program for Emerging Leaders. Due to the success of this program, which was led by Robin Fisher, Geraldine Mehu, and Daisy Platt, we will be rolling-out a broader mentoring program for Emerging Leaders in 2008, available only to FWA members.
In 2008, stay tuned for more targeted programming, a rich array of events, and the results of our member survey. I extend my best wishes to you, your family and friends for a joyous holiday season.
November 2007
I am proud to say that the FWA is providing our members with access to global thought leaders and rich content to fuel your continued professional growth. With oil reaching over $94 per barrel and the Middle East continuing to be a volatile and unstable area, two of our recent events focused on these crucial topics.
This week, we were privileged to hear Daniel Yergin, the Chairman of Cambridge Energy Associates, a Pulitzer-prize winning author, and one of the leading experts on energy, share his overarching view of the geopolitics of energy. Fresh from recent trips to Russia and China, Dan conveyed his insights on the current situation and noted that there was a potential for a great bubbling of innovation in this area.
Eric Blinderman, International Litigation Counsel at Proskauer Rose, spoke about his three years in Iraq, where he served as part of the litigation team which prosecuted Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants. Eric’s description of the collection of evidence and testimony, as well as the atmosphere in the courtroom, was mesmerizing. It was an incredible opportunity to hear a real inside view of what happened.
The Yergin event was organized by the Emerging Issues Committee, chaired by Suzanne DiSabato and Lori Spoon Rafkin, and moderated by Patti Domm. The Blinderman event was organized by the Professional Services Liaison Committee, chaired by Susan Aufiero and Jennifer Anderson.
On November 29th, in preparation for our 2008 International Conference in Russia, we will have the first of our series of events on Russia. Padma Desai, a foremost expert on the Russian economy, the head of the Center for Transition Economies at Columbia and the winner of the The Financial Times 2006 Book of the Year award, will take us on a journey through Russian history and its implications for the future of Russia. This event is organized by the International Conference Committee, chaired by Katya Varlamova and Katrina von Hoyer-Costas.
How better to stay sharp and challenge yourself to greater excellence than to have access to intellectual leaders on some of the most pressing issues of our time?
One of the highlights of the FWA year is our Annual Holiday Benefit Gala. This will be a fun evening with ample food and amazing raffle prizes, organized by the the Holiday Gala Committee, chaired by Christine Freda and Diane Wallace. Sponsored by Thomson Financial and held in the historic former AT&T building on December 6th, it promises to be a wonderful opportunity to meet your FWA colleagues. I look forward to seeing many of you that evening.
In closing, I want to wish you, your families, and friends a wonderful Thanksgiving.
October 2007
There is no better time than now to energize your career and life by joining the FWA. No other organization has such a broad array of programs and such a range of age and expertise among its members around a common goal: to help each other in advancing our careers. Reaching seasoned professionals to rising stars, our 51 year old network enables each other’s success and builds friendships to last a lifetime.
Our recent member survey found that members value most the FWA’s professional networking, advocacy for women and professional development. And that they view the FWA’s “commitment to enhancing the role of women in finance” as one of our key strengths.
However, it is only by becoming a member of the FWA that you can enjoy the real benefits from the organization. Only then can you join one of the FWA’s more than 30 committees, work with your colleagues in achieving mutual goals and sharpen your skills through off-the-job training which can make you more successful at work. Only then can you attend the free Transition Tuesday events, chaired by Shery Saeed and Toni Molodowitz, which are open only to members and provide a full circle resource group to members. Only then can you access the FWA’s extensive list of available career opportunities, Career Connections, managed by Lynette Lager, which is open only to members. Only then can you participate in the FWA’s one-on-one mentoring program for Emerging Leaders, chaired by Robin Fisher, Geraldine Mehu, and Daisy Platt, which is open to members only.
The FWA is for you, whether you’re:
- A corporate executive who wants to meet peers of excellence;
- An individual in transition who wants to make transforming contacts which can lead to new business relationships;
- A young professional just starting your career who wants to develop your skills;
- An entrepreneur who wants to form strategic alliances and grow your business; or
- A more seasoned professional who wants to give back to the community.
But across the board, FWA members know that the most distinctive benefit is the FWA spirit – a dynamic experience that I urge all of you to share.
If you are a member, please bring a new person to one of our events. If you are not a member, please contact Liz Farrar and Kathy Cavallo, the co-chairs of the Membership Committee about how to join the FWA.
Join us at the many FWA events and committee meetings this year. I look forward to seeing you there!
September 2007
September always reminds me of the start of a new school year and fresh beginnings. It is also a time to acknowledge the FWA’s long standing dedication and commitment to the development of future leaders through its support of education programs in high school and college and scholarships for college and business school.
In 2008, the FWA will mark the 25th Anniversary of its MBA Scholarship Program and the 20th Anniversary of its Leah Pfeffer-Lidsky Scholarship Program for college-bound graduates of the FWA Mentoring Program at Murry Bergtraum High School. During that period, the FWA has awarded over $1 million in scholarships to 123 MBA students and 128 graduates of Murry Bergtraum High School to attend college.
Stay tuned to learn more about the two celebrations to commemorate these accomplishments, which we plan to invite all our past scholarship winners to attend. In the meantime, on a monthly basis, the FWA newsletter will feature a recipient of an MBA and Murry Bergtraum High School scholarship winner in “Where Are They Now?” articles. I’m delighted to tell you that this month we are featuring:
- Denise Seebogin, our first Murry Bergtraum Scholarship winner in 1988 and currently a member of the FWA Board, who now chairs the Murry Bergtraum High School Scholarship Committee and our Wall Street Exchange Progam; and
- Katya Varlamova, a 1999-2000 MBA Scholarship winner from Fordham, who is now a member of the FWA Board and serves as co-chair of our International Conference to Russia.
Read about Denise’s and Katya’s accomplishments in this month’s “Where Are They Now?” articles and read about some of our other scholarship winners in future monthly articles.
I encourage you to learn more about ways to expand and transform a young person’s vision of their educational and professional opportunities. Sign-up to be a mentor in our Murry Bergtraum High School or Baruch College one-on-one mentoring programs by contacting Françoise Jeanpierre and Wendy Leibowitz, mentoring program co-chairs. You will see how, by giving back, you will get so much more in return.
I am extraordinarily proud that the FWA has enabled so many people – scholarship winners, mentees and mentors – to experience their own fresh beginnings through these initiatives. They are truly at the heart of our mission. I hope you will embrace it with me as we crack open the books together on the 2007/2008 FWA year.
Summer 2007
I am honored to serve as the President of the Financial Women’s Association in 2007-2008. The FWA has had an incredible impact on my life - providing me with wonderful friendships, transforming business experiences and expansive travel.
I want to tell you about two areas that the FWA is going to focus on this coming year. Today our business world and our society are being defined by two key trends: diversity and globalization. If we think about it, these two trends are making an enormous and positive impact on our lives. They are driving our companies’ internal strategies for talent development. And they are determining their external strategies for growth. That is why my two main priorities for this coming year are the development of a more diverse membership and a more robust global agenda for the FWA.
Developing a more diverse organization, reflective of the demographics of the marketplace, is essential in a global environment and vital to ensuring the future success of the FWA. And it makes good business sense. We all gain by having exposure to a broader range of perspectives and viewpoints.
Therefore, we are establishing a Diversity Initiative and reintroducing a Diversity Committee to focus on developing a more diverse membership for the FWA by reaching out to outside organizations and to affinity groups at our President Circle companies. And we want to inspire our membership with an even greater diversity among the speakers and panelists who address the FWA.
A better understanding of global issues is key to your success in business and the advancement of your careers. Many Fortune 500 firms already receive more than 50% of their revenues from abroad. However, only 15% of global corporate assignments are given to women. That 15% figure is an exact match for the 15% of senior management positions held by women in financial services firms.
To help you better recognize and seize the opportunities and challenges of working in the global market place, we are establishing a Global Initiative and a new committee: Global Agenda. This year, we will have events focusing on the key emerging markets – Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRICs, and we’ll also look at some of the crucial drivers of the global economy – energy, alternative energy, and the impact of a 24/7 wired world.
Our Distinguished Speakers will focus on working in a global marketplace. And many of our committees will show you how to take advantage of global opportunities in furthering your career and business, whether you’re an entrepreneur, work in the not for profit field, or in a corporate setting.
On the topic of a global agenda, the FWA has held an annual international conference for over 20 years. One country, where we have not yet gone, spans 11 time zones from the Baltic to the Sea of Japan, and from the Arctic Circle to the Central Asian steppes. It is a country which has and will continue to play an enormous role in our political and economic future – Russia!
So next spring, in 2008, the FWA will be traveling to Russia to hold its first international conference there. Since the FWA’s international delegations are limited in size, we will hold several events in New York to give you the opportunity to learn about the economic and business conditions in Russia.
Of course, we will continue with the many outstanding and multi-faceted programs the FWA has developed over the years and you will hear more about them in the coming months.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Martha Clark Goss for her dedication and passion for the FWA as President this past year.
Don’t miss out on any of the exciting activities! Renew your membership now! The process is easy and online. Make sure your registration includes your choice of committees you are interested in supporting. Joining a committee is a valuable way to enrich your experience with the FWA.
We have an exciting and fun year ahead. I look forward to getting to know many of you and to serving this wonderful organization. |
