Agenda

Welcome Remarks

The Executive Path and the Future of Women in Business

Barbara Cheng, founder, president, and CEO of Executive Core, shares her insights from 15 years of accelerating developing leaders into executive positions. Get an outlook on today’s professional women in the workforce, find out what it takes for today’s young professionals to be considered for executive positions, and take advantage of the opportunity to meet other attendees and exchange stories in this interactive session.  

Break

Concurrent Sessions

I Wish I Would Have Known

Hear from a panel of recent Chicago Booth alumnae as they share some of their “a-ha” moments - those lessons they wish they had known at seminal moments in their careers. Moderated by Anita Brick, '81, director of MBA Career Advancement Programs at Chicago Booth, with alumnae panelists Pauline Cantin, '08, Vice President of Prudential Annuity Distributors at Prudential Financial, Inc. , Martina Dimova-Martinez, '08, manager of new business initiatives at Cars.com, and Valerie J. Van Meter, '04 (XP-73), senior vice president and CFO for the Seventh Federal Reserve District. 

Kilts Center for Marketing Panel

The field of marketing is more than product promotion; it’s about creating marketplace value by developing strategy, data analysis, product development, pricing, consumer behavior, and integration across organizations. Join Booth alumnae and students, including Suzanne Martin, '95, CMO of Revenew, Toya Mitchell, '12 (XP-81), director of New Media Solutions for Symphony IRIGroup, and current Full-Time MBA student, Carolyn Braff, for a panel discussing careers in marketing, and Chicago Booth’s distinctive approach to the subject. Moderated by Adrienne Nazon, '12 (XP-81), senior director of marketing at Chicago Booth.

The Mind's Eye in Strategy

If we could see inside the mind of a successful corporate strategist, we'd better learn how to improve our own game. This session will look at advances outside the world of business and reflect these concepts back into the task of strategy formulation. From these ideas, a path to improve our own strategy decisions will emerge. Presented by James E. Schrager, PhD '93, clinical professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management.

Why an MBA? (recurring session)

Admissions directors from Booth’s Full-Time, Evening, Weekend, and Executive MBA programs share the four ways to earn a Booth MBA and discuss the value of an MBA degree. If you are looking to advance and enhance your career, this session will be a great opportunity for you to learn how to start the MBA admissions process. 

Break

A Pattern for Success: Keynote and Luncheon

Deanie Elsner, '92, executive vice president and president of beverages for Kraft Foods North America, shares her nearly 20 years of experience in leadership roles at Kraft, from marketing and brand management to overseeing the manufacturing and sales of such iconic Kraft brands as Maxwell House coffee, Capri Sun, Crystal Light, and Kool-Aid.

Break

Concurrent Sessions

CEO Insights: Perspectives on Leadership from Current, Former, and Aspiring CEOs

BPI group, a leading global management and HR consulting firm, recently conducted a survey of current, former, and aspiring CEOs. Join Robyn Clark, managing director of the Leadership, Team and Organization and Talent Solutions practice with BPI group, North America, as she discusses the findings and implications of this survey, including:

• The most critical skills leaders need for success

• The correlation between personal satisfaction and organizational success

• The single-most cited characteristic of great leaders

• The most important tool most leaders aren’t using

Creating Social Impact 

Hear from alumnae, faculty, and students working and volunteering in the social sector, including Laura M. Born, '91, adjunct associate professor of finance and chair of the Columbia Acorn Trust Board and Wanger Asset Trust Board, Kate Coleman, MBA '78, MLA '98, senior vice president and chief strategy and marketing officer at YMCA of the USA; Maria Kim, '12 (XP-81), COO at The Cara Program; and Full-Time student Andrea Sreshta, about how to make social impact a part of your career and your life. You'll also learn about Chicago Booth’s commitment to creating lasting value across the social sector through Booth’s latest research center, the Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI). Moderated by Marianne Bertrand, codirector of SEI and Chris P. Dialynas Professor of Economics.

Insight Skills: Negotiations  

This session will introduce participants to a framework for building skills through experimentation, practice, feedback, and reflection. A hands-on negotiation exercise will provide a unique opportunity to improve your negotiation skills with direct feedback. We will develop a structured approach to thinking and to the complexities concerning interpersonal problem solving and everyday influence situations. Presented by Linda E. Ginzel, clinical professor of managerial psychology.

Why an MBA? (recurring session)

Admissions directors from Booth’s Full-Time, Evening, Weekend, and Executive MBA programs share the four ways to earn a Booth MBA and discuss the value of an MBA degree. If you are looking to advance and enhance your career, this session will be a great opportunity for you to learn how to start the MBA admissions process. 

Break

Concurrent Sessions

The Art of Personal Branding: How to Distinguish Yourself from the Crowd

Distinguishing yourself in today’s workforce takes savvy. Learn to highlight your unique value proposition with the helpful advice of two Booth alumnae who between them have 60 years of experience in consulting and media. Jan Anne Dubin, '94 (XP-63), principal at Jan Anne Dubin Consulting, and Joyce Winnecke, '05 (XP-74), vice president and associate editor at the Chicago Tribune, offer their tips and techniques for establishing and building a presence in media as well as engaging in the community as ways to create your distinctive personal brand. Moderated by Jenniffer Weigel, host of Trib U programs at the Chicago Tribune and an Emmy award-winning broadcast.

Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship: Shaping Your MBA Program for Start-Up Success

If you want to be an entrepreneur, why go to business school? What should you do to get the most out of your business education? Learn how these three women took advantage of Chicago Booth resources as students to prepare them for entrepreneurial careers. Hear about the path they took to go from idea stage to a real business, and how the Booth network helped them to navigate challenges and achieve success. Moderated by Ellen Rudnick, executive director of the Polsky Center and clinical professor, with alumnae panelist Daphne Mazarakis, '99, founder of Tula Foods, Inc., Jamie Russo, '04, owner of Enerspace, and student panelist Liz Kammel, founder of ZipFit.me.

Does Diversity Foster Innovation?

It is frequently argued that workforce diversity fosters innovation. But does it? In this session Professor Michael J. Gibbs, AB ’84, AM ’84, PhD ’89, will discuss the reasons why this might, and might not, be true, by pulling together pieces of evidence from a variety of sources, including some of his own research, on this question. Participants will be encouraged to join in the discussion by drawing on their own experiences.

Why an MBA? (recurring session)

Admissions directors from Booth’s Full-Time, Evening, Weekend, and Executive MBA programs share the four ways to earn a Booth MBA and discuss the value of an MBA degree. If you are looking to advance and enhance your career, this session will be a great opportunity for you to learn how to start the MBA admissions process.

Closing Reception

Engage with conference attendees, students, alumni, and staff as we cap off the day with food and beverages at a casual reception.

Postconference Social

Continue the conversation at an optional event hosted by Graduate Women in Business (GWB) and Chicago Women in Business (CWiB).