Highlights from the 2019 Women|Future Conference

Posted by Daniel Ferguson on Fri, Nov 22, 2019 @ 04:29 PM

Women from around the world gathered for a two-day women's conference in New York City

WFC19 - Case Studies

The second-annual Women|Future Conference wrapped last week at the Marriott Marquis in New York City and brought women professionals from various industries together for two days of structured networking, panels, and case studies before the 16th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business ceremony. 

Click here to view photos and find out what you missed at the 2019 Women|Future Conference.

“I wasn’t born with the gift of foresight but I would tell you that all of you are Futurists too. Each and everyone one of you try to predict the future, for your personal life and for your company strategy.” 

The conference kicked off with Keynote Address by Sheryl Connelly, Futurist at Ford Motor Company: Confessions of a Corporate Futurist: Coming Trends That Will Revolutionize Your Business. 

Sheryl shared her background, choosing a degree in finance to be financially secure when she really wanted to study art, then going on to law school and never ended up practicing law. She started at an entry level job at Ford, even with a law degree, and was able to work her way up to the unique job of “Futurist.” She then shared what insights made her career goals come true and how she is able to help Ford predict what trends are coming next, and how we can too.

WFC19 - Sheryl Connelly

See what WomenFuture Conference attendees took away from the conference.

This conference empowers you to be your best self, to be in a space with like minded individuals, and to discover best practices being used around the world for different, relevant topics. I would happily recommend this to any person wanting to improve themselves and learn in the process. - Jessica Ney, Income Access

Women in business are creating an extraordinary impact on the world and the Future Women conference is an incredible opportunity to meet leading-edge game-changers and to discover what you could be achieving in your own role. - Lauren Clemett - Audacious Agency 

“Be strategic. Lead easier. Because you’re always leading.”

One of the first panels on Day One was The Significance and Simplification of Being Strategic, moderated by Erin Joy, CEO of Black Dress Circle. The panelists included Debra Kunz, Founder of the Center for Deliberate Growth, Julie Ockerby, CEO of Meli Studio Australia, Chessa Eskandanian-Yee, CEO & Co-Founder of LeaderEQ, and Andrea Arco-Mastromichalis, CEO and Founder of Arco + Associates. Each speaker offered their approach to thinking more strategically in the workplace. Tips about prioritizing, anticipating problems, and simplifying the steps to get from point A to B were brought to light, which encouraged some thought-provoking questions at the end of the session.

“61% of women look at the gender diversity of a leadership team when deciding where to work.”

After a lunch break that featured tables for structured networking sessions with other goal-oriented professional women discussing issues in today’s business environment, the day continued with The Art of Inclusion: How to Craft Your Company’s Diversity Mosaic. Tara Wilson, SVP and General Manager of Income Access, A Paysafe Group, moderated the panel. Joining her were speakers Ashley Brundage, Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at PNC, Tonia Morris, HR Executive of The Generational Connector, Ashira Prossack, Founder and CEO of The Generational Factor, and Vanessa Subramaniam, Manager of Sales and Support for TourRadar. Their session revolved around the comparisons between different generations in the workplace, the advantages of age diversity, and how to embrace diversity and develop a generational inclusive workforce.

WFC19 - Art of Inclusion

“A paradox of opportunity & unintended consequences.”

Day one of the conference wrapped with the panel, How AI Is Transforming Industries, led by Brigitta Rubin, Chief Innovation Officer of Dragonfish, Inc. Attendees learned how AI will affect our everyday lives, the world of business, and job prospects. Speakers Jagathi Gururajan, Director of the Financial Services Advisory for PwC, Shimona Chadha, Associate Vice President of Marketing for HCL, and Louvere Walker-Hannon, Application Engineer for Mathworks, Inc. provided their expertise and advice regarding how marketers can unlock the potential of AI and adapt to discover new opportunities.

“When it comes to creating a future that’s gender-equal…there are things our society needs to do. There are things our country needs to do.”

The second day of sessions began with a morning Keynote by Selena Rezvani, Author of Pushback. In her talk, The Future of Work Is Female, she discussed creating a future that is gender equal. Attendees learned about the clues that reveal a company’s culture and how they could be proactive in advocating for a “women-forward culture.” Rezvani provided examples of gender bias within companies like Nike and suggested how women can strengthen their participation in decisions that affect them.

WFC19 - Selena Rezvani

Rezvani’s Keynote was followed shortly by several breakout sessions, which covered topics such as The Power of Influence, Customer Experience, Building Communities, and Cross-Cultural Communication. 

“I wanted to help impact people’s lives the way mine was impacted.”

The conference concluded with a closing panel of three case studies conducted by Sherry Smith, VP, Media, Mobile & Marketing, of Clarity PR. Each case study featured a finalist from the 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The awards honoring women in the workplace was to be held later that evening. Finalists and speakers included Gail Becker, Founder and CEO of CAULIPOWER, Alex Coren, Co-Founder & CINO of Wambi, and Rosemary Lokhorst, Executive Director and Producer of The Digging Deep Project. Each of them gave attendees a microscopic view of how these women leaders started their companies and grew to influence the larger community.

The Women|Future Conference was a jam-packed two days of networking with incredible insight from just a fraction of leading women in the professional sphere. We look forward to an even bigger and more exciting event next year during the third annual conference, which will be held November 12-13, 2020 in Las Vegas presented in conjunction with the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. For more information visit www.womenfutureconference.com 

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Topics: Women in Business, Women Future Conference 2019, Women Future Conference

Top-Rednerinnen auf der 2. Women|Future Conference

Posted by Catrin Beu on Fri, Aug 09, 2019 @ 02:24 AM

Während die Bewerbungsphase der 16. Stevie® Awards for Women in Business auf Hochtouren läuft, geben die Stevie Awards nun das hochkarätige Programm für die zweitägige 2. Women|Future Conference bekannt.

Wer sich frühzeitig registriert, dem winken spezielle Rabatte und eine ganz besondere Verlosung.

Sheryl connelly

Das zweitägige Event für berufstätige Frauen adressiert die drängendsten geschäftlichen Themen von morgen. Von Robotik und Cybersicherheit über die Zukunft von Arbeit bis hin zu künstlicher Intelligenz bietet die Veranstaltung Informationen aus der Perspektive von Frauen aus diesen Bereichen und wie sie die Karrieren berufstätiger Frauen in allen Branchen und Unternehmen beeinflussen werden.

Die Konferenz findet vom 14. bis 15. November 2019 im Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City anlässlich der Preisverleihung der 16. Stevie Awards for Women in Business statt.

Das Programm mit zahlreichen Top-Rednerinnen steht bereits fest. Den ersten Tag der Konferenz wird Sheryl Connelly, Corporate Futurist bei der Ford Motor Company, mit ihrer Keynote „Bekenntnisse eines Corporate Futurist: Kommende Trends, die Ihr Geschäft revolutionieren werden“ eröffnen. Connelly war Rednerin bei TED Global auf CBS Today Morning, CNBCs Fast Money und NPR’s All Things Considered with Robert Siegel.

Eine schnelle Buchung fürs Event lohnt sich. Denn bis zum 13. September 2019 gibt es spezielle Frühbucherrabatte. Außerdem werden aus den ersten 100 bezahlten Registrierungen 20 Teilnehmerinnen ausgelost, die am Donnerstagmorgen an einem exklusiven privaten Frühstück mit Sheryl Connelly teilnehmen dürfen.

Ein weiteres Highlight ist die Keynote von Selena Rezvani von Be Leaderly mit dem Titel „Die Zukunft der Arbeit ist weiblich“. Selena Rezvani ist Autorin einer preisgekrönten Kolumne in der Washington Post und eine beliebte Kolumnistin zum Thema Frauen und Arbeit bei Forbes. Sie spricht jedes Jahr zu Tausenden berufstätiger Frauen und wurde in der LA Times, Oprah.com, Todayshow.com und NPR vorgestellt.

Neben den Keynotes finden Podiumsdiskussionen und Breakout-Sessions zu verschiedenen Branchen und Themen statt, die am Arbeitsplatz relevant sind. Außerdem können die Teilnehmerinnen an verschiedenen Networking-Sessions teilnehmen, die sich ganz unterschiedlichen Themen widmen. Mehrere Finalistinnen der diesjährigen Stevie Awards for Women in Business präsentieren zudem ihre Fallstudien.

Bestätigte Rednerinnen sind unter anderem:

  • Ashley Brundage, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, PNC
  • Alessia FalsaroneManaging Director, SASB FSA,PineBridge Investments
  • Catherine Gacad, SVP, Partnerships,Wells Fargo
  • Jagathi Gururajan, Global Technology Executive
  • Heather Kernahan, President, North America, Hotwire
  • Gwen Murphy, Executive Director, Business Technology Services,KPMG 
  • Kris Pugsley,Director Global Communications, ON Semiconductor
  • Ajeta Sinha, Senior Vice President, Sales and Services,Net2Source
  • Michelle Strier, Chief Strategy Officer,Spectrum

Das komplette Programm und die Übersicht über alle Rednerinnen finden Sie unter www.WomenFutureConference.com.

Alle Informationen zur Teilnahme an den 16. Stevie Awards for Women in Business finden Sie unter www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Topics: Women Future Conference 2019, 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, Women Future Conference

Ford Motor Company Futurist to Keynote Second Annual Women|Future Conference

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Aug 07, 2019 @ 10:10 AM

Full program for two-day November conference in New York announced

WFC19_Infographics2_600x300

The second annual Women|Future Conference is a two-day event for professional women that will address the most pressing business issues of tomorrow. From robotics and cybersecurity, to the future of work and artificial intelligence, the conference will provide information on these topics from the perspectives of women in those fields on how they will affect professional women in all industries – their careers and businesses.

The conference will be presented by the Stevie® Awards in conjunction with the 16th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business on November 14-15, 2019 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. 

See the full agenda and list of speakers at www.WomenFutureConference.com.

Sheryl Connelly, corporate futurist with the Ford Motor Company, will open the first day of the conference with her keynote entitled “Confessions of a Corporate Futurist: Coming Trends That Will Revolutionize Your Business.” Connelly has been a featured speaker at TED Global, appeared on CBS This Morning , CNBC’s Fast Money, and NPR’s All Things Considered with Robert Siegel.

Special early-bird registration rates are available now through September 13. The first 100 paid registrants will be eligible for a drawing from which 20 will be selected at random for an exclusive private breakfast with Sheryl Connelly before her Thursday-morning keynote.

Selena Rezvani of Be Leaderly will present the Friday-morning keynote, called “The Future of Work is Female.” Selena addresses thousands of professional women each year and has been featured in The LA Times, Oprah.com, Todayshow.com, and NPR. She wrote an award-winning column for The Washington Post, and today serves as a popular columnist on women and the workplace for Forbes.

Morning keynote addresses will be followed by panel discussions and breakout sessions on workplace and industry topics, structured networking based on topics of interest, and case studies presented by Stevie Awards for Women in Business finalists.  Each attendee’s experience at the Women|Future Conference will be unique.

There are 12 breakout sessions to select from, looking at how to grow your business online and off, the power of influence, international trade, and more.

Panel sessions featuring 20 industry experts over the two days will explore how artificial intelligence is transforming industries, how to navigate careers through challenging times, diversity and inclusion, and more.

The structured networking sessions are designed to group attendees at tables of like-minded women to discuss issues on the front burner of today – and tomorrow. Attendees will select their topics of interest during the registration process to be paired with a networking leader.

Confirmed conference speakers include, among others:

  • Ashley Brundage, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, PNC
  • Alessia Falsarone, Managing Director, SASB FSA,PineBridge Investments
  • Catherine Gacad, SVP, Partnerships, Wells Fargo
  • Jagathi Gururajan, Global Technology Executive
  • Heather Kernahan, President, North America, Hotwire
  • Gwen Murphy, Executive Director, Business Technology Services,KPMG 
  • Kris Pugsley,Director Global Communications, ON Semiconductor
  • Ajeta Sinha, Senior Vice President, Sales and Services, Net2Source
  • Michelle Strier, Chief Strategy Officer, Spectrum

See the full list of speakers here, and the full conference agenda here.

enterprising women

Enterprising Women is the Media Sponsor of the Women|Future Conference. Enterprising Women magazine is the voice of women entrepreneurs---reaching more than one million readers in 185 countries.  Published quarterly, the print magazine is available by subscription at www.enterprisingwomen.com or download the digital edition in the Apple Store or at Google Play free. 

Topics: Women Future Conference 2019, 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, Women Future Conference