The Stern Opportunity

SWIB with Dean Peter Blair Henry

On Friday February 5th, close to 300 women, including prospective and current students as well as alumnae and SWIB corporate sponsors, came together for SWIB’s 18th Annual conference.  Conference Co-Chairs Megan Mansolf (‘10) and Michelle Go (’10) did a fantastic job putting together an extremely impressive and engaging agenda within the conference theme of “Adaptation: Creating Opportunity in a Changing Environment” for the attendees to enjoy. Keynote speakers Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products, and Deborah Doyle McWhinney, President of Personal Banking and Wealth Management at Citigroup, along with panels and a Spotlight Workshop, all focused on helping conference attendees adapt themselves and adjust their goals to the ever-changing economic conditions that exist today.

The morning kicked off with the traditional presentation of the Distinguished Alumna Award.  This year’s recipient was Christine Schneider, MBA ’94.  In her acceptance speech, Schneider focused on the importance of remaining involved in the Stern and SWIB communities after graduation, and encouraged current students to remain active in these communities as they embark on their careers following graduation.  Schneider practices what she preaches: as the head of SWIB Alumni committee, has dedicated her time and effort to ensuring that the active SWIB community extends to all SWIB alumnae.

Dean Henry took the podium next to welcome conference attendees and to introduce the morning keynote speaker, Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products.  Dean Henry cited Stern’s dedication to having one of the top female populations of top business schools as an integral part of the school’s heritage, and he emphasized his dedication to continue recruiting and educating women leaders during his tenure as Dean of NYU Stern.  Dean Henry then introduced Andrea Jung, stating she “embodied exactly the kind of leader we want to create at Stern.”

Andrea Jung delivered a phenomenal keynote address.  She cited the drastic changes that have taken place in the business world during her career to date, recalling that when she started working, most women in higher levels in business were in non C-Suite jobs, meaning that they might hold positions such as the Head of HR or PR, but that very few were CFO’s, COO’s, or CEO’s.  While things have progressed dramatically even over the past few decades, Ms. Jung noted, “we are still far from where it should be.”  As a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Ms. Jung said, “I feel a deep personal responsibility to ensure that the next generation of women sitting in this room has the opportunity to take the lead roles.”

Ms. Jung’s inspirational speech also included personal stories.  She shared anecdotes about growing up in Canada, the daughter of Chinese immigrant parents, never imagining that she would be the CEO of a company.  Upon graduating from Princeton University, Ms. Jung originally considered joining the Peace Corps in an effort to do something that contributed to society.  She also emphasized the importance of the conference’s theme, Adaptation, and how it is relevant not only to today’s businesses but also to all business leaders throughout their careers.  Ms. Jung spoke of the need for leaders to “fire themselves” from time to time in order to reinvent themselves to continue to make the best objective business decisions. 

Ms. Jung ended her address by sharing the things she has found critical to achieving success in business.  While she mentioned many objectives for one to follow, such as having compassion, courage and perseverance, pride and humility and balance in your life, she feels one of the most important factors to achieving success in business is to have passion for your work.  Ms. Jung stated that she has felt so fortunate to find a company that allows her to not only achieve business success, but also to give back to the community in ways that satisfy her Philanthropic goals as well.  The fact that Avon Products was founded on the basis of empowering women to “get out of the house and make their own money” and that the company, whose slogan is “The Company for Women,” continues this dedication today in everything it does, has brought her personal satisfaction that keeps her focused, dedicated, successful, and happy with the decisions she has made in her career.  Ms. Jung summarized the need for passion as follows: “There are so many sacrifices with work, men and women who excel at what they do have a love affair with their work.”

After the first keynote address, the attendees went to one of four panel discussions.  The first panel, “Rise of the Phoenix: Re-Inventing Yourself,” focused on the delicate balance between embracing change and re-inventing oneself to staying focused on personal and professional paths.  The second panel, “Leading the Pack: Making Change from Within,” focused on how to make powering and positive change in a company or industry while trying not to alienate yourself or others in the process.  The third panel, “Being a Chameleon: Changing Your Career to Fit Your Surroundings,” focused on how women can change their careers, both in business school and after, to help fit their goals and lifestyles.  The fourth panel, “Personal Finance: Creating a Bull Market for your Financial Future,” was a candid conversation about managing ones personal finances to help insure financial stability and security. 

SWIB Co-Presidents Catie Rosen (MBA ’10) and Rebekah Ahn (MBA ’10) kicked off the afternoon portion of the day with their presidents’ address during the luncheon.  The Co-Presidents shared that they first met at the SWIB conference two years earlier, and were inspired at that time to become leaders in the organization.  Next, Dean Corfman introduced the afternoon’s keynote speaker, Deborah Doyle McWhinney, President of Personal Banking and Wealth Management at Citigroup. 

As a last minute replacement for Terry Dial, Senior Advisor to Citigroup who could not make the conference due to a family emergency, Ms. McWhinney joked true to conference theme, Terry had adapted ahead of the conference by dying her hair and changing her name to Deb.  Joking aside, Ms. McWhinney delivered a thoughtful address, much of which reinforced key themes from Ms. Jung’s earlier speech.  As Ms. McWhinney spoke of her career in the financial services industry working at companies like Bank of America, Visa International and Charles Schwab, she emphasized the need to have passion in your work and show compassion toward others. 

Ms. McWhinney also shared the principle by which she lives her life and makes decisions, the idea that “you write your own epitaph.” After winning a difficult battle with breast cancer in 2006, when she had been told she had only a 36% chance of living for five years, Ms. McWhinney now relies more on this principle than ever.  She emphasized staying true to yourself and your values, and by making daily decisions based on if they contribute towards what you want to be remembered for or not.  To this end, she emphasized the importance of community involvement and philanthropic work even when working.  Despite having had only two days notice that she would be a keynote speaker, Ms. McWhinney was able to deliver an unforgettable address to the attendees of the SWIB conference.

After a short break, Professor Sheila Wellington introduced the leader of the afternoon’s Spotlight Workshop, Sarena Lin, Principal of McKinsey & Company.  Ms. Lin lead the conference attendees in a conversation based on the new book How Remarkable Women Lead, which was the culmination of McKinsey’s five year study of Centered Leadership.  Ms. Lin began the event by sharing five central values for women leaders: meaning: how women value meaning in work more than money; framing: how women experience emotions more so than men; connecting: how women tend to form deeper relationships with others than men, resulting in deeper yet smaller networks; engaging: how women less likely than men to take risks in their careers; and energizing: how women tend to deplete their energy reserves by giving so much energy to their job, family, and friends. 

Ms. Lin went into detail into each of these values, shared videos of women leaders discussing each of the five core values, and engaged conference attendees in exercises that allowed them to recognize their own values.  She emphasized the importance of knowing what one’s tendencies are – for example, do you see events as personal or as an external situation? – to tapping into your potential as a leader, and how to get the most out of your career through being self-aware and honest with yourself.  The conversation went on for much longer than was originally scheduled, with the audience engaged in every tip and recommendation given by Ms. Lin.  This closing event was motivational and included practical takeaways the attendees could do in their everyday lives to develop their leadership skills and utilize individual strengths to the greatest extent possible.

Conference attendees next moved to a networking reception, where they enjoyed sharing some of the day’s key takeaways with one another.  SWIB Alumnae Patricia Carrera said of the conference: “This was such a phenomenal event because the women who spoke were so candid and generous with their perspectives that they engaged every woman in the room from prospective student to alumni.  This gives you the courage and the confidence to reach for your goals the way they did.”  SWIB Co-President Rebekah Ahn echoed this statement, saying: “This day far exceeded any and all expectations.  Both keynotes, the panels and the afternoon workshop made everyone think about all the opportunities in their lives that they may not have previously considered.”  Dean Gary Fraser also noted: “This is always one of the best events that Stern has each year and this year raised the bar once again.”

From adaptation within the constantly changing business environment, to finding passion in one’s work; from discovering one’s strengths to remaining true to oneself and one’s values, this year’s conference left its attendees rejuvenated, inspired, and eager to put many of the ideas they’d heard about throughout the day into play in their lives.

Article Tools