CEO Mom: Talbott Roche, Co-founder and Senior Vice President of Blackhawk Network

Talbott_Roche_pc_to_Terry_Vanderheiden_1_.jpgby Heather Cassell (San Francisco)

As a busy working executive mom partnered with a technology entrepreneur Talbott Roche finds creating quality of time and time is the key to success for her career and family.

“I actually enjoy it thoroughly,” says Roche, 42, and the oldest child of a single successful working mother. “It makes for a partnership where we understand each other’s pressures and we understand each other’s excitement about our business opportunities.”

Roche, co-founder and senior vice president of Blackhawk Network, the largest provider of third-party prepaid cards, doesn’t mind the busy schedule raising two children who are 8 and 6 years old. For Roche there is a “common thread” between family life and working life being a working mother that is “enjoying seeing and developing the successes of other people,” she says.

“My greatest success and greatest sense of fulfillment come from building a really high performing team,” Roche says. “When I think about being a mother it’s the same flavor of success, it’s seeing your children succeed and be happy and joyful.”

“It’s exciting and I don’t think that we could do it any other way,” Roche says.

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Boston Women in Finance – Building a Brand: Personal & Professional Tips

Your brand – it’s how you get noticed, get that dream job, earn a higher salary and convince your boss that you are indispensable. While the corporate giants have mastered the art (think Golden Arches, Nike swoosh, Coca-Cola Red), few professionals have perfected their own version in the office. No matter your age or company role, defining your differentiators is critical for professional success.

Boston Women in Finance is pleased to have Geri Denterlein, founder of Denterlein Worldwide Public Affairs and author of “The Power Chicks Guide to Boston”, lead an afternoon discussion, titled “Building a Brand: Personal & Professional Tips.”

This turbulent economy requires that you maintain and showcase a constant competitive edge and Geri can help you uncover the secrets of gaining visibility through everyday interaction.

Lunch will be provided!

To register, click here.

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The Cost of Face Time

iStock_000004780659XSmall_1_.jpgBy Heather Chapman (New York City)

U.S. companies could save upwards of $260 billion dollars a year by implementing a telework (also known as “telecommuting”) policy. So says Undress for Success, an online resource site for people who work from home. Using recently released U.S. Census figures and data from several different studies, as well as their Telework Savings Calculator, they also determined that U.S. consumers could save around $228 billion dollars a year and that the U.S. government could see $14 billion dollars in savings.

Currently, there are less than 6 million people in the U.S. who currently work from home, half of whom are not self employed. But, according to Kate Lister and Tom Harnish, publishers of the Undress for Success site, there are another 33 million people working in the U.S. whose jobs are suitable for teleworking. They say that if these people worked from home for half of the time, “businesses could improve their bottom line by over $7,900 per new telecommuter per year—the result of lower real estate, electricity, absenteeism, and turnover costs together with increased employee productivity.”

Undress for Success found that, thanks to teleworking:

• Sun Microsystems saves $70 million a year in real estate alone;
• McKesson saves $2 million a year in real estate and other expenses;
• Dow Chemical saved a third of its non-real estate costs through telework;
• Best Buy, British Telecom, JD Edwards, and American Express show home-based employees to be 20-40% more productive than their office counterparts.

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The Summit on Leading Diversity

The Summit on Leading Diversity is the nation’s premiere diversity event and plays an integral role in creating and sustaining inclusive work environments that enable organizations to operate more effectively in a global marketplace. Linkage prides itself on the quality and depth of the program and remains committed to showcasing a collection of the most vital tools, strategies, and best-practices available in the diversity field.

  • Examine progress from a 10 year perspective in the context of future vision and goals
  • Gain best and next practices in Diversity and Inclusion
  • Explore future trends in workforce demographics and talent management
  • Establish accountability measures in diversity management
  • Respond effectively to globalization through your diversity initiative
  • Understand how social responsibility impacts systemic worldwide diversity and inclusion outcomes
  • Participate in honest dialogue exploring race relations, privilege, and barriers to inclusion
  • Adopt behaviors and attributes that embody inclusive leadership

Register here

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Investing in Energy: Charting a Course in a Changing Landscape

Global demand and supply pressures have combined to create a new pricing paradigm for both crude oil and natural gas, leading to unprecedented volatility in prices, significant developments in nonconventional crude and natural gas supply, and a political realignment based on energy politics, the likes of which has not been seen for decades. Join us in the home of one of the world’s largest nonconventional energy reserves to hear industry experts, investors, analysts, and peers offer their insights into new developments and the future direction of one of the most significant industries in the world today

Who Should Attend

  • Portfolio managers
  • Portfolio strategists
  • Research directors
  • Analysts
  • Economists
  • Other professionals interested in the future of energy production

Register here

In collaboration with the Calgary CFA Society

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Voices of Experience: Tina Hallett, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers UK

tina_photo_1_.JPGby Elizabeth Harrin (London)

This afternoon, Tina Hallett is going to the culmination event of one of her coaching sets. Hallett is a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers UK and she knows how to make connections.

Hallett works in PwC’s Change Consulting business, specialising in government departments. She started her career as a chartered accountant, then moved into tax, before joining the People & Change practice.

Now her day job focuses on getting the best out of people, not numbers. She set up Coaching Squared, an initiative that brings together top middle managers from public and private sector organisations and places them in co-coaching partnerships for nine months.

“I met with the Ministry of Justice [formerly the Department of Constitutional Affairs],” Hallett explains. “They were setting up a women’s network.” At the time, Hallett chaired PwCWomen, and the government department wanted to learn how it was done. “Gus O’Donnell, the then Cabinet Secretary, was very keen on cross-private/public sector initiatives.” As the discussion progressed, it became clear that it was in both organisations’ interest to do something together. Twelve women from each organisation met at a half-day event on co-coaching and paired up.

Since then, Coaching Squared has “grown and grown from those early roots,” Hallett says. “There were six organisations involved the first time; now we have about 30 and cover four strands: women, the disabled, minorities and gay and lesbians.”

Partly, the organizations self-select and, in the private sector it’s often word of mouth that leads to the first approach. The actual coaching programme doesn’t take up a lot of time, as the women taking part manage it themselves. “I go to the first event to kick it off, see them again half way through, and at the end, to stay engaged,” she says. The women then take responsibility for their own development and set their own activities. One, for example, work-shadowed a human rights expert in the Ministry of Justice. “It’s a new buddy in a work context,” Hallet says. “Often at work you only meet people from your own organisation.” The Coaching Squared programme allows participants to broaden their horizons in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

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How Women Are Changing Philanthropy

Women are increasingly involved in philanthropy – both as individuals and as employees and board members of foundations and not-for-profit organizations. Compared to men, we have a different approach to philanthropy, which is having a significant impact on the field. In this panel discussion we’ll focus on how women are changing philanthropy through their:

-Careers – Are women working in philanthropy concentrated in any specific area or function?

-Causes – Do women and men give to different causes?

-Caution – How do women and men differ in their overall approach to giving - dollar amounts; other types of donations and involvement?

Panelist:

Ana Oliveira is President & CEO of The New York Women’s Foundation.

Holly Isdale built Lehman Brother's Private Investment Management Division, offering comprehensive wealth advisory services combining investments with a variety of tax and estate planning techniques.

Jo Maitland Weiss was Director of Workplace Strategies in the Lehman Brother’s Diversity & Inclusion group.

Moderator:

Sandra A. Lamb, President and CEO of Lamb Advisors, has over 35 years of Wall Street, corporate and nonprofit experience addressing financially complex and critical strategic issues.

To Register or for more information.

-Bring Photo ID, No Walk-Ins

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In Case You Missed It: News Round-Up

martin.jpgContributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group

In case you were too busy to have kept up with all the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has gathered some important market events from last week to help you start this week well informed:

Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Sterlite Industries, part of UK-listed Vedanta Resources, has agreed to buy the operating assets of US copper miner Asarco for $1.7bn. Asarco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2005 after being sued for asbestos, environmental and pollution claims. Sterlite will assume the operating liabilities, but not the legacy liabilities for asbestos and environmental claims. The deal will see Sterlite pay $1.1bn in cash and then a further $600m in senior secured non-interest bearing promissory notes. The promissory notes will be issued over 9 years, starting at $20m per year from year 2, with a final terminal ‘payment’ of $460m in 2018. The amount of promissory notes issued could increase if the copper price rises above $6000 a tonne. The agreement is still subject to US bankruptcy court approval. RBS Securities advised Sterlite and Asarco was advised by Barclays Capital.

  • Pharmaceutical company Merck announced an agreed takeover of its rival Schering-Plough for $41bn. The deal will create one of the world’s biggest drugmakers and is being achieved by a reverse takeover with the smaller Schering-Plough technically acquiring Merck. The deal has been structured in this way to remove the need for Schering to give up its right to a lucrative immunological drug Remicade to its partner Johnson & Johnson. The takeover is the latest in the sector, following Pfizer’s $68bn deal for Wyeth in January and the ongoing negotiations for Roche to takeover Genentech.

  • Apparently the Merck/Schering-Plough deal was code named Project Solar, with Merck referred to as Mercury and Schering-Plough as Saturn. In a reflection of the troubled financial markets Merck is required to pay Schering-Plough $2.5bn if it fails to provide finance for the deal. A similar clause requires Schering-Plough to pay $1.25bn to Merck if it identifies an alternative, superior deal.

  • Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche won backing from the independent directors of US biotechnology firm Genentech for its latest $95 per share bid. Roche has raised its bid for the 44% of Genentech it does not own from $89 per share. If successful, the purchase will cost Roche $47bn.

  • Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the private equity firm that owns the British pharmacy chain Alliance Boots, has made an approach to acquire Phoenix, a German drug wholesaler that delivers to more than 43,000 pharmacies in 23 countries. Phoenix could be valued at about €4bn.

  • The pending legal action by Rohm and Haas against Dow Chemical was delayed as the companies continued to negotiate to resurrect the deal to merge the two companies. Dow had refused to complete the merger in January because under the terms, it would have caused ‘irreparable harm’ to both companies. Rohm and Hass argued it is under no obligation to modify the terms, and threatened to commence legal action. Read more

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The Women’s Economic Summit



Did you know….

  • By the year 2010, women will control 60% of the wealth of the US?
  • Over the last 30 years, women have filled two out of every three new jobs worldwide?
  • 10.1 million firms are owned by women, employ more than 13 million people, and generate $1.9 trillion in sales as of 2008?

Join us for a unique event focusing on the increasingly powerful role of women in the business and economic worlds.

Together, we will explore where we’ve been, chart the progress and influence women have on the world today, and illuminate the economic power of women of the future. You will learn from some of the world’s leading experts on the economics of women, including Alison Maitland, co‐author of Why Women Mean Business‐ Understanding the Emergence of our Next Economic Revolution; Beverly A. Holmes, Chair for the Center for Women’s Business Research; Marie Cocco, award‐winning columnist of the Washington Post; and former Lt. Governor Evelyn Murphy, author of Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It.

And you will walk away with powerful tools and strategies to strengthen and grow your economic influence, both personally and professionally.

For information, contact Susanne Ferarra, MVVF – Women’s Collaborative, at sferrara@mvvf.org or Kate McDonough at kate@waterfieldbc.com.

More information and registration are available at https://summit.mvvf.org

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Presented by the MVVF Women’s Collaborative in association with: National Association of Women Business Owners: Boston Chapter – Massachusetts League of Women Voters – North Shore Women in Business – Simmons College – State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance – University of Massachusetts Lowell – Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology – Women’s Success Network

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Eating Well While Working

iStock_000005697170XSmall_1_.jpgBy Heather Chapman (New York City)

It’s all too easy to skip eating a proper meal these days; the long hours at our desks, on the phone, or in meetings leave us promising ourselves that tomorrow will be different. We’ll make time to go to the grocery store tonight, get up just a bit earlier to buy something, or will actually take time for lunch. Too often though, that plan gets pushed off until ‘tomorrow’ and we’re left without anything healthy to eat and several more hours ahead of us. It’s a worrying habit – one that can leave you tired, stressed, irritable, and hungry.

The whole cycle becomes worse when you factor in that many people don’t make the time for breakfast either. Not only does breakfast give us the fuel to start a new day, it also helps us maintain our weight. When we skip a meal, our body switches to starvation mode and slows down our metabolism as a means to compensate. Then, when we try and catch up at the next meal, we tend to overeat in an attempt to ingest enough calories to make up for the missing meal. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t work like that and by trying to catch-up we end up making things worse.
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