by Sima Matthes
According to a 2007 report, women make up fewer than 5% of the total number of CEOs in the automotive industry. However, the recent appointment of Kim Harris Jones to the position of senior vice president, corporate controller and auditor at Chrysler LLC, may be a sign that the industry on the road to change.
by Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)
Writing for PharmExecutive.com, Kristin Rand recently asked “Where are the women in Pharma?” (article) . The article reported on a study–commissioned by the nonprofit Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and fielded by Booz Allen Hamilton–which showed that, despite a concentrated effort on the part of the industry to ensure diversity, women at the top of pharmacuetical companies remain few and far between.
Perhaps the most telling fact is that the percentage of women in management in pharma showed little, if any, increase, over the course of the five-year period studied. The researchers, drawing on data from 19 US and European pharmaceutical companies, found that women held only 17% of senior management positions and 34% of middle management positions over the five years.
The Glass Hammer is hopeful that the following women, already making their marks in the industry, will pave the way for the next wave of women in pharma:
by Margarita Shelley-Smith (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
The Glass Hammer recently spoke with Michelle Crumm, the co-founder and chief business officer of Adaptive Materials, an innovative company in Ann Arbor, MI. Adaptive Materials (AM) develops portable, quiet and efficient fuel cell systems capable of converting low cost, ecologically friendly fuel into electrical energy. These devices are already being used by the United States Armed Forces, commercial industries, and in emergency response situations by the Department of Defense.
Michelle Crumm, the business mind behind the success of the company, is a licensed CPA, with an MBA from University of Michigan. She was awarded the Crain’s Detroit Business “Most Influential Women” award in 2007 and was named one of “2008 Women of the Year” by the Enterprising Women magazine. Under her guidance, the company grew from a start-up into a manufacturing enterprise with double-digit increase in revenue. In March, the company moved to brand-new 47,000 square foot headquarters, and noted that its staff had tripled in the past year.
by Heather Cassell (San Francisco)
What do Liquid Paper, the submarine telescope and lamp, Kevlar, the windshield wiper, and the rotary engine have in common? They were all invented by women. Women have been creating innovative technologies that benefit the lives of people worldwide since before the start of the Industrial Revolution; however, until relatively recently, few, if any, women have been acknowledged for such achievements.
The Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology is helping to fill the recognition gap with the Women of Vision awards. The Institute, an organization that provides resources and programs to help the public and private sectors recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in high tech fields, created these awards nearly three years ago to recognize and honor women’s achievements in innovation, leadership and social impact through technology.
by Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)
Last week, Fortune named its Global 500 companies. This year, women lead 12 of those companies, an increase of 2 women over the prior year’s list.
Less than a week later, however, it was announced that Patricia Russo, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent and architect of the merger, will be stepping down by year’s end. Since the merger of Alcatel and Lucent in 2006, Russo has implemented a restructuring plan, which called for the firing of 12,500 workers. According to TheStreet.com, investors had been calling for Russo’s ouster since the merger, upset with the company’s performance and her pay package.
It’s the first bud of the spring that gets noticed. It pokes its head out of the dirt, and blooms regardless of whether others around it are doing the same thing. This is true of women at the top of corporations as well. Often, they’re the only women at the table, and even as their numbers increase, they do so slowly, causing us to take notice of big appointments when they occur.
This week, Lynn Laverty Elsenhans was elected Chief Executive Officer and President of Sunoco Inc. Ms. Elsenhans is Sunoco’s first female CEO and President, following her tenure at Royal Dutch Shell, and replaces John Drosdick upon his retirement in August. Ms. Elsenhans holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Rice University, and an MBA from Harvard. Ms. Elsenhans will receive an initial salary of $1.24 million and a onetime grant of restricted share units equal in value to $5 million, the company said. According to the Wall Street Journal, this appointment increases the number of women at the head of Fortune 500 companies to 13.
by Margarita Shelley-Smith
While numerous publications and analysts address the question of women’s inability to successfully manage high risk investments and understand the nuances of portfolio management, Sonia Gardner is a clear example to the contrary.
On June 5th, 2008, 100 Women in Hedge Funds named Sonia Gardner of Avenue Capital Group as a recipient of this year’s Leadership Award. This award recognizes individuals whose professional dedication, innovation, passion and ethics set a standard of excellence for the industry. “We are so pleased to be honoring Sonia Gardner, whose combined achievements as a founder, partner and leader of a pioneering, pre-eminent alternative asset management firm are unique,” said the board director, Mimi Drake.
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By: Bailey McCann
Recently, Glass Hammer spoke with Maria McLaughlin, the Director of Marketing for Appro International, a technology firm in Milpitas, California. Appro specializes in high performance computing for the oil and gas and financial services industries; government labs, energy and defense departments; electronic design automation; digital content creation; education and manufacturing sectors.
According to the company website, Maria McLaughlin joined Appro in 2002 and has responsibility for all Appro’s marketing, which includes branding, market analysis, perception improvement, marketing communications, and demand creation. She is also responsible for coordinating the product-definition and Go-to-Market Plan activities across Appro. Prior to her role at Appro, Ms. McLaughlin worked at Hewlett-Packard and 3M Corporation.
Ms. McLaughlin is the only woman on the 8-member executive team. When she started at Appro, there was no marketing department, a deficiency that relegated the company to serving a niche market. But before she could help take the company’s message to a larger consumer base, she had to prove her own value, as well as the value of marketing, to the company. During our interview, she offered insights on how she successfully created a now-thriving department and overcame any negative preconceptions of a woman in technology marketing.
By: Heather Cassell
Women are on the move in May and June into the executive suites of top industries.
Biotech
Pamela Cohen was hired as senior vice president and chief medical officer of Kosan Biosciences Inc. She was formerly the global oncology therapeutic head for GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics. Jane Moffitt became vice president of Nile Therapeutics Inc. in San Francisco. She formerly was the West Coast director of operations for SciLucent before joining the cardiovascular therapy biopharma. Mary Bolton was hired as vice president, clinical development of Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Judith Fox was promoted to vice president, product and preclinical development of the oncology therapeutics biopharma.
Contributed by Pamela Capalad
In the last ten years, there has been a growing trend among women in finance. The number of Hispanic women taking high-powered roles in the business and financial sectors has increased significantly. Since 1997, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses has grown 82 percent, making it one of the “fastest growing business segments in the nation” and more than one third of those businesses are owned by Hispanic women. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Hispanic women earning bachelor’s degrees has increased 150 percent and Hispanic women earning master’s degrees has grown 164 percent. This increase in education and business ownership has translated to increased opportunities for Hispanic women in business, law and finance in the last decade.
From a CFO of the ad agency responsible for those relaxing Corona commercials to a high-powered attorney with a heart of gold to the president of a microfinance firm, this growing force of Hispanic women in business proves that these top ten women are not only eclectic and talented, but take pride in giving back to their communities as well.