Indra Nooyi is one woman who has broken the glass ceiling. Named CFO of PepsiCo in 2001, she went on to become the company’s fifth CEO in July 2006. During her keynote speech at the Catalyst Awards last week in New York City, a rapt audience of mostly women from over 100 companies laughed and nodded at her advice on various topics. Here are a few highlights from this gracious and accomplished woman: Indra Nooyi opened her remarks by saying that she suspected that everyone in the room knew the huge difference that a welcoming environment can make. Indra explained that PepsiCo embraced who she was and so she never had to waste energy trying to be something other than who she is. Her keyword for the audience was “authenticity.” Read more
The Glass Hammer returns to one of its favorite hobbies, writing restaurant reviews, this time, for top eateries in Midtown Manhattan. (Alright, our hobby isn’t writing the reviews exactly, but we do love the research!) Below, find three recommendations to wow clients and celebrate with co-workers for a job well done. Our reviews of Jean Georges, Picholine and Sushi Yasuda after the jump ….
This week, BusinessWeek released its Top 50 list of all-star performers. The list identifies top performers across the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500. BusinessWeek notes that this list of executives is the most international ever, with companies across the globe represented. Trends emerged in the energy sector, where winning performers were able to capitalize on higher energy costs, and in the housing sector, where rising stars were able to take advantage of the housing boom before it went bust.
After ten years at the helm of eBay, President and CEO Meg Whitman announced that she intends to retire effective today, March 31, 2008. A visionary in the field of online commerce and a true leader, Ms. Whitman offers a Voice of Experience for young women in business. She will be succeeded by John Donahoe, 47, who has headed eBay’s auction and e-commerce businesses.Meg Whitman became President and CEO of eBay, the online auction website, in 1998. One of only 12 female CEOs in the Fortune 500, she has lead eBay with a vision and unique sense of direction that has enabled the company to grow from a small online trading website to the largest e-commerce site in the world. When she took the helm of eBay, Ms. Whitman focused on building the eBay brand into a household name, and improving consumer trust and confidence in the online commerce experience. Read more
“I don’t like the word balance,” Annemarie DiCola said, when asked how she balances her career and personal life. “It implies a perfect symmetry.”
Annemarie DiCola is the Chief Executive Officer of Trepp LLC, a leading technology company in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) sector. Ms. DiCola began her career in law after she earned her degree at New York University Law School and worked at a private law firm. Due to some unexpected twists and turns in her career, she found herself at Trepp.
To continue our Voice of Experience series with another up and coming young woman in finance, The Glass Hammer interviewed Jennifer Ralph Oppold, a research analyst at a long/short hedge fund with about $6.5 billion under management that invests in small and mid-cap companies.
Educational Background and Early Work Experience
Jen graduated from Princeton in 2001 with a BA in International Relations. From there, she went on to work as a business analyst at McKinsey in New York, where she focused on strategic management consulting. At McKinsey, Jen was able to hone her skills in analysis, communication and problem solving.
There is one word that describes why I go to the Columbia Women in Business (CWIB) conference every year: inspiration. Every year, I leave the day-long event feeling invigorated, thrilled, exhausted, and tremendously inspired by the wisdom shared by the experienced women in finance who speak at the conference. This year was no exception.
Columbia Women in Business, an organization for women business students at Columbia University in New York City, sponsors the annual conference. The organization helps their members with networking and access to resources that can help their professional careers. The conference brings together Columbia students, alumnae, and other professionals for a day of networking, workshops and panel discussions, all designed to help attendees address various career and life issues.
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.
Contributed by Heather Cassell, Glass Hammer contributor and freelance writer in San Francisco.
As many of you loyal Glass Hammer readers know, we love the practical and down-to-earth financial advice for women offered by personal finance guru Suze Orman. In a recent interview with a Glass Hammer contributor, Orman explained that she didn’t buy into gender differences regarding how men and women think about and handle their money until five years into her Emmy Award-winning financial show, The Suze Orman Show, on CNBC. After listening to five years of callers’ questions and observing her own friends’ relationships with money, she began examining the differences in how women and men handle money.
For this second installment of business book reviews, our editorial staff has reviewed two of their recent favorites:
- Trade Up! Five Steps for Redesigning your Leadership and Life from the Inside Out, by Rayona Sharpnack
- Spiral Up: and other Management Secrets Behind Wildly Successful Initiatives, by Jane Linder.
As you might imagine from their upwardly mobile titles, both books provide advice and encouragement to women looking to move up in the ranks at work, and harness the power and confidence to succeed in life. Sort of like the literary version of buying a coveted handbag or treating yourself to some full-fat ice cream, both of these books are a great start to a career pick-me-up.