By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)
Being a professional in the working world today is tough. Between clients, business meetings, and family, very few women have the time or energy to take on extra projects. Recent surveys have shown that the green movement is slowly finding its way into corporate offices. If major corporations can find the time and resources to “greenovate” during these trying economic times, there’s no excuse as to why your home office can’t get an eco-friendly facelift of its own.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 million Americans work from home a couple of days a week. Essentially, that means the added energy use from lights and office equipment and extra paper consumption from faxes, sticky-notes, and computer printouts is taking its toll on the environment as we speak. The idea of turning your home office into an efficient, eco-friendly workspace may seem overwhelming at first, but rest assured it’s not as difficult or time-consuming as you may think. Taking the time to consider a few minor adjustments will make a big difference in your life and to the lifespan of the planet.
Greening your home office doesn’t have to entail an entire overhaul that takes weeks to complete. As a matter of fact, getting rid of your old things is wasteful and defeats the purpose of greening. You don’t have to rip out your carpet and replace it with cork flooring or ditch all of your office furniture for new hemp furniture. Kelly LaPlante, celebrity interior designer, owner of Organic Interior Design in Venice Beach, CA, and author of écologique: The Style of Sustainable Design, knows green design inside and out and says one of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to throw out all of your non-green items and start from scratch. “You can’t green your office from the perspective that you’re going to buy all new eco-products. The greenest thing you can do is nothing at all. Keep what you already have and don’t send things off to a landfill and contribute to the environmental impact that new production has on the environment. Start with the principal of reusing or repurposing already existing items in new and interesting ways,” LaPlante said. Bookshelves can be painted, existing chairs can be upholstered in organic fabrics, walls can be painted with low VOC paints- you get the idea.
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Voice of Experience: Grace Leiblein, President and Managing Director, GM de Mexico
Voices of ExperienceGrace Leiblein has been working for GM since she was 18 years old. While attending college at General Motors Institute (now called Kettering University), she worked with GM as a co-op student in a manufacturing plant. She worked her way up through assignments and ranks, with her last position before her recent promotion being the global chief engineer responsible for overseeing the engineering of all several hundred engineers (internal and supplier engineers) working on crossover vehicles like the Acadia and Chevy Traverse.
Says Leiblein, “I remember when I got that assignment. It was a huge challenge—much larger than I had ever experienced—but it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I grew a tremendous amount both personally and professionally. To be on a project like that and able to start from scratch basically and have your fingerprints all over some products – I’m very proud of the way they turned out, and when I see one of my vehicles on the road I feel personally responsible for them.”
She was appointed President of GM de Mexico at the end of 2008. Although Leiblein has a personal connection with Latin America—her father is Cuban and her mother is Nicaraguan—she has never worked in Latin America in her professional career and is thrilled about the new opportunity. “I’ve always loved Mexico…it is one of my favorite places to be. And it is a great opportunity to lead an entire business unit for a country. To have that kind of responsibility and authority and challenge is wonderful. And the team there is a proven, experienced team of professionals—nationals as well as expats from different countries—so it will be fun to learn from them as well.”
Leiblein advises women not to be afraid to take that stretch assignment, something she has done quite often over the course of her career. “Women in particular have a tendency to shy away from opportunities out of their comfort zone, whether that be moving into an area that they haven’t worked in before or moving to a different city or moving to a different country. If you really want to progress in an organization you have to take on those opportunities because that is (1) how you grow personally and professionally and (2) it is how leadership really looks at your adaptability for progression (watching how you do in situations where what you are doing is different from what you know).”
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Third Annual Conference Global Transfer Pricing
NewsDue to globalization Transfer Pricing is becoming more important and complex by the minute. The more cross-border transactions have been made within international corporations the more strategic planning and fast reactions are needed. Corporations are facing company audits by different national fiscal authorities, which increases the risk of double taxation. The credit crunch and the current financial situation have produced challenges of how to deal with capital loss instead of gain.
Join our 3rd international transfer pricing conference and
Hear about recent OECD and EU discussion drafts relating to Business Restructuring, Permanent Establishments and Transactional Profit Methods
Discuss the new transfer pricing regulations in China and find out how they will influence your business
Learn about dealing with royalties on an international level and how to set and negotiate rates
Manage tax audits internationally and on multiple fronts by handling transfer pricing systems effectively
Handling Business Restructurings in Asia and Eastern Europe – special focus: contract manufacturing and marketing companies
This international congress is developed for Directors, Heads of Department and Project Managers in the areas of Tax, Tax Planning, Transfer Pricing, Finance and Corporate Controlling.
Register now
Greening Your Office: Saving Money While Saving the Planet
NewsIncreased environmental consciousness and a heightened attention to the bottom line are driving a new green movement among law firms and other businesses. Our panelists will discuss ways in which businesses are assessing and reducing energy and resource consumption in their offices and saving money in the process. The program will be targeted to lawyers, business professionals, office and facilities managers and others who are concerned about these issues.Moderator:
EDNA SUSSMAN, SussmanADR LLCSpeakers:
BILL BLACKBURN, William Blackburn Consulting, Ltd.; JENNIFER HOGAN, Arnold & Porter LLP; SUSAN LoPICCOLO, Pfizer Global Engineering; FRANK NAPOLI, Con Edison Solutions; DAN PETERS, IBM Global Energy Conservation Process Integration; JOHN ROUSAKIS, O’Melveny & Myers LLP; BRUCE THORPE, WSP Environment & Energy LLC
Co-sponsored by:
U.S. Green Building Council, NYC Chapter
To register, please contact Judith Wallace at wallace@clm.com.
In Case You Missed It: News Round-up
NewsIn 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
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2009 Summit on the Future of Pensions: From Crisis to Sustainability
NewsTimes have changed for Canada’s pension leaders.
In our 2008 pensions survey, most pension managers felt they had put their major funding issues behind them, and were anticipating plan surpluses that would address many of their remaining challenges. What a difference a year makes! Once again pension funding has moved to the top of the corporate agenda, and CFOs and other senior executives have renewed concern about this issue and its impact on their organizations’ long-term outlook. Learn how leading organizations are responding to the current crisis.Benefit from the insights of Canadian and international experts, and learn how they’re dealing with the current funding crisis, and participate in the discussion of longer term strategies you’ll need once the immediate crisis abates.
Learn about upcoming regulatory changes and their impact. Provincial and federal changes may have a huge impact on the near-term outlook for your pension and, combined with the business and financial environment, may necessitate a complete reassessment of your long-term pension strategy. Meet the regulators, discuss the issues with your peers, and refine your long-term perspective.
Register here
Greening Your Home Office
Green is GoodBeing a professional in the working world today is tough. Between clients, business meetings, and family, very few women have the time or energy to take on extra projects. Recent surveys have shown that the green movement is slowly finding its way into corporate offices. If major corporations can find the time and resources to “greenovate” during these trying economic times, there’s no excuse as to why your home office can’t get an eco-friendly facelift of its own.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 million Americans work from home a couple of days a week. Essentially, that means the added energy use from lights and office equipment and extra paper consumption from faxes, sticky-notes, and computer printouts is taking its toll on the environment as we speak. The idea of turning your home office into an efficient, eco-friendly workspace may seem overwhelming at first, but rest assured it’s not as difficult or time-consuming as you may think. Taking the time to consider a few minor adjustments will make a big difference in your life and to the lifespan of the planet.
Greening your home office doesn’t have to entail an entire overhaul that takes weeks to complete. As a matter of fact, getting rid of your old things is wasteful and defeats the purpose of greening. You don’t have to rip out your carpet and replace it with cork flooring or ditch all of your office furniture for new hemp furniture. Kelly LaPlante, celebrity interior designer, owner of Organic Interior Design in Venice Beach, CA, and author of écologique: The Style of Sustainable Design, knows green design inside and out and says one of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to throw out all of your non-green items and start from scratch. “You can’t green your office from the perspective that you’re going to buy all new eco-products. The greenest thing you can do is nothing at all. Keep what you already have and don’t send things off to a landfill and contribute to the environmental impact that new production has on the environment. Start with the principal of reusing or repurposing already existing items in new and interesting ways,” LaPlante said. Bookshelves can be painted, existing chairs can be upholstered in organic fabrics, walls can be painted with low VOC paints- you get the idea.
Read more
Power of Partnership
NewsAn opportunity for businesses to increase their positive impact on society through their work with the community. At this event businesses and community organisations will have a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face, forge working partnerships and build mutually beneficial relationships.
Power of Partnership is an annual event which inspires, challenges and supports business in continually improving its impact on society. This year the event will illustrate how businesses have brokered successful partnerships with communities in the region through Cares, ProHelp and Business Action on Homelessness. There will be the opportunity for businesses to learn how they can become involved in one of these programmes as well as increase the impact they are already having.Power of Partnership will incorporate workshops and individual surgeries and is open to both businesses and community groups.
For further information, or to reserve your place, please email Carola Vorlop or Marie Smith or call on 0117 972 2111.
NYSBA: Introductory Lessons on Ethics and Civility
NewsThe Commercial and Federal Litigation Section and the Committee on Continuing Legal Education of the New York State Bar Association are pleased to present the 10th annual Introductory Lessons on Ethics and Civility CLE Program.
Designed for all practicing attorneys regardless of their level of expertise, the seminar features a combination of lectures and a colloquium on ethics and civility. Ethical issues faced by attorneys will be explored through a discussion of real-world case scenarios. Panelists include judges, ethics experts and experienced practitioners.
This program includes an overview of the new New York Rules of Professional Conduct. Conflicts of interest and law firm civility issues will also be discussed.
4.0 MCLE CREDITS
Register here
The 7th Annual Michigan Women in Finance Conference
NewsTheme: Thriving in Times of Change
Breakfast, Conference Sessions and Luncheon
Featured speakers include Patricia Aburdene, one of the world’s leading social forecasters and author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism.
Working With the World of Autism
Women and Philanthropy“Being a mother of an autistic child impacts the core of who I am,” says Tracey Gray-Walker, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at AXA Equitable. “Everything I do – even how I work – stems from my experiences with the world of autism.”
Tracey became involved with Autism NJ about 14 years ago when her son was first diagnosed as autistic at the age of three and a half. “It was the first organization I found that provided me with the information, education and resources I was going to need as a parent of an autistic child,” she says. “I got involved to help other families of autistic children and to help create programs and activities to help our children lead more enriched and productive lives. In the beginning, I helped in whatever way I could. As the years went on, I became more involved in organized programs and activities.”
Today, Tracey spends around 12 hours a month volunteering which she balances with a senior role at the life insurance company AXA Equitable and the needs of her own family in Plainfield, NJ. “Balance is a challenge,” she admits. “Recognizing that everything needs to be managed and addressed, then gravitating to what needs to be addressed at that moment. Prioritizing and re-prioritizing. But, when it comes to autism, for me the most important thing is to continue to drive awareness. Autistic people need a voice, they can’t speak for themselves. I always want to be one of those voices.” Read more