Last Friday, on November 8, 2024, Columbia Women in Business (CWIB) hosted its 31st Annual Conference, themed Crossroads: Women Building Bridges & Beyond 🌉 The event kicked off with a reception at Versa Rooftop on 11/7, followed by notes by CWiB Co-President Keertana Krishnan ('25) and opening remarks with Vice Dean Katie Conway of Columbia Business School on 11/8. 🔑 The conference featured a keynote fireside chat with Victoria’s Secret & Co. CEO, Hillary Super, moderated by CWiB Co-President Ainsley Coen (Fahey) (‘25). Super discussed the importance of self-awareness, leveraging strengths, and authenticity in career success. Our morning then proceeded with lightning talks ⚡ from jatee kearsley, discussing emotional strengths, Shari Reichenberg on the power of rewriting your path, and Hillary Wool, who taught us about finding opportunity in your setbacks. Attendees could then choose from one of three panels in our "Industry Insights" block. Food & Bev: Nourishing Change was moderated by Nina Oduro, and featured Margaret Nyamumbo, Sabah Ashraf, and Mavis-Jay Sanders. Beauty: Beyond the Mirror, moderated by Elana Drell-Szyfer, featured panelists Tennille Kopiasz, Michelle Jacobs, and Maya Voelk. Finance: Investing in Evolution was moderated by Dayle Hochman Burnes and featured Candice Kountz, Angela Concha, and Shannon Mullen Karches in conversation 👭 Lunch featured a networking opportunity and the first-ever Conference Symposium showcasing woman-owned businesses Bake Me Healthy, OLEADA, Naranjo 141, RegBase, and Serenful. 🧩 The afternoon included two distinct workshops on leadership and career choices, led by Arika Allen and Kalyani Iyer, focusing on personal growth and strategic decision-making. Our second round of panels, titled Generations, included two panels: (i) Mid-Career Perspectives: The Second Act, moderated by Candice Michaelson and featuring Kathryn Karlman, Kristen Connelly, Jennifer Scully-Lerner, and Cherise O'Kennedy, MBA, CPA, CGA, GCB.D. (ii) Young Founders: Next Gen Leadership, moderated by Silja Kim and featuring panelists Lila Sullivan and Olivia C. The conference concluded with closing remarks from the co-chairs and a gameshow-style raffle announcement, where attendees won prizes valued over $1,000. 🌟 A tremendous thank you goes to our Conference Co-Chairs, Seema Korumilli and Julia Hu, who treated the programming as an intense labor of love over the course of six months. 🌟 First-year AVP's Jacqueline Deprey, Maral Mohagheghi, and Meredith (Mimi) Fiertz played crucial roles in the success, as did all volunteers from our board and membership. Special appreciation goes to our financial sponsors BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Centerview Partners, and MTS Health Partners, and the 29 in-kind sponsors whose contributions made the experience unforgettable for all who attended. Finally - thank you to all who participated as an attendee, speaker, panelist, ally and CWiBby! 💙🤍
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