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2008 NAWMBA Conference Highlights
Opening Reception
Sponsored by Air Products
University of Connecticut School of Business, Stamford campus was the site of the opening kickoff reception of NAWMBA’s largest conference to date. 1677 students and 124 professionals attended the 2-day conference with 68 companies exhibiting at the career fair.
MBA students, professionals, UConn staff and administration as well as numerous dignitaries mingled on Thursday night during the Opening Reception.
Dean Christopher Earley welcomed everyone and thanked NAWMBA for choosing Stamford as the home of the 2008 “Discover your Potential” conference followed by warm words of welcome by Stamford Mayor Daniel Malloy. Connecticut Lt Governor Michele Fedele followed with words of inspiration as he encouraged us to not let this economic downturn hinder us from pursuing the opportunities before us.
Deborah Anderson, Business Development Manager for North America Merchant Gases, Air Products then spoke about Air Products and the difference Air Products is making for women in corporate America.
The ensuing ribbon cutting ceremony officially opened the NAWMBA 2008 Annual Conference, “Discover Your Potential.”
Student Leadership Meeting
Sponsored by Eaton
On Friday morning, nearly 100 local chapter presidents and representatives joined the National Student Leadership Team (NSLT) for breakfast where they learned about the current and future growth of NAWMBA, including the increase in membership and the newly created chapters. The NSLT announced the addition of four Regional Vice Presidents positions to the 2009 NSLT (see the article below for more information on those VP opportunities). The meeting ended with a group exercise brainstorming the meaning of NAWMBA and the benefits NAWMBA provide the members. The NSLT appreciated the opportunity to meet with the amazing student chapter leaders from across the country. We hope all the student chapters’ leaders enjoyed the breakfast and learned more about the future of NAWMBA.
Career Fair
Economic crisis. Recession. Well known companies recently declaring bankruptcy. Others asking for government funding. Daily headlines about layoffs and increasing unemployment. Not a very positive atmosphere for MBA students job hunting.
However, you didn’t see or hear much about that during the 2008 NAWMBA Annual Career Fair. Companies and students alike were buzzing.
About 1600 students and 70 companies spent the day Friday getting to know one another better and hopefully finding a suitable match.
Students noted the diverse company selection at the NAWMBA Career Fair.
"I was extremely impressed with the wide range of industries and top companies represented at the 2008 NAWMBA Conference. From the CIA, to Bank of America, to Campbell's Soup, there was something there for everyone." - Kate Lehman, MBA student from Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.
Recruiters were also impressed with the students. One recruiter, who participates in 12-15 conferences a year, noted that their company has found some of their best candidate’s to-date at the NAWMBA conference and thought that the women were well-prepared and a pleasure with which to speak.
Many recruiters commented on the professionalism of the women and how well prepared they were. Prior to this year’s Career Fair, NAWMBA organized webinars specifically to help students prepare for the career fair. The three topics covered in each webinar were:
- Preparing for the fair: Researching top companies, determining an approach strategy, resume preparation, portfolio presentation, attire, and networking reception tips
- Outstanding presentation at the fair: Approaching the booths, behavior at the booth, questions, elevator pitch, hand-shake, eye contact, presence, and closing
- Post-fair follow up: Thank you letters and contacts
For the first time this year, NAWMBA’s Annual Career Fair was open to professional women as well. Some of these women were 3-5 years out of their MBA while others already had 15 years post-MBA experience.
A recruiter, who has been coming to the NAWMBA career fair for 5 years, says how much she enjoys the atmosphere here. “It’s like coming home!” What keeps her and her company coming back? The excellent recruits they find. She also spoke about how they are excited that NAWMBA is now also focusing on professional women at the career fair.
Professional Track
2008 saw NAWMBA add a new and very important track to its annual conference: a professional’s track. With two professional chapters launched in 2008 and another three already planned for 2009, this year’s “Discover Your Potential” conference theme was also geared to helping professional women with MBAs discover their potential. A full day program on Friday was held at UConn Stamford’s campus with keynote speakers, workshops, breakout sessions, and a lot of time during breaks and lunch to meet and share ideas with fellow professionals.
One could feel the excitement in the air amongst these already successful women who weren’t looking to rest on their laurels but rather to discover new potential in themselves and their careers. A key note by Judy Pearson on courage started the day off. In the next 2 sessions, the professionals could choose from 7 topics ranging from finance to recruiting, work/life balance, volunteering, the ROI of taking time off, and moving from perfection to passion. The lunchtime break offered an inspirational address by Kim Cannon followed by interactive coaching and workshop sessions. Closing out the day, participants could choose topics such as gender and leadership or being successful in India.
Saturday saw a second full agenda devoted to professionals with opportunities to speed network, learn how to advance in their careers by going abroad or moving into the “C-level.” Specific workshops focused on the non-profit sector while other workshops addressed office politics, entrepreneurship, ethics, and the power of relationships.
Kim Brown
Vice-President Finance, Wal-Mart Home Office
Friday Night Keynote sponsored by UBS
Friday, October 24
Kim’s authentic and frank comments were an inspiration and a source of enjoyment to those attending NAWMBA’s Friday night keynote dinner sponsored by UBS.
Kim joined Wal-Mart with an undergraduate degree in Marketing “because I needed a job.” She wasn’t looking for a career.
Today, almost twenty years later, this “job” has most definitely morphed into a “career.” Kim told us that when she was preparing her notes to share with us, she realized that the real thread throughout her career was getting out of her comfort zone. She had us laughing as with every promotion most of them in number-related positions like audit, inventory, finance even though she pointed out that “I have a marketing degree”!
Many of us could relate.
Kim also gave us three bits of excellent advice. She started by advising everyone to be (or become) an expert in one area. Be the “go to” person in your company for an area, the one people will come to for advice and answers.
Her second piece of advice was to always surround yourself with the best people. Doing this has not only enabled Kim with her marketing degree to succeed in financial roles, but has also allowed her to move on when the next opportunity was offered to her because there was someone able to take on her ‘old’ position.
Finally she noted the crucial role the right mentors have in your career growth. Personally she has 3 to 5 mentors in her life at any time - both professional and personal. As well, she mentors 5 to 8 individuals herself. Both her mentors and those she mentees are a mix of men and women.
In closing Kim mentioned the importance of finding the right company fit. She shared that, “all of this, my career, could not have happened without the right company. Unbeknownst to me some twenty years ago, Wal-Mart was the right company for me and I for them.”
Janet Gurwitch
Saturday Morning Keynote sponsored by Bank of America
Saturday, October 25
Janet Gurwitch brought passion for business to life during her breakfast keynote address. Budding entrepreneurs in the audience received a full course in launching a business, from identification of the idea to recovering from pitfalls that will occur.
The key ingredient in starting the process is perseverance. Janet had that from the moment she landed her first management position with leading Houston retailer, Foley’s. A move to Neiman-Marcus continued to advance Janet’s career and provided valuable experience in the world of luxury markets.
Janet shared some key lessons learned from starting and running the highly successful Laura Mercier cosmetics company:
- An entrepreneur doesn’t have to invent a new product but does have to identify a product that fits a given market--Janet didn’t invent a new cosmetic but focused on offering women a “flawless face.”
- Key relationships built over the course of a career often support you in the new ventur--Neiman-Marcus became a majority investor in Laura Mercier.
- Remain open to new technology or markets that can advance your business--the Laura Mercier website became as important as luxury retail stores .
Having successfully sold Laura Mercier, Janet is now looking for that next opportunity, Her path is a reminder that a career like a great book can consist of different chapters. It will be fascinating to see the chapters that Janet adds to her career.
Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chair, Carlson
Closing Keynote Speaker
Saturday, October 25
“You don’t like it? Fix it.”
These were the words Marilyn’s father used when, as a young girl, she complained about not liking her Sunday School Class. Her father also gave her a plan to “fix it”: go to your room, make a list of how you want to change Sunday School, meet with the Superintendent and share your ideas, and together with him make a plan to implement your suggested changes.
The result? Sunday School changed. So did Marilyn. The lesson she learned that day has been applied throughout her life on a daily basis and is still called upon in her executive positions. She also recommended that attendees of NAWMBA’s 2008 Annual Conference deploy this advice in their professional or school settings post conference.
Marilyn continued by offering a rich history of the events that had shaped her business career. Some of these events must have seemed unbelievable to today’s MBAs. On finally achieving the corner office at her investment firm in the 1960s, Marilyn realized that the real reason she had gotten prime real estate was that she was pregnant and would be out of sight of clients!
Managing a family and a business brought a number of amazing experiences to Marilyn -- From learning to gather the facts and present them in a way that moved the strategy forward to using volunteer activities to keep her skills sharp. Of course, Marilyn was volunteering to bring the Super Bowl to Minnesota in the dead of winter so the power of her persuasion is apparent!
Sharing key moments from her book How We Lead Matters was a highlight of Marilyn’s presentation and provided the audience with amazing thoughts to ponder long after the conference. Her words of encouragement to young businesswomen challenged them to see business as a force for good in the world and to use their skills and leadership to build that force in the future.
Marilyn shared a very poignant story relating to the death of her son which inspired each and every listener. She eventually was able to emerge from her grief by aiming to live each day in a way that mattered. As she told her listeners, “live in such a way that you can sign your name to each day.” There is no doubt that attendees gained leadership lessons for life from this amazing business woman!
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