Global Diversity: Creating a Level Playing Field For Women

Colloquium topics include: · Understanding the Global Economic Crisis and Its Long-term Implications, which will be addressed by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Board Director *Terry Savage, the author of The Savage Truth About Money* and Chicago Sun-Times personal finance columnist; · Keeping Diversity Front and Center, which explores sustainable diversity strategies that transcend economic melt-downs, to be led by *Andres Tapia, Senior Vice President of Hewitt Associates; · Implementing Diversity Across Borders –* in which representatives from German, Mexican and Canadian companies share what has worked in implementing gender equity strategies in their respective countries; · Work/life Balance and Leadership from the Top – the featured Luncheon Program offers participants the opportunity to hear from *Pernille Spiers-Lopez, President of IKEA USA, whose company has been cited repeatedly as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work for”; and · European and U.S. Work Cultures and Their Impact on Gender Equity* in which senior officers from French, German, and Swedish companies share their views on the differing work cultures in which they operate. 2009 Colloquium Presenters
Convener: Irene Natividad, President, Global Summit of Women Ms. Natividad brings women corporate, government and non-profit leaders together annually for a global gathering which has come to be called the "Davos for Women", which focuses on accelerating the economic growth of women. She also Chairs Corporate Women Directors International, which promotes increased participation of women on corporate boards. Recognized for her work on behalf of women, she was named one of “21 Leaders for the 21^st Century” by Women’s E-news; one of the “25 Most Influential Working Mothers” by Working Mother magazine; one of “America’s 100 Most Important Women” by Ladies Home Journal, among others.
Carmina Abad, Vice President, Distribution and Marketing, MetLife Mexico Carmina Abad is the Vice President of Distribution and Marketing of MetLife Mexico, the largest insurer in the Mexican Market. In this position, Ms. Abad is responsible for the Government and Private institutional and individual business (generating almost the 90% of the annual income in MetLife Mexico), and also heads the Marketing, and Government and Industry Relations areas. In addition, she is the Diversity Officer for MetLife in Latin America. Ms. Abad was ranked as one of the Top Executive Women in 2007 by Mundo Ejecutivo and since 2006 has appeared in the list of the 50 Most Influential Women in Mexican Business published by the Magazine Expansión.
Stephanie Dawkins, Senior Vice President, AB Volvo Stephanie Dawkins, Senior Vice President for AB Volvo, is the first and only African American to hold an executive position at this level in the 80-year history of AB Volvo. In her position, Ms. Dawkins has global responsibilities for various worldwide HR processes for the Volvo Group, including Labor and Employee Relations, Safety and the Working Environment, Health and Well-being, and Organizational Effectiveness, among others. Together with a team of HR professionals, she travels worldwide and is charged with leading Volvo’s Human Resources organization into a “Best in Class” operation.
Mechthilde Maier, Senior Vice President Group Diversity Management, Deutsche Telekom After serving in various positions with Deutsche Telekom, Mechthilde Maier was appointed Deutsche Telekom’s Senior Vice President, Group Diversity Management in August 2008. Previously, Ms. Maier was Managing Director and Member of the Board of Directors, T-Systems International, Serviceline IT-Operations. Aside from her positions at Deutsche Telekom in Germany, she also spent a year as Vice Director of Human Resources Management for Deutsche Telekom in South Africa.
Maureen Montgomery, Human Resources Manager, Procter & Gamble Fine Fragrances Based in Geneva Switzerland Maureen is currently serving as the Procter & Gamble Global Fine Fragrances Human Resources Manager. The business includes brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, HugoBoss, and Lacoste. In addition, Ms. Montgomery is currently leading the Procter & Gamble diversity effort in Western Europe. Since beginning her career at Procter & Gamble in 1987, she has held positions in manufacturing before transitioning to Human Resources in 1998.
Terry Savage, Author and Personal Finance Columnist, Chicago Sun Times A nationally known expert on personal finance and a regular television commentator on CNN, CNBC, PBS, and NBC on issues related to investing and financial markets, Terry Savage is the nationally syndicated **Chicago Sun-Times** personal finance columnist. Her best-selling book, The Savage Truth on Money, was named one of the ten best money books of the year by Amazon.com, and was made into a television special which aired on PBS. Ms Savage started her career as a stockbroker, and became a founding member -- and the first woman trader -- on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and previously served on the boards of McDonald's Corporation and Pennzoil-Quaker State Corporation.
Ursula Schwarzenbart, Director, Global Diversity Management, Daimler AG Director of Global Diversity Management at Daimler AG, Ursula Schwarzenbart is a 20-year veteran, who has served in various units of the largest German automobile company. After completing her university education in Social and Behavioral Sciences in 1988, she began her career at DaimlerBenz’s Plant Sindelfingen, where she worked on the first behavioral-based training for supervisors and other professionals in that location. This was followed with increasing areas of responsibility in the field of human resources within various sectors of the company. In 2000, she implemented the worldwide roll-out of the new Performance and Potential Management System, which led to her current position at Daimler.
Glenda Shelby, Vice President for Global Diversity and Human Resources, Accor North America Glenda Shelby is Vice President for Global Diversity and Human Resources at Accor North America. With 20 years of Human Resources and Diversity experience, Ms. Shelby is responsible for developing, administering and executing the workforce, workplace, and marketplace diversity management strategies for the corporate office as well as within each Accor Brand – Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis, Red Roof Inn, Studio 6, and Motel 6. She is also responsible for the recruiting and human resource business partnerships for the corporate office. In addition, she serves as the administrator and coordinator of Accor’s corporate mentoring program.
Pernille Spiers-Lopez, President, IKEA USA and Global Human Resources Manager, IKEA Pernille Spiers-Lopez is the President of IKEA North America and Global HR Manager. During her tenure as President of IKEA North America, IKEA has been named to Working Mother magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies for 2003, 2004 and 2005” and FORTUNE’S "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for three consecutive years. Prior to joining IKEA, Ms. Speirs-Lopez worked with several smaller retail operations, and oversaw 24 Door Store furniture locations. She originally came to IKEA North America in 1990, as Marketplace Manager for the West Coast IKEA stores, and later moved on to become store manager in Pittsburgh. In this role, she was instrumental in developing and implementing progressive policies to benefit all at IKEA.
Andrés Tapia, Chief Diversity Officer and Emerging Workforce Solutions Leader, Hewitt Associates Andrés Tapia is Hewitt’s Chief Diversity Officer and Emerging Workforce Solutions Leader, responsible for leading the company’s internal and external diversity vision and strategies. Previously a journalist, he covered social trends in the U.S. and Latin America via articles in publications such as the Baltimore Sun, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and VOCÊ (Brazil), among others. Mr. Tapia’s experiences in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Spain, India, Kenya, and throughout Latin America and his native Perú have equipped him with a true global perspective. Mr. Tapia has received the numerous recognitions including the Hewitt Exemplary Leader Award (2005), Chicago United’s Business Leader of Color Award (2007), CDO Exemplary List published by Diversity Best Practices in FORTUNE magazine (2006), and Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement Éxito Award (2008).