Speakers:



Susan Schiffer Stautberg

Susan Schiffer Stautberg is Founder of PartnerCom Corporation, which assembles and manages Advisory Boards globally for businesses, governments, and non-profits. PartnerCom also conducts executive searches for Corporate Directors and CEOs. Susan is an innovative, multi-dimensional leader as well as a visionary community and strategic alliance builder in the public, private, and social sectors.

In her capacity as Corporate and non-profit Director, Susan has served on or created the Advisory Boards for Ashbridge, Avis Rent-A-Car, Avon, Bank of America, Bayer Diabetes Care Division, CIGNA, Center for Women's Business Research, Council on Competitiveness, Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, Envision, Flexjet, Goldman Sachs, Investment New Zealand, Key Bank, Link Staffing Services, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Northern Trust, Northwestern Mutual, Oppenheimer Funds, PNC Advisors, Singlepoint, STRATCO, Sun Trust/AMA, Primera, Primex, TIGER 21, and The United Nations Office for Project Services.

Susan co-founded Women Corporate Directors, with over 500 members on over 675 Corporate Boards. WCD has chapters in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/ Fort Worth, Delhi, London, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mumbai, New York, Seattle, Southern California, South Florida, and Washington DC. Chapters in Arizona, Beijing, Hong Kong, Lima, San Francisco/Silicon Valley and Sao Paolo are in formation. Chapters in Cleveland, Doha, Israel, New Zealand, Paris, Scandinavia, and Toronto are currently under discussion.

WCD is the only community of Women Corporate Directors who meet for regional dinners, at International Institutes with Global Guests, and are connected by email for updates, to distribute board opportunities, speaking opportunities, and to conduct surveys. Susan also co-founded On Board Bootcamp, which provides an insider's guide on how to be selected to be a Corporate, Private Company or Advisory Board Director. In addition, Susan founded The Belizean Grove and TARA, constellations of diverse, influential women from five continents, who meet at preeminent retreats to share knowledge and connections.

Susan has received numerous awards and honors, including The Director's Choice Award, was a 2006 Purpose Prize Fellow and was named one of Women's E News' 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. Presidential Commissions, Boards, and Foundations Susan has served on include: The Commission on Presidential Scholars, U.S. Japan Fellowship, The Institute for Educational Affairs, The Defense Advisory Council on Women in the Armed Services and the White House Fellows Foundation and Association. Susan chaired both The Elms Centennial and 60th Anniversary Committees for The Preservation Society of Newport County and is the Secretary of the board of The Preservation Society. Susan is a member of the International Women's Forum, C200, WPO, the Executive Committee of the Women's Middle East Summit, the Encore Leadership Network, and The Economic Club.

As a Westinghouse/Group W TV correspondent covering the White House and Capitol Hill, Susan was the first woman and one of the youngest to head a Washington TV bureau. Susan then became the first TV journalist to be chosen as a White House Fellow where she worked for both Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and Secretary of State Kissinger. Her considerable consumer products experience includes positions as the Directors of Communications for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and for McNeil Consumer Products. After moving to New York, Susan became Director of Communications for Touche Ross (now Deloitte & Touche).

Deciding to become an entrepreneur, Susan founded MasterMedia Ltd., the only company to combine publishing with a speaker's bureau. The quality publishing house produced more than 125 books, including best sellers and Book-of-the Month, Doubleday, Literary Guild, and Reader's Digest selections. The Speakers Bureau worked with some of the foremost businesses and universities in the world.

Susan holds a BA from Wheaton College, a Master's in Public and International Affairs from George Washington University and completed an Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School. As an adjunct professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs at GW, she taught a graduate course, for 3 years, on "Global Visions, Strategies, and Tactics for International Organizations". An effective public speaker, Susan has addressed groups around the world, including leading business schools and national and international conferences. Her writing includes five books; she has written or been featured in numerous articles including International Herald Tribune, Business Week, The New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal, Directorship, The Corporate Board, Directors and Boards, NACD Director's Monthly, The Conference Board Alert, The Financial Times, USA Today, and others. Her on-air interview experience includes Oprah, The Today Show, CBS Evening News, CNN, Sally Jesse Raphael, and many others.

In recognition of her long-time passion for mentoring and opening doors for women, Susan's friends established the Susan Schiffer Stautberg Leadership Foundation, to "identify high potential women and facilitate their ability to make a difference in their communities, their chosen fields, and the world at large."


Sample Guest Speakers

Kim Bishop

Founder and CEO of the career management and leadership services company that bears her name, Kimberly Bishop is in the business of helping organizations and boards with talent - and helping people find jobs and manage their careers. Kim, who herself made a career change and was profiled by The New York Times on that subject, is perfectly suited to help others make a transition regardless of where they are in their careers, their industry, location or culture. A senior executive with over 20 years of business leadership experience, her down-to-earth approach and relationship-building skills are the reason many business leaders and CEOs turn to her for counsel.

Most recently, Kim served as Vice Chair and Board Director of Slayton Search Partners/Boardroom Consultants. Prior to that, she worked as Managing Director at Korn/Ferry International. In both roles, she specialized in the recruitment, assessment, and selection of senior executives and board directors for public and private organizations globally. Previously, she was Executive Vice President at First Data Corporation, where she rose from an entry level position to become the youngest person to serve on the company's leadership team, overseeing its $2 billion card division and 8,000 employees.

Kim appears regularly on CNBC, CNN, NBC, Fox Business, WABC and NY1 News. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, Crains, Money, Fast Company, American Banker, MSN.com and Pink Magazine. Kim has been a guest on NPR and has also hosted the radio show "Business Style with Kimberly B" on VoiceAmerica Network. A sought after speaker, Kim has appeared before prominent national and international groups. These include Execunet, The Conference Board, Kennedy Information Conference, Women as Global Leaders Conference in Dubai, Guru Nation, Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), OnBoard BootCamp, and Women's President Organization (WPO).

Kim currently serves on numerous community, philanthropic, and business boards. She is a director of FDNY Foundation, The Bottomless Closet, and The Committee of 200 (C200), and a member of the Advisory Board of Judlau Contracting, Inc. Kim has been given the Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction award and was honored by the New York Women's Agenda with a STAR Award for her contributions to women and children. Kim received a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communications and a Master of Arts in Leadership, both from Bellevue University. Kim is currently completing a book regarding career change and the job search process.


Barbara Colwell

Barbara Colwell is a Corporate Director who recently resigned her position as Executive Director of ThinkQuest NYC, a not for profit organization dedicated to bringing 21st century learning into inner city classrooms.

Before venturing into the not for profit world, Barbara held senior management positions at priceline.com, CIGNA and TWA.

Her experience as a Corporate Director includes Publishers Clearing House, a multi-channel direct marketing company; Mutual Trust Financial Group, an insurance based financial services provider; Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, a CIGNA company; Innovation Network (Chair 2005-2007); ThinkQuest NYC and Plays for Living.

Barbara also has served on a number of advisory boards/councils including: AMEC Americas, a L2.6 billion multinational engineering/project management firm; GG Bailey.com, the "Car Couture company"; IPTAR (Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research), the Communications advisory board of the Council on Competitiveness and the marketing council of the American Association. She also served on advisory boards for the Saudi Arabia/American Coalition, Avis and KindMark.

Barbara earned her MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business She is a member of the Women's Forum, The Belizean Grove and Women Corporate Directors. For several years she co-taught a graduate course in global strategy at GW's School of International Affairs.


Melissa Means

Melissa Means is a Managing Director with Pearl Meyer & Partners. Melissa's area of expertise include executive and non-employee Director compensation, as well as includes assisting companies in designing, implementing and communicating total compensation strategies and short- and long-term incentive programs. Melissa works closely with Boards and management teams in addressing many issues including executive transitions, contractual arrangements and aligning pay with business strategies. She specializes in working with firms ranging in size from small, private and pre-IPO organizations to large multi-national companies across many different industries such as technology, software, electronic equipment, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, life science instruments, medical device, healthcare, manufacturing and services. Melissa assists Pearl Meyer & Partners with its marketing and brand awareness efforts for the Boston office and leads the firm's Life Science consulting team.

Melissa is a partner with over 15 years of experience in executive and Board compensation. Prior to joining Pearl Meyer & Partners, Melissa held compensation consulting positions at William M. Mercer and Towers Perrin. She also served as a Director of Compensation and Benefits for a pre-IPO company and the Manager of Compensation for a $10 billion for-profit healthcare organization.

Eager to give back to her professional community, Melissa is a speaker and writer on various executive and non-employee Director compensation topics. She is a Certified Compensation Professional and a Certified Equity Professional. She is a member, author and article reviewer for WorldatWork and the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals. She is a member, speaker and author for the National Association of Corporate Directors (New England), where she also serves on the Program Committee. She is also a speaker for the Corporate Directors Group, and is a member of the Woman Corporate Directors and The Boston Club. Melissa grew-up in Ohio and earned her Bachelors of Business Administration degree from Miami University in Ohio.


Janice Reals Ellig

Janice is Co-CEO of Chadick Ellig. With over 20 years of experience as a senior-level corporate executive, Janice has worked extensively with CEOs and Boards of Directors on talent management and succession planning.

Previously, Janice was Senior VP with Ambac Financial Group, responsible for Marketing, Human Resource and Administration. As a member of Ambac's Executive Committee, she helped take the company public after a spin-off from Citibank in 1991. Earlier in her career, Janice held HR positions at Citigroup in the Global Insurance Division and the Card Products Group, and at Pfizer in their Consumer Products Division.

Janice has co-authored two books: Driving The Career Highway, 20 Road Signs You Can't Afford To Miss (2007) and What Every Successful Woman Knows: 12 Breakthrough Strategies to Get the Power and Ignite Your Career (2001), acknowledged by Business Week as "the best of its genre." In addition, Janice recently co-authored an article for Directors & Boards entitled, "Getting from a good to a great board."

Janice is a frequent speaker at company and association sponsored symposiums on women's initiatives and career management issues. She also moderates panels such as the University of Wisconsin's Directors Institute on "Building Stronger Corporate Boards."

Hailed by Business Week as one of the "Worlds Most Influential Headhunters," Janice was also named one of 2007's "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" by Women's eNews (Read the article or See the video). She is a recipient of the Channel 21 Award In Excellence for her contribution to "Excellence in the Economic Development for Women" and the 2008 Eleanor Raynolds AESC Award for Volunteerism. She is Immediate Past Chair of the YMCA Board of Greater New York and Executive Committee and Board Director of the University of Iowa Foundation. Janice also serves on the Simmons College, School of Management Advisory Board, the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Women's Forum and The Economic Club of NY. A native New Yorker, Janice resides in New York City with her husband, Bruce Ellig.


Susan Schiffer Stautberg

Susan has long been a pioneer. She was the first woman to head a Washington TV bureau, the first TV journalist to be chosen as a White House Fellow, and the first woman to head the Communications Departments of several major organizations. In her forties, realizing that she wanted more fulfilling work than just advancement, she became an entrepreneur and founded MasterMedia, the only company to combine publishing with a speaker's bureau. In her fifties, she adopted a new mission, to create access to power for leaders from unconventional backgrounds.

Susan is President of PartnerCom, which creates and manages Advisory Boards globally to help diversify power within corporations. Over the past eight years, PartnerCom has placed more than 250 women and minorities on corporate boards.

She co-founded Women Corporate Directors, with over 600 members on over 800 Corporate Boards. WCD has 23 chapters around the world. WCD is the only global membership organization and community of Women Corporate Directors. WCD has chapters, or is launching soon, in Arizona, Atlanta, Beijing, Bogota, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Delhi, Hong Kong, Lima, London, Mexico City, Minnesota, Mumbai, New York, Northern/Central Europe, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Southern California, South Florida, Toronto, and Washington DC. Chapters in formation include: Cairo, Doha, and Shanghai. WCD is the only globally community of Women Corporate Directors.

She also co-founded On Board Bootcamp, which provides an insider's guide on how to be selected to be a Corporate, Private Company or Advisory Board Director, by introducing candidates to experienced directors and search firms and helping them create strategies for advancement.

Her writing includes five books; Susan has written or been featured in numerous articles including Business Week, The New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal, Directorship, The Corporate Board, Directors and Boards, NACD Director's Monthly, The Financial Times, and USA Today and others. Her on-air interviews include Oprah, The Today Show, CBS Evening News, CNN, Sally Jesse Raphael, and more. The Susan Schiffer Stautberg Leadership Foundation was founded to identify high potential young women and facilitate their ability to make a difference in their communities, their chosen fields and the world at large.


George B. Weathersby

George B. Weathersby is CEO of the Young Presidents' Organization International. YPOI consists of over 16,600 CEO's all of whom were selected when they were young CEO's of successful businesses. Currently there are over 320 chapters in 104 countries serving its Members.

Dr. Weathersby began his professional career as a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley Hass School of Management (Operations Management and Econometrics) and at Harvard University (Strategic Planning and Management Implementation). He served as Commissioner for Higher Education for Indiana for six years (including Indiana University and Purdue University) and served on or chaired a number of boards of education related organizations. He was also a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the US Secretary of State William P. Rogers.

In 1983 Dr. Weathersby entered the world of private enterprise as President of Curtis Publishing Company. In this capacity he became a member of YPO – Indiana. Curtis acquired four industrial operations in the markets of steel forging of automobile components, truck engine remanufacture, and automotive rubber products. Curtis also launched a trading company in Poland and a licensing company for Normal Rockwell images and other intellectual property. Subsequently he served as President of the Ontario Corporation, an Indiana based aerospace manufacturer, president of a New York based venture capital fund, and President and CEO of the American Management Association. In 2002 Dr. Weathersby created the international consultancy Genesys Solutions, LLC to assist CEO's in their ability to align and execute within their organizations.

Dr. Weathersby has served on over 25 boards of start-up high technology companies as well as on the boards of well established companies, both private and publicly traded, including Holcim (US), Inc., AOI Medical, Bostwick Laboratories, and previously USA Funds, Cambridge Parallel Processing, and Electronic Retailing Systems International.

Dr. Weathersby holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley (BS in engineering physics, MS in nuclear engineering, and MBA in managerial economics) and Harvard University (SM and PhD in decision and control theory). He has published 5 books and over 60 articles, primarily on public policy and strategic issues of leadership and management.

Dr. Weathersby can be reached at gweathersby@ypowpo.org