NewsonWomen: Women in Business, Women Entrepreneurs

December puts 2009 Total Board Appointments of Women Ahead of 2008 Total Reported on News on Women

The December appointments of women to Boards of Directors put the 2009 yearly total ahead of those appointed last year. December was a who's who of blue chip companies appointing blue chip women to their Boards of Directors, like Procter & Gamble appointing Angela Braly (pictured), CEO of WellPoint, to their board. Thirty women in all were appointed to Boards in the month of December 09 and reported on News on Women, slightly behind the December 08 monthly number but way ahead of the 20 appointed last month. Other major companies appointing women to their boards in December included Disney, Continental Airlines, Best Buy, Celgene, Alleghany, Coca Cola Enterprises, Vulcan Materials, CB Richard Ellis, J.C. Penney, Applied Materials, Cardinal Health, McAfee, and Children's Place. December was also important because of the new SEC Enhanced Disclosure, which among other things asks for "The consideration of diversity in the process by which candidates for director are considered for nomination". 2009 in total saw 265 boards appointments of women reported on News onWomen versus 255 appointed in all of 2008. Let's hope 2010 continues the upward trend.

Phoebe Wood Named to Invesco Board

Invesco Ltd., headquartered in Georgia, appointed Phoebe A. Wood to its Board of Directors. Phoebe is a Principal at CompaniesWood and most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Brown-Forman Corporation. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Sheryl Sandberg Named to Disney Board

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) named Sheryl Sandberg to its Board of Directors. Sheryl is Chief Operating Officer of Facebook Inc. Read more in the Company press release.

Carolyn Corvi Named to Continental Airlines Board

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), headquartered in Texas, appointed Carolyn Corvi to the airline's Board of Directors. Carolyn spent  more than 30 years at The Boeing Company, most recently serving as Vice President and General Manager of Airplane Programs in the commercial airplanes division. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Lisa Caputo Named to Best Buy Board. Other Women Named to Corporate Boards

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY), headquartered in Minnesota, appointed Lisa Caputo (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Lisa is Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs for Citigroup Inc., and Chairman and CEO of Citi’s Women & Company. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

BankUnited, headquartered in Florida, appointed Sue Cobb to its Board of Directors. Sue, who holds a JD from the University of Miami, is a principal with Cobb Partners. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAG), headqaurtered in Massachusetts, appointed Dr. Lesley Russell to its Board of directors. Lesley is Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Cephalon. See Business Wire press reelase.

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MXB), headquartered in New York, appointed Alice Handy to its Board of Directors. Alice is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Investure. See Business Wire press release.

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:KND), headquartered in Kentucky, appointed Phyllis R. Yale to its Board of Directors. Phyllis, who holds an MBA from Harvard, is a Partner with Bain & Company, Inc. See Business Wire press release.

Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE: TPX), headquartered in Kentucky, appointed Evelyn Dilsaver to its Board of Directors. Evelyn was President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles Schwab Investment Management. See prnewswire press release.

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), headquarterd in New Jersey, appointed Carrie S. Cox to the Company’s Board of Directors. Carrie  had been Executive Vice President and President of Schering-Plough's Global Pharmaceutical Business. See Business Wire press release.

Met-Pro Corporation (NYSE: MPR), headquartered in Pennsylvania, appointed Robin L. Wiessmann to the Company's Board of Directors. Robin  recently concluded a term as State Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. See prnewswire press release. 

The Alleghany Corporation (NYSE: Y), headquartered in New York, appointed Karen Brenner to its Board of Directors. Karen is a Clinical Professor of Business at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. See Business Wire press release.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Named Veronique Morali to its Board.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE), headquartered in Georgia, appointed Véronique Morali to its Board of Directors. Veronique is Vice-Chairman of Fitch Group. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Kathleen Wilson-Thompson Named to Vulcan Materials Board

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC), headquartered in Alabama, appointed Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to its Board of Directors. Kathleen is presently Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources for the Kellogg Company, and will become  Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Walgreens in January. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Frances Frei Named to Advance Auto Parts Board. Cheryl Rosner Joins Digital River Board

Advance Auto Parts, Inc., (NYSE: AAP), headquartered in Virginia, appointed Frances Frei (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Frances is the UPS Foundation Professor of Service Management at Harvard Business School. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV),headquartered in Minnesota, appointed Cheryl Rosner to its Board of Directors. Cheryl is a former CEO and President of TicketsNow.com Inc., a Ticketmaster company. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Angela Braly Named to Procter & Gamble Board

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), headquartered in Ohio, appointed Angela F. Braly to its Board of Directors. Angela is President and Chief Executive Officer of WellPoint, Inc. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Laura Tyson Named to CB Richard Ellis Board. More Powerful Women Appointed to Boards.

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBG), headquartered in California, appointed Laura D’Andrea Tyson (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Laura, who holds a PhD in Economics from MIT, is the S.K. and Angela Chan Professor of Global Management, Walter A. Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley. Read more in the Business press release.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP), headquartered in Texas, appointed Geraldine B. Laybourne to its Board of Directors. Geraldine was the Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Oxygen Media. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Applied Materials, Inc., headquartered in California, appointed Susan M. James to its Board of Directors. Susan was a Partner at Ernst & Young. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

PECO, an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation based in Pennsylvania, appointed Charisse R. Lillie to its Board of Directors. Charisse, who holds a Master’s of Law from Yale Law School, is Vice President of Community Investment for Comcast Corporation and Executive Vice President of the Comcast Foundation. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

20 Women Appointed to Corporate Boards in Novemebr 2009

Twenty women were appointed to Corporate Boards in November as reported on NewsonWomen.com, dashing our upward trend from October when 24 women were appointed, but beating last year when 18 women were appointed to Boards in November08. Susan Lyne (pictured), CEO of online luxory retailer Gilt Groupe, will join two other women on the newly formed ten member AOL Board. Other major companies putting women on Boards in November included Nike, Skilled Healthcare Group, Carter's Inc, Beneficial Mutual Bancorp, American Pacific, Sterling Bancorp, and Allstate.

New annual surveys were released in November confirming a slight decline in the number of women appointed to Boards. The marginal changes reflected in the surveys are evidence that big changes in these numbers will require a big event. We just went through a major economic meltdown and significant government interventions and that didn't result in many women being catapulted into board positions, so I'm not sure what kind of event would be needed to make major changes in board gender statistics!

Carrie Cox Named to Cardinal Health Board. Other Women Appointed to Boards.

Cardinal Health, headquartered in Ohio, appointed Carrie Cox to its Board of Directors. Carrie had been Executive Vice President and President of Global Pharmaceuticals at Schering-Plough Corp. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

DRI Corporation, headquarted in Texas, appointed Helga Houston to its Board of Directors. Helga, who holds an MBA from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, is a Partner of Phoenix Global Advisors, LLC. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Darkstrand Inc., headquartered in Illinois, appointed Lisa Pollina to its Board of Directors. Lisa had been Global Financial Institutions Executive for Bank of America. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Mojofiti™, headquartered in Colorado, appointed Karin Hibma to its Board of Directors. Karin is a Partner and the Managing Director and CFO of CRONAN, the design company. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE: IRF), headquartered in California, appointed Barbara L. Rambo to its Board of Directors. Barbara is Chief Executive Officer at Taconic Management Services. Read more in the Business Wire press release. 

Lorrie Norrington Named to McAfee Board

McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE), headquartered in California, appointed Lorrie Norrington to its Board of Directors. Lorrie is President of eBay Marketplaces. Read more about it in the Business Wire press release.

Michelle Peluso Named to Gilt Groupe Board. Debora Wilson Joins Internap Board.

Gilt Groupe, Inc., the online luxory retailer headquartered in New York, appointed Michelle Peluso (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Michelle, who holds a Masters degree in Economics, Philosophy and Politics from Pembroke College at Oxford University, is the former President and CEO of Travelocity. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Internap Network Services Corporation (Nasdaq: INAP), a global provider of end-to-end Internet business solutions headquartered in Georgia, appointed Debora J. Wilson to its Board of Directors. Debora is the former President and CEO of The Weather Channel. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

A New Approach for Annual Surveys

The new 2009 Female FTSE Report from Cranfield School of Management in Britain shows a decline from last year in the number of women ceo's and the number of companies with multiple women directors on their boards. Ironically, UC Davis Graduate School of Management released their new annual report on the same day showing a slight decline from last year of women holding board seats in California companies. This got me thinking. Whichever side of the ocean you’re on, the annual surveys show little or no progress by women in the corporate world. The economic crisis has people thinking about jobs and the government is thinking about healthcare. Who is thinking about the progress of women? I am for one. As an experienced executive with a background in auditing and management, I can tell you that the incremental changes measured by these annual surveys will not shine enough light on the issue. These surveys need to add another measure, like goals set in specific responses from companies for example. What are they going to try to do this next year to make it change? Without these kinds of goals and measures, annual surveys will not be able to put enough pressure on companies and are wasting an opportunity to help effect positive change. If there is no action taken as a consequence of the surveys, the status quo becomes acceptable. These surveys are one of the tools we have to effect change. While it is not the responsibility of academia to pressure corporate executives, it would be great if they could! 

As I watch the economic turmoil create lots of openings for new ceos and reconstituted boards, I don’t see women being put in these jobs in any big number. It is clearly not for a lack of openings. And, if you read NewsonWomen.com, you will know that it is clearly not for a lack of qualified women or female role models. Why is it that people won’t move away from their traditional candidates for these positions? If anyone has an answer, I’d like to hear it.

Phyllis Wise Named to Nike Board. More Women Appointed to Corporate Boards.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE), headquartered in Oregon, appointed Phyllis M. Wise, Ph.D., (pictured) to the Company's Board of Directors. Phyllis is Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Washington. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH), headquartered in California, appointed Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H. to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Rosenstock serves as the Dean of the UCLA School of Public Health and holds appointments as Professor of Medicine and Environmental Health Sciences. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE: CRI), headquartered in Georgia, appointed Vanessa J. Castagna to its Board of Directors. Vanessa is the former  Executive Chairwoman of Mervyn’s Department Stores. Read more about it in the Business Wire press release.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BNCL), the parent company of Beneficial Bank headquartered in Pennsylvania, appointed Karen D. Buchholz to its Board of Directors. Karen is Vice President of Administration for Comcast Corporation. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Barbara Smith Campbell Named to American Pacific Board. Lynn Wentworth Named to Graphic Packaging Board.

American Pacific Corporation (Nasdaq: APFC), headquartered in Nevada, appointed Barbara Smith Campbell (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Barbara is President of Consensus, LLC. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK), headquarterd in Georgia, appointed Lynn A. Wentworth to the Company's Board of Directors. Lynn is the former Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of BlueLinx Holdings. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Women Recently Appointed to Corporate Boards

Anthracite Capital, Inc. (NYSE:AHR), headquarterd in New York, appointed Kathleen M. Hagerty (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Kathleen, who holds a  Ph.D. from Stanford University, is Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Ecolab Inc., headquartered in Minnesota, appointed Victoria J. Reich to its Board of Directors. Victoria is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of United Stationers Inc. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), headquartered in New York, appointed Carolyn Joy Lee to its Boards of Directors. Carolyn, who holds a  JD from the Columbia University, is a Partner in the New York office of Jones Day. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

i2Inc., headquartered in Virginia, appointed Kathleen Kiernan to its Board of Directors. Kathleen is the CEO of Kiernan Group Holdings. Read more in the Business Wire press release. 

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL), headquartered in Illinois, appointed Andrea Redmond to its Board of Directors. Andrea  is an independent consultant, and had previously spent 20 years at Russell Reynolds Associates. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Women Appointed to Corporate Boards First Week of November

AOL appointed Susan Lyne to its Board of Directors. Susan is Chief Executive Officer of the online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe, Inc. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FOLD), headquartered in New Jersey, appointed Margaret G. McGlynn (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Margaret, who holds an MBA in Marketing from the State University of New York at Buffalo, most recently served as President of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases for Merck & Co., Inc. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), headquartered in Florida, appointed Victoria D. Harker to its Board of Directors. Victoria is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The AES Corporation. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Nerites Corporation, headquartered in Wisconsin, appointed Lisa D. Earnhardt to its Board of Directors. Lisa, who holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, is currently President and CEO of Sinexus, Inc. Read more in the Business Wire press release. 

Centrix Bank appointed Sherilyn Burnett Young to its Board of Directors. Sherilyn, who holds a JD from Franklin Pierce Law Center, is a founder and President of Rath, Young and Pignatelli. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Oneida Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: ONFC), the parent company of The Oneida Savings Bank headquartered in New York, appointed Nancy N. Ryan to its Board of Directors. Nancy is the co-owner of Nunn's Hospital Supplies, Inc. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Gateway EDI, the health care revenue cycle management (RCM) provider located in St. Louis, appointed Kathleen Earley and Peni Garber to its Board of Directors. Kathleen, who holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, is the former President and COO of TriZetto Group, Inc. Peni is a Partner at the private investment firm ABRY Partners. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

24 Women Join Boards in October09 - An Upward Trend?

Twenty four women were appointed to Boards in October09 as reported on NewsonWomen.com, handily beating the disastrous October08 and continuing the upward trend started in September09. The heavy hitters were out in full force with Anne Mulcahy (pictured) joining the Board of Johnson & Johnson, Sallie Krawcheck joining the Board of Blackrock, and Doreen Toben joining the Board of Liz Claiborne to name a few. And let's not forget Ellen Kullman who was elected Chairman of the Board at DuPont! Other major companies appointing women to boards in October included Hormel Foods, Avery Dennison, Genworth Financial and AOL. Scroll down and read about more of the amazing women put on boards this month.