Women in Business, Jobs, Women Entrepreneurs, Women in the News: News On Women

Ceci Connolly Made Managing Director of the PwC Health Research Institute

PwC US appointed Ceci Connolly Managing Director of the PwC Health Research Institute. Cici is nationally known advisor, author, and speaker on the health industries, and worked for the Washington Post for 13 years. See prnewswire press release.

Girls Always Use Tech (facebook, cell phones, twitter, ecommerce) but rarely think about it as a Career Option. Let's change that.

Dare2BDigital Conference.

Tell Young Women - Innovation is Everything! Dare2BDigital Conference Starts Us Off

What should we tell young women about innovation? Tell them Innovation is everything! And for everybody! Not just scientists or engineers. Yes we need science and engineering, but we need people to take their innovations and make them mainstream. What would Facebook be without the “friends” who use it? The Dare2BDigital Conference is taking on the challenge of getting more girls to understand the excitement and everyday use of math and science on Feb 11, 2012 in San Jose at the eBay Campus. This is so important because only a small % of high school girls (versus a high % of boys) expressed an interest in starting their own venture, a disturbing fact as our economy shifts in a small business revolution. Richelle Parham (pictured), Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of eBay North America, is one of the keynote speakers.

But why stop with just one conference? Let’s get many more girls involved. And why should we? Because we are still being held back by statistics and stereotypes. If I read one more time how few women are CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies, or what % of women are major executives of media or other companies, or that women can’t do math, I think I’ll scream. That is so last century!! In today's world, media giants and old stereotypes are ready to fall just like the beanstalk in the fairytale. But not if we stay mired in statistics that don’t tell the whole story. I have met so many great women who are doing amazing and innovative things. Let’s follow their lead. We need to get students excited about innovation, open their minds to ways anyone can innovate, and show them how to analyze an industry in search of opportunities where they can create something new.

Everyone who reads this post should take it on themselves to go to their school, their friends, their families and get girls excited about innovation. Here’s a readymade speech that will help you. I call it my “better, cheaper, faster, easier” speech. Add your own flavor and examples. And report back on how many girls you speak to, even if it’s only a few at a time. We will keep count. Can we turn one conference into 1 million girls? Let’s try. So post this on your blog, rt on twitter, start it on facebook, speak at school assemblies, parent meetings, etc. Wherever girls will be, be there for them. Tell them how innovation will make a difference in their lives.

 INNOVATION - Better, Cheaper, Faster, Easier!

What it Means to be an Innovator - What is Innovation and who are innovators? You may not be inventing technology, but how you use technology or how you brand a product can also make you an Innovator.   You have the power, using your own brain and a pencil, to build a better mousetrap. Technology has created a new world of opportunity. Let’s talk about some of today’s really successful companies - the companies that capitalized on the opportunities to innovate with the new technologies available. When you examine who the innovators are, you will see that the companies which really stand out are the companies that helped people look at their world in a new way. They focused on helping people do things better, cheaper, faster, easier, or do something completely new. Some examples: 1. Cheaper - Amazon - started by Jeff Bezos because he wanted a cheaper and easier way to find out-of-print or rare books; One Kings Lane - started by Susan Feldman and Alison Pincus (pictured left) - flash sales in the home décor and housewares market - a new way to buy things for your home. 2. Easier - Zocdoc - makes it easy for people to make doctor’s appointments online. 3. Faster - Google - finding information; Twitter - get news updates. 4. Better - Linkedin helps people network and find jobs; Learnvest – started by Alexa von Tobel so women can learn more about personal finance because she and her friends wanted to learn more about managing their money. 5. Do Something New - Apple – itunes, ipad, iphone; ebay - online auctions; Facebook redefined the meaning of the word community! (Ask students for examples in their lives of “faster” “easier” “cheaper“, - companies they see helping them live their lives in a new way. Get them thinking about how to be innovative - ask for suggestions of areas that they feel can be improved today.)

How Can You be an Innovator? Look at the industries you enjoy and break them down into pieces. Here's an industry example - Healthcare. You no longer have to think about just being a doctor or a nurse. You can work in the healthcare ecosystem in many ways, helping people learn how to be fit, helping people learn how to eat right and exercise more often etc. An example in healthcare of innovation where someone wanted to improve the process of healthcare is Rebecca Woodcock who co-founded Cakehealth.com which helps you understand and manage your health care. Also innovative is Anne Wojcicki, who co-founded the personal genetics company “23andMe”, a source of genetic information for health pursuits named after the fact that we have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Halle Tecco is the Founder and Managing Director of Rock Health, a group dedicated to innovation in the interactive health space, helping startup companies in this field gain access to experts and investors. Each of these women are innovators in their own way. Another industry example that might interest girls is Retailing, a big industry with many aspects to it. Here is a sample of who is doing new things in this industry: 1. Design - Young designers and new approaches like CarrieHammer.com, Carrie wanted better fitting dresses so she started online company for made to measure clothing. 2. Sales - find innovative ways to sell like Go Try It On, a personal style network that allows members to comment on and get feedback about their outfits and the outfits of their friends/community founded by its CEO Marissa Evans. Birchbox co-founded by Hayley Barna and Katia Beauchamp who met at Harvard Business School and started the subscription sampling company to help women find beauty products that they like. 3. Trends - foodspotting - co-founded by Alexa Andrzejewski, helps you find food by looking at photos of dishes of food on website rather than just looking for restaurants. See other innovative women entrepreneurs.

Innovation is Part of Your World so Learn how to Use it. You should examine where you feel comfortable working. How excited are you about innovation? Where do you find an interest? Where do you see an opportunity? You can ask your friends what they need, and create a product or service that helps them. Or you can just create your own products and see if they like them. As you live your life, ask yourself where can you innovate? Innovators do not have to be engineers. But engineers give us the tools to be Innovators. Inventing the technology is only the beginning. It’s the users that make the technology better, the friends at Facebook, the users at Google. So even if you are not an engineer or computer science major, you can still innovate by thinking about how you do the things you do – and how you can do them “better, cheaper, faster, easier”!

Glooko, co-founded by Anita Mathew, Raised $3.5 million in Series A Funding

Glooko, co-founded by Anita Mathew who is also the company's Vice President of Marketing, raised $3.5 million in Series A Funding led by The Social+Capital Partnership. Glooko uses smartphones to allow people to collect and view their blood glucose levels. Anita, who holds an MBA from Wharton and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue, previously spent several years at Johnson & Johnson. Read more about the deal in Krystal Peak's article on vatornews.

Dr. Malissa Wood Talks About Symptoms of Heart Disease for Women in Her New Book, "Smart at Heart"

Dr. Malissa J. Wood, the Co-Director of the Corrigan Women's Heart Health Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has written a new book, "Smart at Heart", which is featured in Betsy Levinson's article on bostonglobe.com. In her article, Betsy discusses Dr. Wood's "whole heart" approach to health. Dr. Wood specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in women. Listen to her disucss the difference in symptoms between men and women:

Nancy Kete Made a Managing Director at The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation appointed Nancy Kete a Managing Director. Nancy, who holds a Ph.D. in geography and environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University, will focus on the Foundation's global work on Resilience. "I am honored to join the Rockefeller Foundation staff and further its work to find the kinds of policies, institutions, and practices that will enable poor and vulnerable to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of acute crises and chronic stresses," said Dr. Kete. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Carol Zierhoffer Made Chief Information Officer at XEROX

Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) appointed Carol Zierhoffer Chief Information Officer. She has also been elected a Vice President of the corporation. Carol. who holds a Master's degree in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University, had previously been Vice President and Global Information Officer at ITT. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Wendy Barnes Made Group Vice President of Managed Care at Rite Aid

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) appointed Wendy Barnes Group Vice President of Managed Care. Wendy, who holds an MBA from the University of Alaska and a BA in biochemistry from the United States Air Force Academy, had been a new business development director for Premier Healthcare Alliance. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Judy Smith Joins "Women in Aerospace" Board

Judy Smith, Vice President of Business Development for ITT Exelis (NYSE: XLS) Information Systems division, has been appointed to the board of directors of Women in Aerospace. Judy holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, a master’s degree in computer science from the Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA from the University of Baltimore. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Janet Ryu Joins Professional Database Company, "Identified"

Identified, the professional database on Facebook, hired Janet Ryu, who was a key product manager at LinkedIn. Janet studied engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and previously worked at search engine start-up searchme before joining LinkedIn. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Debra Odink Made Chief Technology Officer at Anthera Pharmaceuticals.

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANTH), a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to treat serious diseases associated with inflammation and autoimmune disorders, appointed Dr. Debra Odink Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President. Debra, who holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of California Davis, had been Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Research and Development at Anthera. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Lynne M. Brookes Made Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer at Galleon Pharmaceuticals

Galleon Pharmaceuticals appointed Lynne M. Brookes Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer. Lynne, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Yale University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, had been with Cephalon, Inc. where she was most recently Vice President of Business Development. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Dr. Marye Anne Fox Joins Bridgepoint Education Board of Directors. Other Women Appointed to Boards

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (NYSE: BPI), a provider of innovative solutions that advance learning headquartered in California, appointed Dr. Marye Anne Fox (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Marye Anne is Chancellor of University of California, San Diego, and a distinguished Professor of Chemistry and a National Medal of Science recipient. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Penson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNSN), headquartered in Texas, appointed Diane L. Schueneman to its Board of Directors. Diane is a former Senior Vice President and Head of Global Infrastructure Solutions at BofA Merrill Lynch. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

ZeaChem Inc., headquartered in Colorado, appointed Nancy Buese to its Board of Directors. Nancy is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MarkWest Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: MWE). Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Avaxia Biologics, Founded by its CEO Dr. Barabara Fox, Raises $2.2 Million in Series A Funding

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., the biotech company founded by Dr. Barbara Fox who is also the company's CEO, completed its first close of $2.2 million of a Series A angel-led financing., led by Cherrystone Angels of Providence, Rhode Island. Barbara, who holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from MIT, was previously Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Recovery Pharmaceuticals. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Pamela Carroll Made the "Nutley Oncology Discovery Site" Head and Global Head, "Pathways Biology within Pharma Research and Early Development" at Roche

Roche, the research-focused healthcare company concentrating in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. appointed Pamela Carroll, PhD, the "Nutley Oncology Discovery Site" Head and Global Head, "Pathways Biology within Pharma Research and Early Development" (pRED). Pam had been with Belfer Institute of Applied Cancer Sciences at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, where she was Head of Research and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. "Pam has extensive cancer drug discovery experience, ranging from target discovery to preclinical support of development programs. Her research has focused on integrating cancer genetics, genomics and tumor microenvironment biology with mechanistic insights in the development of molecules directed at cancer cell signaling and developmental pathways." Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Michelle Ernsdorff Creates "Compass to Care" to Help Children with Cancer and their Families

Michelle Ernsdorff, Founder of Compass to Care, has a passion to help children with cancer. As a childhood cancer survivor, Michelle knows the emotional and financial struggles her parents faced while traveling to get her the best care, and her foundation is dedicated to scheduling and paying for the travel arrangements the families of children with cancer require. Michelle, who holds a BS in Nuclear Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia and an MBA from Northeastern Illinois University, had a successful career in the healthcare environment before deciding to dedicate her life to Compass to Care full-time. Michelle now brings her knowledge and proven success in effective business planning, brand and market awareness, process and procedure development to Compass to Care.

Tangent Medical Technologies, Inc., whose Co-Founders include Adrienne Harris and Elyse Kemmerer, obtained $4.5 million in Series A Funding

Tangent Medical Technologies, Inc., a development stage medical device company whose co-founders include Adrienne Harris (pictured left) and Elyse Kemmerer (pictured right), announced the completion of a $4.5 million Series A equity financing co-led by Arboretum Ventures and Flagship Ventures. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Joan Schuller Made Vice President, Asia Pacific for H.B. Fuller Company

H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE: FUL) appointed Joan A. Schuller Vice President, Asia Pacific. Joan, who holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from Temple University, had been with Dow Advanced Materials. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Joanne Maguire, EVP of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering

Joanne M. Maguire, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, was formally inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. Joanne, who holds a  master's degree in engineering from UCLA, is also an officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation, and has led Space Systems Company since 2006. The company employs more than 15,000 people and generated more than $8 billion in sales for Lockheed Martin in 2010. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

OvaScience, co-founded by Dr. Michelle Dipp, Obtains $6 Million in Venture Capital Series A Funding

OvaScience, co-founded by Dr. Michelle Dipp who is also the company's Chief Executive Officer, obtained $6 million in venture capital Series A funding from Longwood and Bessemer Venture Partners. Read more in Lori Valigra's article on masshightech.com. Previously, Dr. Dipp was the Senior Vice President and Head of the CEEDD at GlaxoSmithKline.