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

Sandra Kurtzig, Founder and CEO of Kenandy, Inc., announced $10.5 million in Series A Funding

Sandra Kurtzig, Founder and CEO of Kenandy, Inc., announced the closing of a $10.5 million Series A round of funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Sandra, who founded ASK Computer Systems in 1972, started Kenandy, a new venture for social manufacturing in the Cloud, in 2010.  Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Virginia Kamsky Named to Dana Board of Directors. Other Women appointed to Boards

Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE: DAN), headquartered in Ohio, appointed Virginia A. Kamsky (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Virginia, who holds a BA in East Asian Studies from Princeton University, is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kamsky Associates, Inc., and also served as an executive vice president of Foamex International, Inc. and in various leadership roles at then-Chase Manhattan Bank. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., headquartered in California, appointed Helen Kim to the Company’s Board of Directors. Helen, who holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern and an MBA from the University of Chicago, is the former President and CEO of Kosan Biosciences Inc. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) appointed Margaret Pederson to its Board of Directors. Margaret, who holds an MBA from Harvard, is President of Amirexx LLC., and also a Managing Director of Golden Seeds Fund LP, an investment group dedicated to investing in early and growth stage companies founded and/or led by women in media, technology, health sciences and consumer goods. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) appointed Sara Martinez Tucker to its Board of Directors. Sara is a former Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. Read more in the company press release.

Gretchen Hamilton Made Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Scientia Advisors

Scientia Advisors, LLC, a growth strategy firm for the healthcare industry, appointed Gretchen Hamilton Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. Gretchen had been a member of the leadership team and associate counsel for Linbeck Group, LLC. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Diane Scott Made President of a new unit at Western Union called Western Union Ventures

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) appointed Diane Scott, presently their Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, President of a new business unit called Western Union Ventures, which will focus on developing new service offerings for the Company’s consumers. The new business unit will include Westernunion.com, prepaid/stored value, and mobile money transfer. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Rebecca Lynn Believes Entrepreneurs - not Government - Will ultimately fix Healthcare. Announces Venture Capital Finalists.

Venture capital firm Morgenthaler Ventures announced the 11 finalists of their nationwide contest to find the most promising health IT startups looking for seed and Series-A funding.  The 11 company founders will present their ideas at the "DCtoVC" Startup Showcase Event in California organized by Rebecca Lynn (pictured), a partner at Morgenthaler Ventures and head of the firm's health IT investing team. Rebecca began her career at Procter and Gamble and focused on international new product market entry. "I believe that entrepreneurs – not corporations or the government – will ultimately fix healthcare," commented Rebecca.

Among the finalists is Maria Ly, Co-Founder of Skimble, a cross-platform ecosystem of dynamic coaching applications whose latest title, Workout Trainer, ranks Top 10 in the free Healthcare & Fitness category on iPhone/iPad. Read more about the other finalists in the prnewswire press release.

Caryn Effron Starts "GoGirlFinance" to Help Women Learn More About Money

Caryn Effron, a Senior Managing Director with Ackman Ziff Real Estate, founded GoGirl Finance in 2008. Caryn, who holds an MBA from New York University, felt the need to expand the resources available to women, young and old, to better equip them to manage their finances:

"I had never really given much thought to the subject of women and financial literacy until a couple of years ago, when I began helping my mom figure out how to adjust her retirement portfolio. At the time she was 74 and divorced. Seven years earlier, she had suffered from a stroke that left her with a number of physical challenges, but fortunately her mind was still intact."

"When we looked closely at her accounts, we realized that she was too heavily invested in equities, and needed to make some adjustments if she wanted to be more financially comfortable as she aged. I had previously done some of my own investing in real estate, some bonds and a start-up or two, but was not really sure how to go about thinking through a balanced, age-appropriate portfolio. I needed help."

"I started by reaching out to my very capable and successful girlfriends to see how to get started. The first friend I called had a Wharton MBA and a position with a premier Wall Street investment house. She told me that although she had bought her own apartment, she let her brother invest her personal savings. Subsequent conversations led me to quickly realize how intimidated and paralyzed most of my friends felt when it came to acting on behalf of their own financial well-being."

"I was shocked. Women are making historical headway in colleges and graduate schools; we own an increasing number of businesses; we are forging our way to the top of the ladder in corporate America. Yet, when it comes to having the knowledge and confidence to manage our own finances, many women feel overwhelmed and insecure. We still suffer from the “Prince Charming Syndrome,” which afflicts us with the belief that someone else will come along and successfully manage our finances so that we don’t have to."

"I quickly realized that there was not only a huge need but also a great opportunity to create a community for women, by women, that would empower them to forge another frontier in their liberation and self-sufficiency. In today’s world, financial literacy for women is not an optional skill--it’s an absolute necessity."

"Some recent statistics I came across in the book called “The Power of the Purse” by Fara Warner show that women now own 1/3 of businesses in the United States, and control 51.3% of the private wealth, yet most of them feel uncomfortable managing their own finances. There exists an incredible opportunity not only to earn wealth, but also to manage it, and in doing so to affect the economy. Resources aside, the only thing we women are missing is the confidence to get started."

"The best way I can think of explaining the need for education is to think about the health and fitness industries. My mother’s generation grew up not learning how to take care of their bodies, while my generation of women was educated about eating the right food and exercising--from a very young age we were taught the importance of taking care of ourselves physically. It’s the same thing with financial literacy. It needs to be embedded and ingrained, rather than learned after the fact."

"The first book I read on the subject of financial literacy was “Chicks Laying Nest Eggs: How 10 Skirts Beat the Pants Off Wall Street” by Karin Housley. As soon as I finished it, I called my closest girlfriends and informed them that for my 47th birthday gift I would like them to read the book and join me in an investment club. At my celebration dinner, they showed up with GoGirl Finance business cards as a playful gift, and GoGirlFinance.com was born."

"GoGirl Finance is a digital platform that aims to educate women, from the age of twenty onward, about financial literacy. In the near future, GoGirl plans to grow into a multi-faceted company that will utilize a variety of media to further its goals, in addition to developing a women’s referral network. Currently, the community consists of a blog whose content is written by a group of women in all different stages of life—recent graduates from universities grappling with student loans, twenty-somethings learning how to budget and save, married women learning how to maintain their own finances, and experienced professionals looking towards their retirements. Together, these women use their own stories to highlight media trends and topics relevant to their own situations."

"At GoGirl, we’re more curators than financial experts. We are trying to form a community by writing stories and aggregating content to which other women can really relate. So far, the blog has been gaining not only momentum but also a lot of support from other women. Our traffic is up monthly, our Twitter and comment feedback is very positive, and our readership is becoming more widespread. We're off to a great start, but there is still a lot more work to be done. I often think of a Simone De Beauvoir quote, in which she said, “…civil liberties are theoretical if they are unaccompanied by financial independence.” By empowering women, I think that GoGirl Finance is furthering her cause. And, I can’t imagine anything else I’d rather be working towards."

Laura Schupbach to Head Wells Fargo Insurance Services

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) appointed Laura L. Schupbach Head of Insurance Services, overseeing Wells Fargo Insurance Services, the fifth largest insurance brokerage in the world and the largest bank-owned insurance brokerage in the U. S. Laura has held various senior level positions at Wells Fargo during her 16 year career there, including head of Enterprise Expense Management, and the head of Finance for the Wholesale Banking Group, the Diversified Products Group (various consumer and small business businesses), and the Western Banking Group (eight Regional Banking States). Read more in the Business Wire press release. 

Ruth Ann Marshall Joins Regions Financial Board of Directors

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF), headquartered in Alabama, appointed Ruth Ann Marshall to its Board of Directors. Ruth Ann is the former President, The Americas, for MasterCard International, Inc. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Dawn Hudson Named to Interpublic Group Board of Directors

Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), the organization of advertising agencies and marketing services companies headquartered in New York, appointed Dawn Hudson to its Board of Directors. Dawn, who is currently Vice Chairman of The Parthenon Group, is the former President and CEO of Pepsi-Cola North America. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Stacy M. Hodges Made Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of SWS Group

SWS Group, Inc.'s (NYSE: SWS) Board of Directors appointed Stacy M. Hodges Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the company. Stacy had served as interim CFO and Treasurer of SWS Group since October 2010. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Susan D. Rector Named to People's Bancorp Board of Directors

Peoples Bancorp Inc. ("Peoples") (NASDAQ: PEBO) appointed Susan D. Rector to its Board of Director of Peoples and of its subsidiary, Peoples Bank, National Association. Susan is a Principal in the law firm of Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn, Co., LPA Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Adrienne Gary Made Senior Vice President, Organizational Strategy & Administration at Miramax

Miramax appointed Adrienne Gary Senior Vice President, Organizational Strategy & Administration. Adrienne had run her own human capital consulting group, serving startups tand well-established companies. before that, Adrienne had been Executive Vice President of Fox Networks Group, responsible for developing organizational structures, policies, and staffing and streamlining HR infrastructure. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Kathryn Dinkin Made Regional President of Consumer Banking for East Region at Citibank

Citibank appointed Kathryn Dinkin Regional President of Consumer Banking for its East Region, responsible for implementing Citi’s service and sales strategy for all Citibank branches from Boston to Miami. Kathryn had been Regional President of Southeast Florida at Wells Fargo. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Cristy Clavijo-Kish Made CEO of Social Media Platform Hispanicize

Hispanicize, a platform for Latino social media content and communications services, appointed Cristy Clavijo-Kish CEO and Partner. Cristy had been Senior Vice President of PR Newswire's Multicultural Markets division. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance and Heidrick & Struggles release new Survey debunking Board Myths

Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance and Heidrick & Struggles released a new survey debunking the myth that you have to be a CEO to be a good board member. "No CEO's or ex-CEO's" has been the typical excuse as to why more women are not on boards. This survey shows that 79% of directors surveyed said that, "in practice, active CEOs are no better than non-CEO board members". Also, more than half of directors think that board turnover is too low, another problem limiting the number of boards seats available, keeping women out of the boardroom - men never want to leave! Read more of the interesting results from the survey and see recommendations for improvement in board selection. 

Patti Smith Made VP of Marketing and Product Management at DreamBox Learning, joining Sherri Bealkowski who was Made DreamBox VP Sales and Client Care

DreamBox Learning®, the intelligent adaptive learning™ company owned by the Charter Fund in partnership with Reed Hastings, a widely recognized educational philanthropist and CEO of Netflix, Inc, appointed Patti Smith (pictured left) Vice President of Marketing and Product Management. Patti had been Vice President of Portfolio Management, K-12 Mathematics and Specialty Markets with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Sherri Bealkowski was appointed Vice President of Sales and Client Care for DreamBox earlier in the year. Before joining DreamBox, Sherri (pictured right) had been Chief Operating Officer for education software start-up Intand Corporation, and before that served as an education technology consultant for a variety of organizations and also as the Interim Chief Information Officer at Seattle Public Schools. Prior to that, Sherri served as a General Manager at Microsoft where she oversaw U.S. Education Sales and Services. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Lynn Jurich Joins the Board of the Startup America Partnership

The Startup America Partnership appointed Lynn Jurich to its founding Board. Lynn is the President and Co-Founder of SunRun, a residential solar company. The Startup America Partnership was formed to help entrepreneurs start and scale their companies to accelerate job growth. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Statistics Show Women Losing Out in Television

Lee Margulies of the LA Times writes about the significant decrease in the number of women working as writers and directors on prime-time broadcast programs in the 2010-11 season, with women making up only 15% of writers on the prime-time dramas, comedies and reality shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the CW, down from 29% in the 2009-10 season. Read Lee's article about the state of women in the television industry, an eye opening set of statistics.

Beth Minehart Made Senior Vice President, Global Digital at Miramax

Miramax appointed Beth Minehart Senior Vice President, Global Digital. Beth had been Executive Vice President, International New Media at NBCUniversal. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Andrea Forster Made Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer at MasterCard

MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) appointed Andrea Forster Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer. Andrea had been Vice President, Supply Chain Transformation at PepsiCo, Inc. Read more in the Business Wire press release.