Agenda - June 18, 2019

7:30-8:30
Conference Check-In and Continental Breakfast
8:30-8:45
Welcome and Introductions
8:45-9:45
Morning Keynote - Lorna Boucher

Lorna Boucher is managing director and chief marketing officer of Instinet Holdings Inc., the innovative equity trading arm of the Nomura Group. She serves on Instinet's executive committee, the global firm's most senior management organization.

Boucher has always embraced the challenges of leading a company at a major pivot point in its marketing or branding strategy. She launched her marketing career as part of an academic project while still a student at the Manning School of Business at UMass Lowell by proposing a marketing plan to help the small businesses in downtown Lowell compete with the shopping malls nearby. Her program was so well received that she was offered an internship and then her first full-time professional job with The Lowell Plan, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to transformative projects for the city. Over the next 20 years, Boucher went on to more senior roles in marketing and brand management, ultimately relocating to New York City in the early 1990s to work for major global financial services firms including Bankers Trust Company, UBS and KCG Holdings.

In November 2017, Markets Media, a financial services industry media company, honored Boucher with the Women in Finance Award for Excellence in Marketing, also known as the "Marketing Maven" award.

Boucher currently serves on the Manning School's Advisory Board.

9:45-10:00
Break
10:00 - 11:00
Concurrent Sessions 1
Track A
Move Your Business Career Forward
Demystifying the Tech Industry: Tech is an Inclusive Sandbox. No Coding Required!

There are multiple pathways to a successful career in technology that do not require a degree in engineering or computer science. Last year, 43 percent of all open jobs posted on Glassdoor.com by U.S. tech employers were for nontechnical roles. Panelists will discuss how they leveraged their diverse backgrounds and skills in fields such as finance, operations, liberal arts, law — and of course, STEM — to build successful careers in tech.

Panelists:
Ann M. Barry: Director of Global Risk Management, Juniper Networks
Jane Circle: Senior Manager, Red Hat Inc.
Lalitha Gunturi: Associate General Counsel, NETSCOUT
Moderator:
Elissa Magnant: Visiting Professor of Management, UMass Lowell, Manning School of Business
Track B
Cultivate Your Career Development Skills
Secrets of Our Success: Women Leaders Divulge the Most Powerful Skills for Advancement

Hailing from nonprofits to start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, our panel of high-level executives will share some of the biggest challenges they faced on the way up the ladder — and will reveal what they found to be the most important skills when it came to advancing their careers. No matter where you are in your career, our panel will provide you with indispensible insights into the leadership tools you need to grow and succeed in the ever-changing workplace.

Panelists:
Josefina Bonilla: C.E.O. and Founder, Color media Group Inc.
Ashley Tsongas: Chief of Staff and Strategy, Oxfam America
Diane Swint: Chief Revenue Officer, Lovepop
Ann Ristau: Head of Global Sponsorships, Dell Technologies
Moderator:
Denise Dunlap: Assistant Professor of Global Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UMass Lowell
Track C
Own Your Value: Focus on Work and Self
From 'Effortless Perfection' to Resilience

In today's world, women are empowered with the skills, motivation and talents to achieve success — yet sometimes, the very goal of success and the appearance of perfection can be quite stressful. Indeed, in a success-driven culture, stress has become a significant barrier to women's mental health and well-being. The World Health Organization recently reported that levels of stress, depression and anxiety are rising worldwide, with women struggling the most. Burnout is at an all-time high. The stress experienced by women is often fueled by a bootstrap mentality of "effortless perfection" that is pertinent across all areas of their lives. With ideals of perfectionism, women may avoid asking for help and support because they perceive a stigma, fear peer judgment or worry about seeming weak or incompetent. This session will focus on resilience — the ability to bounce back from stress and effectively navigate the many pressures of our lives. We will draw connections between social support, self-compassion and perfectionism within the population of women. Attendees will leave with science-backed strategies to overcome burnout and achieve resilience.

Speaker:
Michele M. Tugade: Professor of psychological science and Director of the Affective Science Laboratory, Vassar College
Track D
Empower, Engage, Inspire!
Courageous Dialogue: How to Keep Difficult Conversations from Derailing

Have you ever been in the middle of a challenging conversation and suddenly realized that it's veered off-track in a completely different direction? Participants in this workshop will learn how to prepare for and handle excuses, issues and challenges that threaten a valuable coaching conversation. You will assess your natural communication tendencies and learn to overcome conversation blocks, acquire the ability to separate the controllable from the uncontrollable and finish the conversation by obtaining a common goal. This is the perfect session for those who wish to leave empowered and ready to navigate the complexity of difficult conversations.

Speaker:
Dana Henry: Director of Organizational Development Learning Solutions, UMass Donahue Institute
11:10-12:10
Concurrent Sessions 2
Track A
Move Your Business Career Forward
Growth Through Board Membership

Board membership at all levels offers a wealth of benefits and opportunities. Serving on boards of nonprofits, trade associations and small and large companies results in new connections, valuable skills, potential compensation and synergies with primary careers. This panel of experienced board members and board-related professionals will share insights on preparing for board opportunities, searching for and finding appropriate roles, and successfully serving as an active and engaged board member.

Panelists:
Deb Busser: Executive Coach & President, Energy Spring Leadership
Amy Hoey: C.O.O., Lowell General Hospital
Maria L. Santos: Managing Partner, Alphen & Santos
Jason C. W. Hancock: Managing Partner, Spencer Stuart
Moderator:
Erica Steckler: Assistant Professor of Management, UMass Lowell, Manning School of Business
Track B
Cultivate Your Career Development Skills
Command the Room: How Professional Women Can Master the Art of Executive Presence

According to research conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation, there are three pillars of executive presence: gravitas, communication and image — in other words, how you act, how you speak and how you look. Joan Marchessault, principal of Strategic Leadership Consulting Group, will share insights into what might be getting in the way of you projecting an executive presence. Whether you're currently serving in an executive role or aim to be one day, this session will offer invaluable tips for mastering a C-suite presence.

Speaker:
Joan A. Marchessault: Principal and Co-founder, Strategic Leadership Consulting
Track C
Own Your Value: Focus on Work and Self
Workplace Well-Being: Creating a Productive and Positive Culture

People perform at their best when they feel supported and have the resources they need to do their jobs. Leaders and managers play a key role in creating a supportive and health- promoting work environment. How can you lead in a way that promotes health and well-being for you and for the people you manage, while still achieving business goals? Learn how to create an organizational culture that supports the well-being of the workforce. Sit in on a conversation from experts in the field of workplace well-being — and be part of the conversation with questions of your own.

Panelists:
Mari Ryan: C.E.O. and Founder, Advancing Wellness
Suzanne Nobrega: Project Director, UMass Lowell's Total Worker Health Outreach and Dissemination Hub
Track D
Empower, Engage, Inspire!
Finding Your Wow Factor: Unlock Your Talents to Do Your Best Work

In this highly interactive session you will learn techniques to identify and embrace your strengths and put them to work for a more engaged work life.

When you really understand who you are, you are going to be better at what you do! Research by Gallup has shown that compared with those who do not get to focus on what they do best, people who have the opportunity to use their strengths are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.

Attendees will learn the five clues of talent that could help you face any problem, why your weaknesses may not matter as much as you think, and how low cost tools can help you build a language around what makes you unique and create ideas for action to achieve higher levels of success in your work.

Speaker:
Anne Marie Messier: Founder, Straightline Management Solutions
12:15-1:15
Lunch - 50 Warren Restaurant, Dining Hall and Lower Locks
1:15 - 2:15
Concurrent Sessions 3
Track A
Move Your Business Career Forward
The Future of Work – Trends Affecting Today's Workforce

Leaders of all functions in today's economy must understand the significant trends affecting the global workforce. This panel of senior human resources professionals will discuss trends such as the "gig" economy (where employees may manage a variety of roles and move jobs more often than in the past), changing workforce demographics (including the impact of having five generations in the workplace) and the effect of rapidly evolving technologies (requiring ongoing skills refreshing, managing data and privacy considerations, etc.). Panelists will discuss topics such as employee-employer loyalty and relationships, business ethics, and the broad impact of advances in AI, data analytics and automation.

Panelists:
Lisa Coleman: S.V.P. Global Inclusion and Strategic Innovation, New York University
Heidi Friedman: Associate V.P. of Human Resources, Mount Holyoke College
Moderator:
Beth Humberd: Assistant Professor of Management, UMass Lowell, Manning School of Business
Track B
Cultivate Your Career Development Skills
Critical Acclaim: Expose Your Inner Critic and Make the Impossible Possible

The way you speak to yourself predicts your day, your relationships and your future. This session will offer insights into how to turn limiting beliefs into forces for positive change. Through a series of real client examples, attendees will learn how to create new mental habits to see meaningful results at work and in life. Executive coach Kate Payne, who's held leadership roles at companies like Accenture and Fast Company, will share inspiring stories of executives overcoming self-imposed obstacles — and help you learn to trust yourself.

Speaker:
Kate Payne: Senior Leadership Coach, Kate Payne Executive Coaching
Track C
Own Your Value: Focus on Work and Self
Taking Care of YOU: How to Incorporate More Exercise in a Business Lifestyle

This workshop will touch on the common misconceptions related to women and fitness, and provide you with concrete tips for injecting more fitness into even the busiest schedule. You'll learn:

  • How to make healthy lifestyle changes stick
  • How the media can be confusing when it comes to diet and exercise
  • How hormones play a role as you age
  • The difference between weight and fat loss — and the newest research on what works.

Speaker:
Sherri Laffey Sarrouf: Owner, SLS Fitness Strength and Conditioning Center
Track D
Empower, Engage, Inspire!
Emotional Intelligence as a Leadership Predictor: Developing your EQ

We are all familiar with IQ, but EI, or emotional intelligence (often called your EQ), is also a key measure of potential leadership success and organizational performance. This session will introduce the concept of EI and the role it can play in building leadership effectiveness. You'll learn about strategies for developing required competencies, and the importance of growing emotionally intelligent leaders. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to cultivate the four skills that together make up emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.

Speaker:
Rita B. Allen: President, Rita B. Allen Associates
2:15-2:30
Break
2:30 - 3:30
Afternoon Keynote - Sophie V. Vandebroek

Sophie V. Vandebroek, Ph.D. is the vice president of emerging technology partnerships at IBM Corporation, leading key strategic initiatives to scale IBM's partnerships and ecosystems. She was previously the chief operating officer for IBM Research, one of the world's largest and most influential corporate research labs. IBM Research is pioneering the most promising and disruptive technologies that will transform industries and society, including AI, Blockchain and Quantum Computing.

Prior to joining IBM, Vandebroek served for over a decade as corporate officer and chief technology officer at Xerox Corporation.

Vandebroek is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers and holds 14 U.S. patents. She also serves on the board of directors of IDEXX Corporation and on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Engineering dean's advisory council. Previously, Vandebroek served on the boards of Analogic Corporation and Nypro Corp and was a trustee at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She has a master's degree in electrical engineering from KU Leuven, Belgium, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.

3:30-3:45
Closing Remarks
3:45-5:00
Closing Networking Reception - 50 Warren Restaurant (Cocktails & hors d'oeuvres will be served)