DIVERSITY BLOG
SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING

Female CEOs at top Silicon Valley tech firms down to zero


The number of women chief executives at Silicon Valley's biggest technology companies dropped to zero this week, with the abrupt departure of VMware's Diane Greene from the company she co-founded 10 years ago.

Greene's ouster may have stemmed from a dispute over business strategy, rather than her gender, but the news sent a rumble through the ranks of female managers and others concerned about diversity in the corner office. Many were disappointed. And many were speculating about the pool of likely female candidates for future CEO openings.

"The pipeline is light. It's not a pretty picture," said Wendy Beecham, who runs the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives, a Palo Alto organization formed to support women in business in the Bay Area.

Link to Mercury News - Posted July 11, 2008

Sunoco names Elsenhans CEO

The struggling petroleum refiner Sunoco has appointed a woman as its chief executive.

Lynn Laverty Elsenhans, who formerly led Shell’s refining and chemical operations, will take over as president and chief executive on Aug. 8, the company said Wednesday. 

Sunoco, based in Philadelphia, is one of the largest refiners in the United States that is independent of the major oil producing companies.

Link to New York Times - Posted July 17, 2008

AMD replaces CEO

Under Hector Ruiz's leadership, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. rose to challenge larger rival Intel Corp. as never before in AMD's nearly 40-year history.

Yet after six years as AMD's CEO, the embattled Ruiz stepped down Thursday as pressure mounts on the Sunnyvale-based company to dig itself out of a deep financial hole and recover from a devastating product stumble that wound up benefiting Intel in a big way.

Ruiz, 62, the only person to head AMD other than founder and longtime chief executive Jerry Sanders, will remain on the board of directors. One of the few Hispanic CEOs of a major U.S. corporation, Ruiz had also been AMD chairman but now takes on the title of executive chairman, a distinction that lets him retain some day-to-day responsibilities.

He's being replaced as CEO by AMD's current president and chief operating officer, Dirk Meyer, 46, an engineer and chip designer who has been helping Ruiz run the company since 2006. That means he knows AMD's operations intimately but also that he shares some of the responsibility for the company's financial distress.

Link to AP - Posted July 18, 2008

Bullets & Bombshells 
Featured in the Microquest Report: Shattering The Glass Ceiling  
July 2008 issue:

• Shelly Lazarus is stepping down as chief executive officer of New York City’s Ogilvy & Mather, a division of global advertising holding firm WPP Group. Lazarus’s career at Ogilvy spans 37 years, having taken the top spot in 1996. Lazarus will remain chairman.
   

• Patricia Russo is stepping down as chief executive officer of Alcatel-Lucent, French telecom equipment company based in Plano, TX. Russo has been chief executive of Lucent since 2002 and through the merger with Alcatel in 2006. Russo said, “I believe it is the right time for me to step down. The company will benefit from new leadership aligned with a newly composed board to bring a fresh and independent perspective.”
   

• Delta Airlines, based in Atlanta, GA, has announced a pair of female appointments post-merger with rival airline Northwest. Laura Liu (Asian American) will become senior vice president of international. Theresa Wise will become chief information officer. The proposed merger is undergoing regulatory review and is expected to close at the end of the year.
   

• Rebeca Johnson has been appointed chief marketing officer of movie-rental company Blockbuster, based in Dallas, TX. Johnson was previously chief marketing and global branding officer of Brinker International.
   

• Bertram Scott (African American) was appointed executive vice president and chief institutional development and sales officer for the teacher retirement fund company TIAA-CREF, based in New York, NY. The position is new and Scott will retain his previous duties as executive vice president for strategy, integration and policy.
   

• Susan McGalla, president and chief merchandising officer, will resign from clothing designer American Eagle Outfitters of Pittsburgh, PA effective January 31st. As the company searches for a replacement, McGalla said, “After 14 very rewarding years with American Eagle, I feel its time to move on to new challenges.”
   

• Elizabeth Reeves was named senior vice president and chief human resources officer of clothing designer and marketer Liz Claiborne of New York, NY. Previously, Reeves was senior vice president of corporate human resources at Lincoln National.
   

• Ann Marie Petach has been appointed chief financial officer of investment management company Blackrock of New York, NY. Previously, Petach was vice president and treasurer of Ford Motor.
   

• Sumant Ramachandra (East Indian) has been named senior vice president and chief scientific officer for pharmaceutical company Hospira, based in Lake Forest, IL. Ramachandra succeeds Edward Ogunro, who retired. Ramachandra was previously vice president and senior project leader for Schering-Plough’s research institute.
   

• Jenne Britell has been appointed chairman of equipment-rental company United Rentals, based in Greenwich, CT. Britell has been a director of the company since 2006. Britell is also currently chairman and chief executive officer of Structured Ventures.
   

• Anne Belec has been appointed to the board of directors for recreational equipment maker Brunswick, based in Lake Forest, IL. Belec is currently director of global marketing for Ford Motor.
   

• Kathryn Sullivan has been appointed chief executive officer of the Central region for health insurer UnitedHealth Group, based in Minnetonka, MN. Sullivan joins the company with a 25-year career at Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Sullivan will report directly to Gail K. Boudreaux, executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group.
   

• Pamela Nicholson has been appointed president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, based in St. Louis, MO. Nicholson retains her previous title of chief operating officer and her position on the board of Crawford Group, Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s parent company. Nicholson oversees the company’s transportation businesses including National Car Rental, Alamo Rent-A-Car, Enterprise Fleet Management, Car Sales and Commercial Truck Rental. Nicholson began her career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car in 1981 as a management trainee.
   

• Laurel Krzeminski has been appointed vice president and corporate controller of civil contractor Granite Construction, based in Watsonville, CA. Krzeminski succeeds Mary McCann-Jenni, who is leaving Granite after a 10 year career. Krzeminski reports to LeAnne Stewart, senior vice president and chief financial officer. Krzeminski will be responsible for accounting, financial reporting, internal controls and accounting shared services. Previously, Krzeminski held financial positions at Gilette, which was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2005.
   

• Holly Koeppel has been appointed a member of the board of tobacco company Reynolds American, based in Winston-Salem, NC. Koeppel is currently executive vice president and chief financial officer of American Electric Power.

Apple takes down "no girls allowed" sign over boardroom

Apple's appointment of one of the top women in corporate America to its board of directors is getting praise as a timely addition to an all-male board.

Andrea Jung, chairman and chief executive of Avon Products, is the first woman director for Apple since Katherine M. Hudson resigned in 1997 when Steve Jobs returned to become the company's guiding force.

Jung will become the eighth member of a board that includes Al Gore, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Intuit Chairman Bill Campbell.

She takes a seat that has been vacant since former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson resigned in September 2006.

In announcing the appointment, Jobs, Apple CEO, stressed Jung's extensive marketing experience. "Andrea is a strong CEO and marketer, and we look forward to benefiting from her insights and experience," Jobs said in a news release.

Link to San Jose Mercury News - Posted January 9, 2008

Citigroup names Vikram Pandit chief executive

Vikram Pandit, head of Citigroup's investment banking unit, has been named the company's chief executive. He replaces former CEO Charles Prince, who was forced into retirement last month following the disclosure of billions of dollars in losses from mortgage-backed securities. The one-time Nagpur, India resident who joined Citi less than a year ago after his hedge fund, Old Lane, was acquired by Citi has had a long stint at Morgan Stanley and comes to his job with some of the best credentials. He joins Arun Sarin at Vodafone and Indra Nooyi at Pepsi as part of the new breed of Indian executives taking the top posts at major international corporations.

Link to Money CNN - Posted December 12, 2007

Cisco lands Padmasree Warrior, Geek Queen

Padmasree Warrior, who resigned as Motorola Inc.'s chief technology officer yesterday, will take on the same job at Cisco Systems Inc., the networking vendor announced today. Warrior will become Cisco's first CTO since Charles Giancarlo traded the title for chief development officer in 2005 in a broad management reorganization. Warrior, 47, will report to chairman and CEO John Chambers. The move takes Warrior from a struggling maker of consumer and enterprise mobile products to a company that dominates several markets and is rapidly expanding into others. Her departure from Motorola came just days after CEO Ed Zander was replaced amid falling sales and profits. Zander is set to leave the company at year's end. 

Link to ComputerWorld - Posted December 5, 2007

P&G's "My Black Is Beautiful"

Reminiscent of Dove's "Beauty Campaign," Proctor & Gamble has launched a marketing campaign focusing on the image of black women. Associate marketing director of the multicultural team at P&G, Najoh Tita-Reid recounts a little-girl memory of going to play dolls with her neighbors, all of them white. Her doll stands out with its black color and features, and one girl says pointedly: "Najoh, our dolls can't play with yours."

Why not? "Because your doll is ugly," comes the reply.

The campaign is called "My Black is Beautiful" which combines marketing with forums meant to foster dialogue about black women and the way they are portrayed in popular culture.

Link to AP - Posted November 15, 2007

Vikram Pandit elevated to senior role at Citi

Citi has named Vikram Pandit , 50, a former Morgan Stanley executive, as chairman and CEO of the newly-formed institutional clients group comprising Citi Markets & Banking and Citi Alternative Investments. Mr Pandit joined Citi earlier this year after selling Old Lane, LP, a multi-strategy hedge fund and private equity fund manager he had formed, for $800 million. 

There are around 13 Indians in the management committee of Citi. All major business groups of Citi now have Indians at the helm. Other than corporate and investment banking, the other major business of the bank are its retail banking group and wealth management business. The international arms of both these business are now run by Indians — Ajay Banga, chairman and CEO of Global Consumer Group International and Deepak Sharma, CEO, Citi Global Wealth Management International, including Vikram A Atal, chairman & CEO, Citi Cards, Global Consumer Group and Suneel Bakskhi, head of global commercial bank, Citi Markets and Banking. Also, Sanjay Nayar, CEO, India, is in the committee. 

Link to Economic Tomes of India - Posted November 8, 2007

Dawn Hudson, 49, president of Pepsi-Cola North America, has resigned in the wake of a major reorganization at PepsiCo. The company said Hudson is leaving to pursue other opportunities. She is being replaced by Hugh Johnston.

The $35 billion consumer-products behemoth is breaking into three divisions (from two currently): 1) PepsiCo America Foods, comprised of Frito-Lay, Quaker, and Latin American food products; 2)PepsiCo Americas Beverages, including Pepsi-Cola North America, Gatorade, Tropicana and Latin American beverages; and
 3) PepsiCo International, which includes all PepsiCo businesses outside North America.

Link to Advertising Age - Posted November 6, 2007

Time Warner chief executive Richard Parsons will step down and be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Bewke on January 1, while Parsons will remain as chairman.  

The move comes at a time when investors are demanding Time Warner take drastic measures to boost its sluggish stock price, which has fallen back to about the same levels as when Parsons took over the company five years ago.

 This event will mark the departure of yet another African American CEO in the Fortune 500, bringing the latest tally down to three (Ronald Williams at Aetna, Ken Chenault at American Express and Clarence Otis at Darden Restaurants.) 

Link to Reuters - Posted November 5, 2007

O'Neal axed as head of Merrill Lynch & Co.

Stan O'Neal, CEO of Merril Lynch, was fired over the weekend as a result of the multi-billion dollar write-downs he announced last week in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage melt-down. The departure of O'Neal, who is African American, brings the CEO count at Fortune 500 companies down to 22 according to our Microquest Shattering The Glass Ceiling database. O'Neal had been one of only five African American CEOs in the Fortune 500.

Update: Poor guy only received $160 million in his exit settlement, so says the WSJ (October 30, 2007)

Link to Bloomberg - posted October 29, 2007

Dell names responsibility officer

Dell appointde Gilbert F. Casellas, former chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, vice president of corporate responsibility. Casellas will report to Don Carty, vice chairman and chief financial officer of Dell.

 “He and his team will oversee the heightened integration of economic, social and environmental responsibility into everything we do and ensure that the recruitment and development of diversity among our employees, customers and partners remains a cornerstone of how we do business,” Carty said.

Casellas will lead an organization that includes the company’s global diversity, sustainability and corporate giving functions. He will spearhead the company’s direct and regular engagements with global diversity-related, nongovernmental organizations, community and socially responsible investment groups.

Link to Dell - posted October 24, 2007

Profile: Zoe Cruz, Co-president Morgan Stanley

Zoe Cruz, 52, was appointed co-president in early 2006 after 24 years with Morgan Stanley. She continues to lead the firm’s institutional securities businesses, which includes banking and capital markets. She shares the role of president with Robert W. Scully.

Bullets & Bombshells 
Featured in the Microquest Report: Shattering The Glass Ceiling  
October 2007 issue:

• Loretta Young Walker (African American) has been named senior vice president and chief human resources officer of cable television network Turner Broadcasting based in Atlanta, GA. Walker’s responsibilities include recruitment, compensation, training and performance management. Walker also oversees the company’s diversity efforts and talent-management strategies. The company also named Vickie Hamilton (African American) senior vice president of enterprise performance. Hamilton’s responsibilities includes infrastructure and processes supporting business activity for customer platforms. Hamilton serves on the board of Global Executive Women and is active in the National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Communications, Atlanta chapter.
• John Agwunobi (African American) has been appointed senior vice president and president of the professional services division of Wal-Mart Stores, based in Bentonville, AR. Previously, Agwunobi was assistant secretary of health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He also held the rank of four star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Agwunobi’s responsibilities include oversight of the health and wellness business unit, including pharmacies, healthcare clinics and vision centers.
• Kim Harris Jones (African American), vice president of product, procurement cost management finance of automotive manufacturer Chrysler, based in Auburn Hills, MI has received the Peter C. Thorp Corporate Leadership Award given by The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management during its 41st Annual Orientation Program and Career Forum in Indianapolis. The award recognizes her efforts in leading diversity efforts and equal-employment opportunities at Chrysler.
• Denise L. Ramos (Hispanic) has been appointed chief financial officer of White Plains, NY-based aerospace industry equipment company ITT. Previously, Ramos was chief financial officer of Furniture Brands International. While at Furniture Brands, Ramos was instrumental in designing corporate strategy and planning processes for the $2.4 billion furniture manufacturer and retailer. Ramos holds an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago.
• Elizabeth Smith has been appointed vice chairman and president of beauty products company Avon, based in New York, NY. Smith will oversee strategic efforts, restructuring and cost containment at the fortune company. Previously, Smith was executive vice president of the North American business for the company. Smith reports to chairman and chief executive officer Andrea Jung. “Liz has played a key leadership role in Avon’s turnaround since joining the company three years ago,” said Jung. The last president Avon had was Susan Kroph, who stepped down from the role in July 2006. Prior to Avon, Smith was a manager of North America operations and global brand marketing for Kraft. The company also appointed Andrea Slater president of Avon U.S. She will report to Smith. Previously, Slater was president of Avon U.K.
• Ruby Anik (Asian Indian) has been named senior vice president and director of brand marketing for department store retailer JC Penny, based in Plano, TX. Previously, she was senior vice president of marketing communications at electronics retailer Best Buy.
• American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, TX, has appointed several African-American executives: David Campbell has been named senior vice president of technical operations. Campbell oversees maintenance and stores, flight and system operations control organizations. Previously, Campbell was vice president for base maintenance at American’s Alliance Fort Worth and Kansas City bases. He joined American Airlines in 1988. Lillian Dukes has been appointed vice president of technical services for American Airlines regional affiliate American Eagle. Dukes has previously held a 20 year career in the aerospace industry. She began her career as an engineer with General Electric Aerospace and earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Villanova University. Michael Collins has joined the company as managing director for diversity strategies. Collins’ responsibilities include advancing the company’s efforts in diversity for employees, customers and suppliers. Previously, Collins was operations manager for Citicards, the credit card division of Citigroup. Eric Stallworth has joined the company as manager of diversity strategies. Stallworth’s responsibilities include creating strategies for employee, customer and community relations. Most recently, Stallworth was director of diversity programs for Rockwell Collins.
• Sara Badler has been appointed senior vice president and deputy general counsel of New York Life Insurance Company. Badler is responsible for managing the unit within the office of the general counsel, providing legal advice to the life insurance, annuity and long term care group operations of the company. Badler previously had rejoined New York Life in 2004 as vice president and associate general counsel and then first vice president and deputy general counsel. The company also appointed Karen Lamp vice president and associate general counsel. Lamp’s responsibilities include managing the litigation unit of the general counsel office. Previously, Lamp joined the company in 1991 as assistant general counsel.
• Dean Seavers (African American) has been appointed president and chief executive officer of GE Security, an Austin, TX-based security systems and alarms business unit of General Electric. Seavers manages profit and loss, growth and business development for the unit. Previously, Seavers was president of Tyco’s $2 billion fire alarm subsidiary SimplexGrinnell. Seavers began his career with advertising and product planning at Ford. Seavers graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in business from Kent State and a MBA from Stanford.
• Scott Hills (African American) has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Viacom business unit, African American entertainment network BET Networks, based in Washington, DC. Hills’ responsibilities include business operations, advertising sales, legal and business affairs, finance and research. Previously, Hills was president and chief financial officer of the digital media group at BET. Hills will report directly to Debra Lee, chairman and chief executive officer.
• Lisa Su (Asian American) has been named senior vice president and chief technology officer for Motorola spin-off semiconductor company Freescale, based in Austin, TX. Previously, Su was vice president of semiconductor research and development at IBM. While at IBM, Su held various technical and business positions, including technology development and alliances. Su has earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from MIT and was named one of the “Top 100 Young Innovators” by MIT Technology Review in 2002.

Link to CNNMoney.com - posted January 30, 2007  

Chanel's American In Paris

BusinessWeek has a nice feature on an American woman, Maureen Chiquet and her rise to global CEO at Chanel in Paris.

At a meeting with her leadership team in a sleek conference room high above New York, Maureen Chiquet, a slim 43-year-old with close-cropped hair, wears a dark couture jacket by legendary Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld paired with superfine jeans and black Chanel boots. She and her team are strategizing about the launch of a new perfume. 

"Let's not be thinking about how big we can make this," says the new global head of one of the world's paramount--and most secretive--luxury brands, "but about how exclusive and special you can keep it." 

Link to BusinessWeek - posted January 23, 2007

Flash back:
Dove: Campaign For Real Beauty

Soap maker Dove has launched a clever and controversial advertising campaign featuring "non-models" displaying "real" curves and shapes. Dove recruited six "women next door" for its Dove Firming products and follows their progress on its web site. Dove's campaign seems to be tapping into a new marketing angle aligning itself with women who resent the stereotypical female images portrayed in the media: namely thin, yet buxom, super-lipped super models. 

Read commentary by Washington Post
See Campaign For Real Beauty at Dove

Nike has also jumped on this bandwagon with its own ads featuring "big butts" and "thunder thighs". The big butts ad reads "My butt is big and round like the letter C and ten thousand lunges have made it rounder but not smaller and that's just fine. It's a space heater for my side of the bed. It's my ambassador to those who walk behind me... those who might scorn it are invited to kiss it. Just do it".

Both campaigns are certainly generating discussion and attention. That would seem to make the ads successful.

Read commentary by Salon - See flash at Nike - Posted August 26, 2005

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