The Women in Consumer Technology Forum kicked off CE WEEK in NYC in formidable style. A program of high-profile speakers provided the 85 attendees with concrete ideas, inspiration, and step-by-step methods on how to achieve advancement in the consumer technology industry.
The daylong, fifth-annual forum titled, “Design Your Life: A Road-map to Success Amid Change,” got underway with an opening keynote by New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and popular lecturer, Gail Sheehy. In her 50 years as a writer she has interviewed thousands of subjects and written 17 books, beginning with her 1976 work, Passages, named one of the 10 most influential books of our times by a Library of Congress survey.
In her speech, Sheehy related details of her path to the pinnacle of a male-dominated industry, including stories of being on the campaign trail with Bobby Kennedy and meeting Margaret Thatcher. Sheehy said she hopes her journey inspires young women to dream big, take risks, outlive early failures, and build toward success with meaning and social purpose by midlife.
The hands-on interactive day also featured Sam Horn, who has presented at TEDxNASA on how to facilitate what is most meaningful in your life with a step-by-step plan, and Kendra Thomas, head of global diversity for Pearson delivered a scientifically based presentation titled, “Leveraging Gender Intelligence to Transform Cultures.”
Deena Ghazarian and Lutron’s Melissa Andresko brought to life the group’s Connect Circle Program. Finally, award-winning journalist Andrea Smith and mother-daughter team Karyn Schoenbart (president and COO, The NPD Group) and Danielle Sporkin (client partner at Essence, a digital media agency), shared generational experiences in how to use best practices for today’s business world.
