NYU Stern Women In Business

Morning Keynote Speaker

Cathleen Black, President of Hearst Magazines

With a new best-selling book drawing on her four decades in the media business, Cathie Black — dubbed “The First Lady of American Magazines” and “one of the leading figures in American publishing over the past two decades” by the Financial Times — heads Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines. She manages the financial performance and development of some of the industry's best-known titles: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's BAZAAR, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Redbook, and Town & Country — 19 magazines in all. She also oversees nearly 200 international editions of those magazines in more than 100 countries. Most recently, she oversaw the launch of Quick & Simple, Hearst’s first weekly magazine in the U.S.

Black’s book, “BASIC BLACK: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)” www.cathieblack.com, explains how she achieved "the 360° life" — a blend of professional accomplishment and personal contentment — and how women can seize opportunity in the workplace. "BASIC BLACK," now in its seventh printing (155,745 copies) and available in seven countries, reached No. 1 on the Wall Street Journal Business Books list (Nov. 6, 2007) and No. 3 on the New York Times Business Books List (Nov. 11, 2007). It is published by Crown, an imprint of Random House.

BASIC BLACK is both practical and motivational. Black offers riveting case studies; "black-and-white" tips; and invaluable lessons about ambition, self- confidence, and risk, illustrated by candid, funny personal stories and with insights into media and business giants like Rupert Murdoch, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Francis Ford Coppola, Harvey Weinstein, and Al Neuharth.

At Hearst Magazines, aggressive international development worldwide as well as significant digital expansion are two key priority areas for Black, with all magazines having new websites in 2007.

Having begun her career in advertising sales with several magazines, including Holiday and Ms., she made publishing history in 1979 when she became the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine: New York.

Black is widely credited for the success of USA Today, where for eight years starting in 1983, she was first president, then publisher, as well as a board member and executive vice president/marketing of Gannett, its parent company. In 1991 she became president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, the industry’s largest trade group, where she served for five years before joining Hearst.

She serves as a member of the boards of IBM and the Coca-Cola Company, and held a two-year term (1999-2001) as chairman of the Magazine Publishers of America. She is also a board member of the Advertising Council, a trustee of The University of Notre Dame and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Black is among a handful of women that have appeared on Fortune magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in American Business" list each year since it debuted in 1998. She has also been included on Forbes magazine’s list of “The 100 Most Powerful Women” and Crain's list of New York City's "100 Most Influential Women in Business."

Black is a graduate of Trinity College, Washington, D.C., and holds eight honorary degrees.

“No one in New York embodies the magazine business like Cathleen Black. The Hearst Magazines president is a tireless spokeswoman for the industry… Perhaps even more striking is her string of successes for Hearst, which includes the birth of O, The Oprah Magazine, a magazine launch that was so hot it inspired other celebrity titles…During Ms. Black’s six-year tenure at the $1.5 billion company, she has maintained the health of big brands like Cosmopolitan [and] brought forth new favorites like Marie Claire…As electronic media continue to carve into the market for the printed word, her outspoken commitment to magazines will be invaluable to the industry.” — Crain’s New York Business, June 17, 2002.

Afternoon Keynote Speaker

Suzy Welch, Management Expert and Author

Suzy Welch is a noted author, commentator, and business journalist. “The Welch Way,” the widely read column she writes with her husband, Jack Welch, appears every Friday in Business Week magazine and is published by the New York Times syndicate in more than forty-five major newspapers around the world, reaching more than 8 million readers. The Welches are also the co-authors of WINNING, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, and its companion volume, WINNING: THE ANSWERS.

On her own, Suzy is a contributing writer for O Magazine, where she writes frequently about balancing work and life, as well as the delicate art of managing career challenges. Recently, she was also the Executive-in-Residence at Babson University’s Center for Women’s Leadership, where she taught and advised both undergraduates and MBAs.

Born in Portland, Oregon, Suzy attended Harvard College in 1981 and Harvard Business School in 1988, where she graduated as a Baker Scholar. After Harvard Business School, she worked as a management consultant, specializing in strategy and manufacturing. She joined the Harvard Business Review as a senior editor in 1995 and was named editor-in-chief in 2001. During her tenure at HBR, Suzy was the author of numerous articles on leadership, change, creativity and organizational behavior, as well as the contributor to several books on management.

Suzy is the mother of four children, aged 12 to 18. She serves on several non-profit boards, including Boston Health Care for the Homeless.

Alumnae Award Recipient

Joyce Phillips

Joyce A. Phillips joined American Life Insurance Company (ALICO), a subsidiary of American International Group, Inc., as its President and Chief Operating Officer in July 2007.

Ms. Phillips joined ALICO from Citigroup, where she had been head of International Retail Banking since 2005. In that role she was responsible for strengthening product distribution and expansion in Citigroup's global retail banking franchise in 42 countries. Product lines under her leadership included loans, deposits, investments and insurance.

Previously, Ms. Phillips held various senior positions in Citigroup Japan, including Country Business Manager of consumer operations and Representative Director of Citibank's Retail Bank, as well as President and CEO of Citicorp Diners Club Japan. She joined Citigroup in 1999 from GE Capital, where she held various management positions in the Global Consumer Finance Division. Before that, she was International Product Manager for the Western Union Financial Services' Money Transfer business, based in the U.S.

Ms. Phillips was named to the U.S. Banker "25 Most Powerful Women in Banking" list in 2006. She has an MBA from the Stern School of Business, New York University and is fluent in Japanese.