The 14th annual London Business School, Women in Business conference is taking place on Friday 14 March 2014. Planning it has been no small feat. The organizing students have been carefully selecting the keynotes and panellists over the last 12 months. After months of preparation and planning, on Friday I expect nothing less than a packed auditorium, thought provoking discussions, personal conversations around professional and personal sustainability and key takeaways from some of today’s top female industry leaders.
Coming from a finance background, I cannot help but ask myself the question: what truly is the Net Present Value (NPV) of an event like this?
For women in business current statistics depict the problem and countless studies prove the value. While women have made large strides in education and entering the workforce, the promotional cliff for women remains. There is a staggering drop off in female talent from management, to executive, to the C-suite level. In the UK alone the ratio of male to female executives within the FTSE 100 is 97:3. Studies statistically prove that companies, which do little to tap into the potential of women, are missing the long-term economic advantage to better serve their clients, employees and economies. Simply put, hiring and retaining women is not about quotas or a charitable activity, it makes business sense.
Our conference theme is: Sprints and marathons – the sustainable career. By showcasing real women leaders and success stories, the conference provides all attendees with that unique opportunity to learn from, connect with, and inspire, one another. Keynote speakers and topics include:
- Sharon White, Second Permanent Secretary and Her Majesty’s Treasury; Building your Network and Charting your Course
- Jo Malone, Founder of JO LOVES The Sweet Smell of Success: The Next Chapter
- Heather McGregor (Mrs. Moneypenny), Entrepreneur, Columnist in the weekend Financial Times Managing your Career Disruption
Moderated by Mina Mehta from GlaxoSmithKline and Mary Wakefield from The Spectator, there will be two panels during the day addressing complex issues around personal and professional sustainability.
Change starts with knowledge. The NPV lies in keeping up the awareness and providing actionable advice, which keeps up the pressure on the subject. There is no doubt that the 350+ attendees will learn about the issues facing women, be inspired and empowered with tools and ideas to become better leaders. Importantly they will also have the opportunity to network one to one with other highly successful women. And if even just a single thought resonates with a handful of people, and one of those people makes a change such as finding a sponsor, negotiating harder or adapting their leadership style, the outcome is positive.
Bio: Nisha is a first-year MBA student at London Business School. Prior to LBS, Nisha was a Vice President at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. From 2011-2013, she was the Asia Business Execution manager for the Global Expansion Team. In this role she was responsible for licensing, product expansion, and executing other revenue growth strategies in the Asia Pacific offices. From 2007-2013, she was a Relationship Manager in Commercial Banking, managing a portfolio of industry agnostic clients, responsible for annual revenue generation of up to $1.2Mn. Nisha was raised in Mumbai, India, and has a BA degree in International Studies and French Literature from the University of California San Diego.
