Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo! and PwC to be honored at BUILD's 3rd Annual Gala

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, and PwC US, one of the world's largest providers of assurance, tax and business advisory services, will be honored for both individual and corporate commitment to education excellence by BUILD, a Redwood City-based, national non-profit with a mission to use entrepreneurship to excite and propel disadvantaged and disengaged students through high school to college and career success.

Marissa Mayer will be the third recipient of BUILD's "Pitch" Prize for Innovation in Entrepreneurship, named for venture capital luminary and founding BUILD supporters, Franklin "Pitch" and Catherine Johnson.  PwC will receive the inaugural BUILD Innovation Award which honors a corporate partner for its deep commitment to BUILD's mission and its embodiment of the innovative spirit BUILD instills in its students.

BUILD's 3^rd Annual Gala will be held May 17 at the City View Metreon in San Francisco. The evening will feature BUILD students showcasing their business products, a fabulous dinner prepared by Paula LeDuc, a program highlighting the contributions of Marissa Mayer and PwC, an exclusive live auction and a lively after party. For details about the event, please visit www.build.org/gala.

In the US, 1.3 million students drop out of high school every year; BUILD, Marissa Mayer and PwC share the common goal of eradicating the dropout crisis in America.  "BUILD has a transformational impact on students and empowers them to succeed in school and their careers," says BUILD founder and CEO, Suzanne McKechnie Klahr. "We are proud that 99% of BUILD seniors have graduated high school and 95% have been accepted into college."

About Marissa Mayer
Marissa Mayer is an American business executive. In 2012, she joined Yahoo! as its President and CEO. Previously, she was a long-time executive and key spokesperson for Google.  She is the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and has been ranked number 14 on the list of America's most powerful businesswomen of 2012 by Fortune magazine.

About PwC
PwC US helps organizations and individuals create the value they're looking for.  PwC is in a network of firms in 158 countries with more than 180,000 people.  PwC is committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services.  Find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com/US.
Learn more about PwC by following us online: @PwC_LLP, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google +.

© 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the US member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

About BUILD
Founded in 1999, BUILD's mission is to use entrepreneurship to excite and propel disengaged, low-income students through high school to college success.  BUILD believes that the power of student ideas in action drives youth to reach their fullest potential in school and beyond.  The four-year high school program offers a unique blend of entrepreneurship, academics, and personal support that attracts and motivates many students who are otherwise at high risk of failing classes and dropping out of high school. 

BUILD currently serves high school students at programs located in Redwood City and Oakland, CA; Washington DC and Boston, MA.  For more information see: www.build.org.

About PwC and BUILD Collaboration
In addition to providing a foundation grant, PwC recently completed a pro bono project with BUILD that assessed BUILD's national volunteer recruitment model and provided a roadmap for improving the organization's ability to recruit its more than 1,000 volunteer mentors. PwC Partner David Marston is the Chair of the Bay Area Board of BUILD, and the association between the two organizations is a good example of a successful, multi-layered education focused community effort.

PwC provides professional services to over 90% of the Fortune 500* technology companies and is committed to education programs to develop the next generation of skilled professionals. As part of the Earn Your Future initiative, PwC committed to invest $160 million--$60 million in cash donations and one million service hours worth $100 million—in youth education, impacting more than 2.5 million students and educators in the United States. Over the next five years, PwC will leverage its 35,000 people and its people's core skill set to improve and develop the financial competency of American youth.

About the "Pitch" Prize for Innovation
The Pitch Prize is awarded annually to an individual or group that embodies the vision, passion and spirit of entrepreneurship that BUILD inspires in its young students. The award is named in honor of Franklin "Pitch" and Catherine Johnson, whose seed investment and continued support helped launch BUILD from an idea into a national organization at the forefront of education reform.  Former recipients of the Pitch Prize include Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square and Reid Hoffman, founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn.

* Source: Fortune 1000 industry rankings, published May 2012             

SOURCE PwC US