The Committee of 200 (C200) Presents Annual Luminary Awards to Three Exceptional Women

CHICAGO, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, October 12, The Committee of 200 (C200) will pay tribute to three women credited with changing the face of business.  Each honoree will receive a C200 Luminary Award at a private awards ceremony at the Four Seasons Chicago.  The ceremony is part of the organization's Annual Conference, which will also mark C200's 30^th Anniversary.

C200 is a not-for-profit, invitation-only membership organization composed of the world's most successful female entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.  The organization's primary mission is to foster, celebrate and advance women's leadership in business.  Through targeted outreach and support to future leaders, C200 helps ensure that women will continue to play increasingly significant and visible leadership roles.  Collectively C200 members employ more than 2.5 million people.

C200's 2012 Luminary Award winners include: 

Entrepreneurial Champion, presented by Ernst & Young LLP

Winner:  Gay Gaddis, President and Chief Executive Officer, T3 (The Think Tank)

Over the past 23 years, Gay Gaddis has built T3 into one of America's leading independent advertising agencies, attracting marquee name clients, including Allstate, Coca-Cola, JPMorgan Chase, Phillips 66, Sprite, UPS and Windows Phone.

T3 jumped into digital marketing years ahead of others and followed in social media, analytics, mobile and in developing "technology-fueled" creative solutions.

Gaddis' original business plan for her advertising agency was written on a cocktail napkin: "Kick ass work for clients who want to kick ass."  That big idea is thriving today.  The napkin is framed.  The business model she dreamed up in 1989 is the model almost all agencies have adopted – from multinationals on down.

Gaddis' commitment to her work family and her own family has attracted a team from some of the most respected companies in the world.  Advocating for woman-owned businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide, she has traveled with the U.S. State Department to mentor small businesses in the Baltic region and Middle East and university business students in China. 

Ernst & Young LLP, sponsor of the C200 Luminary Award for Entrepreneurial Champion, is dedicated to the growth and success of female entrepreneurs.  Ernst & Young demonstrates its commitment to the success of women-owned businesses through programs like Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women, a national competition and executive leadership program that identifies a select group of high-potential women entrepreneurs whose businesses show real potential to scale — and then helps them do it.

Corporate Innovator, presented by U.S. Trust

Winner:  Adele Gulfo, Regional President, Latin America, Pfizer, Inc.

Adele Gulfo leads a team of over 4,000 colleagues for Pfizer, operating across more than 23 countries.  In 2011, Pfizer Latin America generated $3 billion in revenues to become the largest revenue-generator within the pharmaceutical company's Emerging Markets Business Unit.

Gulfo has been awarded five U.S. Patents for innovative packaging designed to help patients adhere to their medicines.  She frequently speaks at prestigious industry and business conferences, including The Wall Street Journal's Women in the Economy:  An Executive Task Force Conference, and has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, BusinessWeek and The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Trust, sponsor of the C200 Luminary Award for Corporate Innovator, recognizes that lasting legacies come from imagination, insight and careful consideration.  U.S. Trust, too, empowers women to inspire future generations by sharing our intellectual resources and financial acumen toward helping manage, preserve and enhance generational wealth.

Skills to Succeed Champion, presented by Accenture

Winner:  Kay Koplovitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Koplovitz & Co.

Kay Koplovitz is the Founder of USA Network, the Sci-Fi Channel and USA Networks International.  She created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising.

In recent years, Koplovitz has assumed a leadership role in the area of Corporate Board Diversity and placing more women on boards.  She has helped spearhead efforts by Yale University and the Partnership for New York City.

Koplovitz is a Board Member of CA Technology, ION Media and Fifth & Pacific.  She has also served on the Boards of Oracle, Nabisco, Instinet and General Re.

As well, she is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas and speaks on women's leadership, especially in the areas of entrepreneurship, board diversity and media.

Accenture, sponsor of the Skills to Succeed Champion Luminary Award, currently employs more than 89,000 women who make up approximately one-third of Accenture's global workforce.  Through its Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship focus, the company is committed to equipping 250,000 women and men around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.

"We are overwhelmed by the collective achievements of our membership," said Connie Duckworth, C200 Committee Chair and ARZU, Inc. Founder & CEO.  "Today, we are especially delighted to recognize Gay, Adele and Kay for their extraordinary successes.  These women have left an indelible legacy in their respective fields.  They are a source of inspiration to us and to current and future generations of women business leaders.  C200's role in advancing women in business is more important today than it has ever been," she concluded.

About C200

With over 200 founding members, the group now includes 400+ women executives serving at the highest levels within successful private and public companies.  By sharing their success with one another and with future leaders, C200 is creating lasting, meaningful positive change.

For more information about C200, the Luminary Awards and the 30^th Anniversary Conference, please contact:  Lauren Banyar Reich ([email protected]), 212-871-3020 ext. 115

SOURCE The Committee of 200 (C200)