Women Corporate Board Leaders to Convene in Paris at WCD Foundation EMEA Institute

PARIS, Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- How directors can best steer their companies through a volatile geopolitical landscape and cultural discord will be the theme of the upcoming WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation 2016 EMEA Institute in Paris. The Institute – bringing together nearly 100 top women board directors, CEOs, and other C-level officers from across Europe and the Middle East – will be held February 10-11 at KPMG headquarters.

"The EMEA region is experiencing dynamic change," says Susan Stautberg, CEO and Chairman of WCDF. "Corporate directors in the region are truly seeking guidance on confronting these changes and preparing their companies for ongoing discussions."

WCDF, the largest global organization of women board members of public and private companies, has 71 chapters around the world. The WCDF chapter in Spain launched this past year, and the organization has longstanding chapters in France, United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as chapters in a number of other capitals in the region.

The WCDF EMEA Institute program – "How Directors Can Successfully Guide a Company Through Cultural Uncertainty and Economic Malaise" – will feature a range of panels addressing the particular challenges companies and boards face as they conduct business and trade over a vastly diverse region, spanning from Asia through the Middle East and Africa to Western Europe:

• Panel 1: Managing Conflicts in the Boardroom – Especially in Global Companies
  • Geraldine Amiel (France) (Moderator), Paris Bureau Chief, Bloomberg News
  • Vladislava Ryabota (India), Regional Corporate Governance Lead, South Asia, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Diane de Saint Victor (France), Director, Barclays PLC, Barclays Bank PLC; General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of the ABB Group; former General Counsel of Honeywell and GE Healthcare; WCD Member
  • Carol Xueref (France), Secretary General of Essilor International SA; Director, Eiffage and Ipsen S.A. 
• "A Conversation With" Inga Beale (United Kingdom), Chief Executive Officer, Lloyd's; External Board Member, Government's Financial Services Trade and Investment Board; WCD Member
• Panel 2: Activist Investors
  • Natalie Daghles (Germany) (Moderator, invited), Associate, Latham & Watkins, LLP
  • Kay Ellen Consolver (United Kingdom), Non-Executive Director and Strategic Advisor, Natural Resources Industry; Supervisory Board Member, Thyssen Petroleum; Member, Advisory Board, African Power Corporation; former Senior Global Executive, ExxonMobil; WCD Member
• Panel 3: Customer Loyalty and Shared Value
  • Lord Michael Hastings (United Kingdom) (Moderator), International Global Head of Corporate Citizenship, KPMG; former Director, British Telecom and Global Reporting Initiative
  • Constance Hunter (United States), Chief Economist, KPMG LLP
  • Giovanna Kampouri Monnas (Netherlands), Director, Aptar Group, Imerys S.A., Puig s.l, Randstad Holding, Fondation Air France; President, Estia Agios Nikolaos Foundation; WCD Member
• Panel 4: Technology is Not the Only Answer: Talent and Culture are Important
  • Annalisa Gigante (Switzerland) (Moderator), SVP Innovation LafargeHolcim; Board Member and Trustee, Zurich International School (ZIS), Digital Media Council WTA, WCD Chapter Chair
  • Mylena Pierremont (Netherlands), Founding Partner, Ming Pai Consulting; Director, World Future Society; WCD Chapter Chair and European Institute Co-Chair
  • Henrietta Fore (United States), Director, ExxonMobil Corporation, Director, Essilor International SA, General Mills, and Theravance, Inc.; Co-Chair, Asia Society
• Panel 5: Cyber Security – Developing a Proper Plan to Mitigate Risk
  • Catherine Allen (United States), Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, The Santa Fe Group; Director, Analytics Pro, El Paso Electric Company, Houlihan Lokey, and Synovus Financial; WCD Chapter Chair
  • Sir Iain Lobban (United Kingdom) Partner and Senior Strategy Adviser, C5; former Director of GCHQ
• "A Conversation With" Belen Garijo (Germany), Director, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. and L'Oreal S.A.; Member of the Executive Board Merck KGaA; Chief Executive Officer, Merck Healthcare; President and Chief Executive Officer Biopharma (previously named Merck Serono); Member of the Board, PhRMA

In addition to the Institute itself, Latham & Watkins will sponsor a "New Directors" dinner on February 9, and KPMG Paris will host a New Directors program on February 10. This program, designed for incoming first-time directors, will feature strategies for first-year board service and provide advice on ways to make a board visionary. Executives from KPMG, Latham & Watkins, Spencer Stuart, and Pearl Meyer will provide updates on audit, risk, nominating/governance, and compensation strategies and trends.

Qualified women directors may apply to attend the EMEA Institute at http://events-meetings.kpmg.com/events/wcd-emea-institute/event-summary-a7f5fab7ff5b49388352496a01c6096f.aspx.

For more information, please contact Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212.588.8788 or [email protected].

About WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. (WCDF)
The WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. (The WCD Foundation) is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors, with more than 3,500 members serving on more than 8,500 boards. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the WCD Foundation has 71 chapters around the world, with seven more to launch over the next year. The aggregate market capitalization of public companies on whose boards WCD Foundation members serve is over $8 trillion. In addition, WCD Foundation members serve on numerous boards of large private and family-run companies globally.

WCD Foundation membership provides a unique platform for learning from the intellectual capital of accomplished women from around the world, and the WCD Foundation's mission is to increase courage, candor, inclusion, and cohesion in the boardroom.

The WCD Foundation has 71 global chapters, located in Arizona, Atlanta, Austin, Beijing, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Chile, Cleveland, Colombia, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Delhi, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greater Colorado, Greater New Mexico, Guatemala, Gulf Cooperation Council, Hanoi, Hawaii, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kansas City, Kenya, London, Los Angeles/Orange County, Malaysia, Melbourne, Mexico, Milan, Minnesota, Mongolia, Morocco, Mumbai, Netherlands, New York, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern California, North Florida/South Georgia, Panama, Peru, Philadelphia, Philippines, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San Diego, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, South Africa, South Florida, Spain, Switzerland, Sydney, Tampa, Tennessee, Toronto, Turkey, Washington, D.C., and Western Canada. 

For more information visit www.womencorporatedirectors.com or follow us on Twitter @WomenCorpDirs, #WCDboards.

SOURCE WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc.

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