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Last chance to register for NEW multicultural event
Respond now to attend “survival course” for today’s economy
NEW expands, Southern California style |
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| Hyatt Lodge near O'Hare |
The two-day program, which is designed for CPG/retail executives and emerging leaders, HR managers, and diversity and inclusion officers, will include three keynote speeches, breakout sessions, peer learning and panel discussions. The conference will focus on ways to retain key talent, recruit high-potential leaders and optimize the effectiveness of work teams with practical solutions from industry executives and diversity and inclusion officers (see agenda below).
“We all know times are tough,” says session leader Trudy Bourgeois, president of the Center for Workforce Excellence. “Which is why this conference is focused on real-world solutions to help your business. It could not be more timely.”
Bourgeois announced that Chelle Moore, Walmart's vice president for international human resources, has been added to the program as the opening keynote speaker. "This conference is a unique opportunity for retailers and suppliers to have a dialogue on diversity," Bourgeois said. "I can think of no better person to start that dialogue than Chelle, who represents the industry's largest retailer."
In addition to Moore, the conference will include keynote addresses by John Saguto, vice president and managing director, customer development group, for Nestlé Purina PetCare, and Bridgette Heller, global president of baby care for Johnson & Johnson. Andrés Tapia, chief diversity officer and emerging workforce solutions leader of Hewitt Associates, will give a luncheon address.
The NEW Multicultural Workforce Conference is reserved for a limited number of Network members (memberships are available online for $200 per year). Registration is $995 for employees of NEW’s national corporate sponsor companies and $1,295 for all other NEW members.
All events will be held at the Hyatt Lodge retreat on the McDonald’s Campus in Oak Brook, Illinois, 11 miles from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. A discount room rate of $159 is available on a first-come, first-served basis until Monday, March 23. Call (630) 990-5800 and mention the NEW Multicultural Workforce Conference.
NEW MULTICULTURAL WORKFORCE AGENDA
Tuesday, April 21
Evening Welcome reception
Wednesday, April 22
Morning
Connecting to the Present Opportunity
Trudy Bourgeois, CEO and Founder, Center for Workforce Excellence
Keynote addresses
The Internal and External Impact of Diversity and Inclusion
Chelle Moore, VP, International Human Resources, Walmart Stores
Leveraging An Inclusive Team to Drive Results
John Saguto, Vice President and Managing Director,
Customer Development Group, Nestlé Purina PetCare
Concurrent sessions
Building Intercultural Competencies
Alicia Petross, Senior Diversity Group Manager, Talent
Target Corporation
Kathy White, VP, Human Resources, Jamba Juice
White Men as Allies and Diversity Champions
Bill Proudman, Principal
White Men as Full Diversity Partners (facilitator)
Steve Adkins, Senior Vice President, Operations, Jamba Juice
Chris Baldwin, President, Snacks, Kraft Foods
Pete Williams, Senior Vice President, The Kroger Co.
Bill Woolston, VP, Labor Relations and HR, QTG Division, PepsiCo
Leveraging Employee Resource Groups
Wynona Redmond, Public Affairs Director, Dominick’s Finer Foods (moderator)
Vicki Felker, Managing Director
Nestlé Purina PetCare
Tonie Leatherberry, Principal, Deloitte & Touche
Sherri Toney, VP, Diversity and Inclusion & Employee Engagement
The Kellogg Company
Wednesday, April 22
Afternoon
Luncheon keynote address
Andrés Tapia, Chief Diversity Officer and Emerging Work Solutions Leader, Hewitt Associates
Concurrent sessions repeat
Best Practices Panel: The Business Impact of Diversity
Tonie Leatherberry, Principal, Deloitte & Touche (facilitator)
Darnell Allen, Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, SuperValu
Dr. Rohini Anand, SVP and Global Chief, Diversity Officer, Sodexo
Tom O’Brien, Vice President, Global Health & Beauty Care
Procter & Gamble
Evening
Special networking event
Thursday, April 23
Morning
Keynote address
Taking Diversity and Inclusion Global
Bridgette Heller, Global President, Baby Care
Johnson & Johnson
Best Practices Panel: Real Life Stories from the Global Front
Melody Justice, Executive Vice President, the Coca-Cola Company
Olu Fajemirokun, VP, Customer Development
Mars Snackfood U.S.
A Word About Accountability
Erby Foster, Director, Diversity and Inclusion
The Clorox Company
Going Forward: Building A Plan of Action
Donna Rae Smith, Founder and Chair
Bright Side Inc.
Remarks and Farewell
NEW President Alison K. Paul, Principal, Deloitte
Afternoon
Farewell luncheon
This agenda is subject to change. Conference ends promptly at noon followed by a lunch. Please plan to stay for the entire session.
Register now
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NEW expands, Southern California style
More than 350 executives told that “opportunity abounds”
The “East Room” of the Nixon Presidential Library provided a glittering back drop for the launch of the Network’s Southern California group March 11 in Yorba Linda, Calif.
Trudy Bourgeois, president of the Center for Workforce Excellence, led a panel focused on attracting talent to the industry and opened with candid comments on the current economic situation. “Don’t be terrorized” by bad economic news, she told the crowd. “Opportunity abounds,” she said, noting that Microsoft was founded in the midst of the nation’s last big recession. “You must be on purpose every day,” Bourgeois told the crowd. “No one here gets a bailout.”
The event attracted a Who’s Who of the industry in Southern California. Companies sending large delegations included Acosta Sales & Marketing, Albertsons, Bristol Farms, Catalina Marketing, ConAgra Foods, Costco, Deloitte, Frito-Lay, Kraft, Mass Connections, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Ralph’s, SuperValu, Pepsi Bottling Group, Unified Grocers, Unilever, Valassis and Vons.
The panel – “A Destination Industry” -- featured Joan Chow of ConAgra Foods, Rojon Hasker of Safeway, Sue Klug of Albertsons and Kim Nelson of General Mills. The women spoke of what attracted them to the CPG/retail industry. Klug said she “grew up poor and was determined not to be hungry,” so she focused on education, attending Pasadena (California) City College and transferring to USC.
Nelson noted that she had no business training until she “fell in love” with brand management. Chow said the defining moment of her early career was when she went to her boss and demanded he finally promote her to VP (she got the job). Hasker’s route to leadership was perhaps the most unusual. She was working for an Alaska-based chain that had no opportunities for advancement. Recognizing that she “had to go where the work was,” Hasker transferred south to Los Angeles in the early 70s. “I had never been on a paved road, let alone a freeway,” she told the crowd. It was a different era, she said, when women were expected to wear high heels, even in the field.
Asked to sum up their advice in a single phrase, Klug said young executives should “seize opportunities and take risks.” Hasker said “be flexible.” Nelson said the most important thing was to “decide what you want.” Chow said you need to “state what you want. People can’t read your minds!”
The crowd networked before and after the panel discussion and dined on Italian and Mexican cuisine supplied by Bristol Farms. Attendees did not leave empty-handed – each received a bag of samples and coupons on their way out.
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Annual report outlines the Network’s progress in 2008
Network sets new records in challenging year
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| Annual Report |
“Thanks to all of you for a tremendous year and for your ongoing support and leadership,” NEW President Alison K. Paul said in a message to the Network’s champions and leaders. “Despite the challenges of the economy, NEW continues to deliver value while remaining true to our mission of attracting, retaining and advancing women and diversity in our industry. This is real testament to the need for NEW and the hard work and creativity of our members and sponsors.”
The 16-page report provides an overview on NEW programs, the growth of the Network and its regional groups and the value of sponsorship. The report also profiles the Network’s membership and offers useful data on the business case for gender and cultural diversity, including the cost of turnover, the continuing pay gap, and how the CPG/retail stacks up against other industries in number of women officers. It concludes with a series of charts showing the strong correlation between Network sponsorship and top rankings by independent diversity groups.
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New NEWonline will launch in June
Member-driven website will offer new resources and tools
The Network is preparing to launch a powerful new website this June with a host of new networking tools, including enhanced profiles, member messaging, regional group home pages, expanded news and calendar pages and more.
The new site will also have a Knowledge Bank devoted to best practices and career development content and multimedia features that will enable members to collaborate from remote locations.
The all-new website is the result of a comprehensive process led last year by the Network’s information technology committee headed by past president Kimberly Betts and by an online resources committee headed by Executive Committee members Maria Edelson and Debbie Wildrick. The site is part of a continuing communications upgrade that includes a new corporate look and logo launched in January.
The site is based on a state-of-the-art platform that will be continually upgraded by award-winning membership management solutions provider YourMembership.com, a global provider of online member communities.
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