The South Asian Women’s Leadership Forum (SAWLF)
held its second annual Congress on Saturday, February 25, 2006 at the
global headquarters for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in New York City.
The sold-out Congress united more than 350 women professionals, representing
the U.S.; Canada; Europe; and Asia,. in order to discuss the opportunities
and challenges women address as they pursue lives and careers.
As a part of the day-long conference, SAWLF presented
twenty-six private and public sector women leaders who shared their
stories of challenge and achievement.
Program
Agenda
9:30 AM Registration Opens & Continental Breaskfast
10:00 AM
Opening Keynote Presentation
Ms. Vani Kola
Founder, Certus Software and Rightworks
with
Ms. Lakshmi
Pratury, Career Catalyst
11:30
AM - 12:30 PM
Panel Presentation: Women Initiating Change
Opening remarks by Ms.
Vanita Gupta, Esq., NAACP Legal Defense and Educational
Fund, Inc.
Panelists
Ms. Irshad Manji,
Best-selling Author, The Trouble with Islam Today:
A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change
Ms. Fawzia Naqvi,
Microfinance Specialist
Ms. Sonal Shah,
Vice President, Goldman Sachs and Founder, Indicorps
Moderator
Ms. Shamina Singh,
Director and Vice President, Community Relations, Global Consumer Group,
Citigroup
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
India: Opportunities in Today's Marketplace
A Dialogue with Consul General Ms.
Neelam Deo
12:30 - 2:30 PM
The Congress 2006 Distinguished Luncheon Keynote Presentation
Ms. Indra Nooyi,
President & CFO, PepsiCo, Inc.
with
Ms. Meena Mansharamani,
Senior Vice President, Innovation and Insights, Pepsi-Cola North America
2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Panel Presentation: Women in Media
Panelists
Ms. Sabrina Dhawan,
Screenwriter, Monsoon Wedding
Ms. Beena Kamlani,
Senior Editor, Penguin Group
Ms. Padma Lakshmi,
Founder, Lakshmi Films
Ms. Madhulika Sikka,
Former Senior Producer, Nightline/ABC News
Moderator
Ms. Puja Vohra,
Director, Consumer Marketing, Bravo
4:15 - 5:15 PM
Interactive Session (I): Women in Law and Public Policy
Ms.
Prabha Sipi Bhandari, Esq., VP Senior Counsel,
Mergers & Acquisitions, Viacom, Inc.
Ms. Megha
Bhouraskar, Esq., Partner, Poppe and Bhouraskar LLP
Interactive Session (II):Women
in Finance
Ms. Neetu Bhatia,
Vice President, BMO Financial Group's Media & Communications Investment
Banking Group
Ms. Sheila Hooda,
Managing Director, Global Equities Division, Credit Suisse
Ms. Shanthi Weeransinghe,
Agency Sales Director, North Shore Financial Group, MetLife
Interactive
Session (III):Women
in Business
Ms. Shoba Purushothaman,
President, CEO & Co-Founder,
The NewsMarket, Inc.
5:30 - 7:30 PM
Closing Musings by UK Comedic Sensation
Ms. Shazia Mirza
Congress
2006 Corporate Partners
Presenter Level
PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP
Leadership
Level
Merrill Lynch
PepsiCo
MetLife
Partner Level
Fried, Frank, Harris,
Shriver & Jacobson Harris
Nesbitt
Kamboh Financial Planning
Corporate Participants
Goldman Sachs KPMG
Deutsche Bank
Ernst
& Young
As
a part of Congress 2006 activities, SAWLF will
host
a sensational silent auction!
To view silent auction items and contributors, click here
Auction proceeds will benefit SAWLF's mentoring
and scholarship program for South Asian women.
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SAWLF
Small Business Leaders Series
November 16, 2005
Special Guest Speaker
Ms. Ayla Hussain
Farnos
Co-Founder and Former CEO, SUNDARI Skincare
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Alya
Hussain Farnos meets with SAWLF members on an
individual basis prior to her presentation. |
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SAWLF
members listen to speaker Ayla Hussain Farnos as part of the inaugural
SAWLF Small Business Leaders Series event. |
Drawing
from her own experience as an entrepreneur, Ms. Farnos addressed key
issues for new and prospective business owners to consider including:
-
Recognizing Opportunities in the Marketplace
- Identifying Investment Capital and Other Equity Resources for New
Businesses
- How to Manage Marketing and PR - Effective Relationship Management
- Exit Strategies
SAWLF
Small Business Leaders Series
As a part of its new small business leaders series, SAWLF
will feature successful entrepreneurs and investors who will introduce
members to effective strategies for building and financing successful
businesses and share their personal experiences of challenge and achievement.
T
E S T I M O N I A L S
“As a marketing professional and an aspiring entrepreneur, I got exactly
what I wanted through this event: the personal setting ensured that
I spoke and networked with most of the attendees and the guest speaker
(Ayla Hussain Farnos); the Q&A format with casual; and frequent interjections
from the diverse audience was extremely informative and insightful.
Most of all it was very motivating to see that there are so many successful
South Asian women who are embarking upon, or have already established
small business ventures of their own.” - - A. S., MBA, Mattel,
Inc.
"I
was inspired by Ayla Hussain Farnos’ story. As a creative person and
a marketing professional who aspires to start my own business, I learned
from Hussain Farnos’ pragmatic thinking and focused approach to building
and selling her own brand. Kudos to SAWLF for asking well thought and
incisive questions that drew out relevant facets of Hussain Farnos’
business experience. What I really liked, too, was that I was able to
meet, discuss and share ideas with other (really interesting) participants
in the time allotted for networking. " - - S. B. M., Triton
Container International Incorporated
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VERTICAL SAWLF: Inaugural Speaker Series for
Women Law Professionals
“Effective Networking…Beyond Ball Games and Golfing Events”
Thursday, November 3, 2005
Special Guest Speakers
Bina Kalola, Esq.
Director, Senior Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary at Merrill
Lynch & Co.
Laurie
Nicole Robinson, Esq.
Assistant General Counsel (Labor and Employment), CBS Broadcasting,
Inc.
Ms. Robinson and Ms. Kalola presented effective network and relationship
development strategies relevant to attorneys seeking to broaden their
client roster as well business development acumen.
Vertical SAWLF (Law) serves as a primary network for
South Asian women working in all areas of the legal profession. Vertical
SAWLF offers information, networking opportunities and mentoring
relevant to the needs of South Asian women in the legal profession and
serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary communication, professional
development, and camaraderie for women choosing careers in law. Vertical
SAWLF serves as a platform for academic and practical applications
of law and accommodates the wide variety of topics that are relevant
to practice within the legal profession.
For
additional information, please contact: Kaumudi Goda, Esq. (917) 843-9479
/ kaumudigoda@gmail.com or
Ritu Malik, Esq. rmalik2000@hotmail.com
/ (917) 449-0955
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On June 18, 2005, for the second year in a row, SAWLF
participated in the annual South Asian Journalists Association
(SAJA) Convention at Columbia University. |
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Over 225 women and men attended
Spring Ahead! on Tuesday, May 10 2005 at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery in SoHo. Proceeds from this annual reception event will benefit
SAWLF's new mentoring and scholarship program for
South Asian women.
As part of the evening’s highlights, SAWLF offered a silent auction featuring donated items including: exclusive handbag by
TULCI
by Anjali Kumari; Jewelry for the Soul by
Ferzana; Select books by author & poet
Chitra Banerjee
Divakaruni; a handmade quilt by Fabindia; the new children’s book
Going to School in India by SHAKTI
for Children as well as select products from Donna
Karan; and the Rubin Museum of
Art.
This special event would not be possible without the generous contributions of
Devi ( New York City );
the Sundaram Tagore Gallery
and Sula Wines compliments of
Dreyfus, Ashby and
Co.
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Special Guest WB11 Morning Anchor
Sukanya Krishnan
and Guest |
Author and Journalist
Anita Jain
with Spring Ahead! Guests
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Spring Ahead! Interactive Presentation with Special Guests
Sukanya
Krishnan, Morning News Anchor, WPIX-TV (Channel 11), New York;
Ms. Porie
Saikia-Eapen, Chief Architect for MTA New York City Transit; and
Anita
Jain, Author, Is Arranged Marriage Really Any Worse Than
Craigslist? (New York Magazine, April 4, 2005)
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Spring Ahead! Chairwomen
Rupa Bhargava and
Sonia Inamdar
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Deepali Bagati of Catalyst with
Spring Ahead! Guests
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Raja Ramachandran of
Citgroup
with Tom Capellini
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