It Started With Eight Leading Businesswome.


Christie Hefner
Founder

Christie Hefner is Chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, overseeing policy, management and strategy in all areas of the New York Stock exchange-traded international media and entertainment company.

Hefner serves on the board and audit committee of MarketWatch.com and the board of Canyon Ranch Health Resort. She previously served on the boards of the Sealy Corporation and Telocity, Inc. She is a director of the Magazine Publishers Association and the Business Committee for the Arts, and is on the board of governors of the Museum of Television & Radio Media Center. She is a member of The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Diversity Committee.

Hefner graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in English and American literature in 1974. She became a President's Councilor of her alma mater in 1978. Hefner previously has served as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee and on Brandeis University’s Executive Committee. She was also the first woman elected to Chicago YPO and was co-founder of The Committee of 200.



 
Gwendolyn S. King
Founder
Gwendolyn King is President of Podium Prose, a Washington DC-based speakers bureau and speechwriting service. Previously, King was senior vice president of Corporate and Public Affairs for PECO Energy Company (formerly Philadelphia Electric Company). She also served as the 11th Commissioner of Social Security.
King serves on the boards of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Monsanto Company, Marsh and McLennan Companies, Countrywide Financial Corporation, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. She is a trustee of the Council for Excellence in Government and the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. She has served on the non-profit board of the District of Columbia Library Foundation.

King graduated from Howard University with a B.A. in French and Education and completed graduate work in public administration at George Washington University. She has received Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters and Public Service from the University of New Haven and the University of Maryland Baltimore County, respectively.




Michele J. Hooper
Founder

Michele Hooper is president of MJH Consulting, a firm which provides advisory services to businesses in the areas of corporate governance, business and operational strategy. Previously, she was president and CEO of Voyager Expanded Learning, Inc. Prior to that, Hooper served as president and CEO of Stadtlander Drug Company, Inc., and before that she served as corporate vice president of Caremark International, Inc., a spin-off of Baxter International.

Hooper serves on the boards of AstraZeneca PLC, and Davita Inc. She also chairs the audit committees of Target Corporation and PPG Industries. Formerly, she served as a director of Seagram Company Ltd.

Hooper is president of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and also serves on the advisory boards of American Telecare, L.E.K. Consulting and Equis Corporation. She is a board member of the Center of Disease Control Foundation, the Joffrey Ballet and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare.


Hooper holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.




 


Karen N. Horn
Founder
Karen Horn most recently served as managing director and president of Global Private Client Services at Marsh & McLennan Companies. Previously, she headed the International Private Banking Group at Bankers Trust. She is the former chairman and CEO of Bank One, and before that, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and treasurer of the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania.
 

Horn serves on the board of Eli Lilly and Company. She chairs the audit committees of The Rockefeller Foundation, and The U.S. Russia Investment Fund, a Presidential appointment. She is a former director of TRW Inc. and Rubbermaid.

Horn holds a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. from Pomona College.




Jane Evans
Founder
Jane Evans most recently served as CEO of Opnix Internet Technologies, a high-tech start-up focused on migrating mission-critical applications to the Internet. At age 25, Evans was president of I. Miller Shoes. Since then, she has held senior positions with the American Can Company, General Mills, Montgomery Securities, and US West Communications. She founded the Committee of 200 in 1982 with Katherine Graham, Christie Hefner, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and 15 other notable women, and served as the entity’s first vice president.

A member of Philip Morris’ board (now the Altria Group) since 1981, she has focused on issues of social responsibility and corporate affairs, chairing a committee of the same name. In addition to the Altria Group, Evans serves on the boards of Georgia-Pacific, Hypercom, Inc., and KB Home Corporation. She is a former director of PetsMart, The Equitable, and the LPGA.

A 24-year veteran of the Young President’s Organization (YPO), Evans served on its board of directors and chaired the international chapter. She is currently a member of WPO and CEO.

Evans is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and served as President of the Vanderbilt University Alumni Association, as well as on its Board of Trustees.

 

 

Kay Koplovitz
Founder
Kay Koplovitz is founder of USA Networks, today a multi-billion dollar television company, and presently is a principal in Koplovitz & Company LLC, a media advising and investment firm. She is co-founder of Springboard Enterprises, and BoldCap Ventures, a venture capital enterprise.

Koplovitz serves on the boards of Instinet and Liz Claiborne; previously, she served on the boards of Oracle, Nabisco and General Reinsurance Corporation. She chairs the board of Broadway Television Network, serves as a trustee for the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City, and heads the Corporate Partners Program for the Central Park Conservancy. In addition, she serves on the board of the New York City Partnership and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

President Clinton nominated Koplovitz as Chairman of the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) in 1998. She is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High Risk Entrepreneurial Game, a book she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs.

Koplovitz holds a master degree in Communications from Michigan State University. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Wisconsin, and holds honorary doctorate degrees from St. Johns University and Emerson College.

 

 

Marilyn R. Seymann
Founder
Marilyn Seymann is President, CEO and founder of M ONE, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in strategy, technology, governance, and risk management for financial institutions.

Previously, Dr. Seymann served as a managing director with Arthur Andersen & Co. and executive vice president of Chase Bank of Arizona.

Dr. Seymann chairs the board of NorthWestern Corporation and also serves on the boards of Beverly Enterprises, Inc., MAXIMUS, EOS International, and Community First Bancshares. Previously, she served on the board of American Tool Company. She is a member of the faculty and Blue Ribbon Commission of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Dr. Seymann is the author of numerous articles on banking strategy, technology, and corporate governance, and the co-author of The Governance Game. She holds a Ph.D. from California Western University, an MA from Columbia University, and a BA from Brandeis University. She is also a graduate of the FBI Citizens' Academy and now serves as Vice President on its Board of Directors.

 


Vilma Martinez
Founder
Vilma Martinez is a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson. Previously she served as President and General Counsel of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). Prior to that, Martinez was a litigation associate at the New York law firm of Cahill, Gordon & Reindel.

Martinez serves on the boards of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., Fluor Corporation, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation.

Martinez received a B.A. from the University of Texas and an LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She holds an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the California School of Professional Psychology and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Amherst College.