A panel of distinguished and accomplished women will be featured at the second annual BizTimes Women in Business Conference to be held at the BizTech Conference & Expo on Wednesday, May 11.
The panelists will include:
- Deborah Ford, chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
- Kimberly Kane, president of Tempo Milwaukee and director of client solutions at The Novo Group in Milwaukee.
- Michelle Mason, managing director at the American Society for Quality in Milwaukee.
- Christine Specht, president and chief operating officer, Cousins Subs in Menomonee Falls.
- Kim Marotta, vice president of corporate responsibility, MillerCoors in Milwaukee.
The discussion will be moderated by BizTimes reporter Alysha Schertz.
The panelists will discuss a variety of issues, including their career paths, the need for more women on corporate boards, juggling complicated work and life responsibilities, resources for women in business, mentoring and best practices.
"More often than not, our biggest barrier to getting what we want is ourselves," Kane said. "Women need to become more comfortable advocating for ourselves and being very realistic about our professional goals. Historically, we have not been strong in vocalizing our desires to be at the top and wanting to lead."
The women will discuss how they’ve managed to make many different types of difficult decisions in their professional lives, including when to have children, making a career switch, extensive traveling or moving across country alone to persue a passion.
Marotta has four children, she has worked full time since the beginning and has relied on her husband and other family and friends to help her through.
"When I get home, I try to give my kids 100 percent of my attention. Eventually, I started to realize it didn’t matter what dinner looked like, or tasted like as long as we were eating it together it was ok," Marotta said. "I think both of us working has taught my kids to be very independent, it’s made them really grounded. I’m very fortunate. They are great kids."
The conference also will include the presentation of the 2011 BizTimes Woman Executive of the Year Award, which will be given to Cynthia LaConte, who has guided Dohmen, a Milwaukee company, through a series of dramatic changes.
The award is being presented in conjunction with Tempo Milwaukee.
LaConte was named chief executive officer of Dohmen in January 2009. She also is the founder and president of Dohmen Investment Group and the Dohmen Company Foundation.
The luncheon will be held at Wisconsin State Fair Park. To register to attend the conference, visit www.biztimes.com/women.
