Women in Leadership conference inspires disruption

Women in Leadership conference inspires disruption

by Kandace York

Disruption is part of life, from changes in jobs and family to personal direction and society. Welcoming disruption as an opportunity to grow, rather than something to overcome, empowers women to use the changes in their lives as a springboard to new achievements.

This was the theme that Whitney Johnson, recognized as one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world, shared at the sold-out Women in Leadership conference on October 20. The College of Business co-hosted the conference with the University of Toledo’s College of Business and Innovation.

Johnson was the keynote speaker at the conference, which attracted more than 600 business and community leaders, along with students and faculty. The concept of disruption as a technique for success is the theme of her book, Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work. “We are living in an era of accelerating disruption,” she explained. “Managing new learning curves is a vital skill.”

Additional conference presenters represented a rich cross-section of sports, marketing, philanthropy, industry and insurance. They included:

• Kelly Hyne ‘93, Ladies Professional Golf Associatio
• Maryrose T. Sylvester ‘87, Current, powered by GE
• Amy Shore ’86, Nationwide
• Sharon Speyer, Huntington Bank
• Abha Bhandair, Brown & Brown Insurance
• Debby Peters, Connext Nation
• Aly Sterling, Aly Sterling Philanthropy

Longtime media personality Chrys Peterson served as master of ceremonies.

The college’s corporate partners for this and other major events are Cooper Tires, Marathon, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois and PNC. The 2017 platinum conference sponsors were Nationwide and Huntington Bank; gold sponsors were Brown & Brown Insurance and SSOE.