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Conference
Foundation

Women in Leadership Is Good for Business: Forum & Luncheon

Event Details
Oct 11, 2023   – 
Chicago, IL
InterContinental Chicago, 505 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Event Contact

Agenda

Wednesday, October 11

11:30am CT
Networking

Meet your fellow attendees and take a moment to socialize.

 

12:00pm CT
Lunch Begins

Welcome remarks and scene setting with context from the Manufacturers Alliance Foundation's latest research, "In Her Own Words: Breaking the Glass Ceiling is Good for Business."

 

12:30 - 1:15pm CT
Keynote Session: Managing Our Inner Critic with Randi Braun

Why are women so hard on themselves? And is it helping, or hurting our performance at work? For most of us especially high-performers our self-judgement and self-doubt take the form of our Inner Critic. Many leaders report that their Inner Critic keeps them motivated or makes them successful but it also keeps our brain buzzing with distracting chatter. Join Randi Braun for a workshop on the truth about self-doubt for leaders.

 

Randi Braun

Randi Braun

CEO, Something Major, and Author, Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work

A member of the Forbes Coaches Council, Randi Braun is a
highly-regarded speaker and ICF-certified executive coach, who
has worked with 50+ organizations including Microsoft, Accor
Hotels, Cox Communications, Women in Government Relations,
and Uber, among others. Her insights have been featured in
CNBC, The Washington Post, Forbes, Talk Radio Europe
(broadcast by The BBC), and The Chicago Tribune, among others.
She is also the author of the Wall Street Journal best-selling
book, Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work
(New Degree Press, 2023).

1:25 - 2:20pm CT
Leadership Panel

Hear from Yvette Henry, Senior Vice President of Strategic Sourcing at Regal Rexnord, Emily Pajek, General Manager of Euclid Consumables at Lincoln Electric, and Meenal Sethna, Executive Vice President & CFO at Littelfuse on the challenges and success strategies to excel as a woman in manufacturing. 

Panelists

Yvette Henry

Senior Vice President of Strategic Sourcing, Regal Rexnord

Yvette joined Regal Rexnord in October 2022 as Vice President of Strategic Sourcing. Prior to joining the Company, Yvette was the Vice President of Global Sourcing at Kennametal. Prior to that role, Yvette served as Segment Director, Sourcing at Illinois Tool Works from 2014-2020. Yvette has over 20 years of global sourcing and supply chain experience in the medical technology, automotive and personal care industries. Yvette held various procurement and operations roles at Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), Ford Motor Company and the Gillette Company. She started her career at Federal-Mogul Corporation.

Yvette graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Materials and Logistics Management from Michigan State University and received a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Emily Pajek

General Manager of Euclid Consumables, Lincoln Electric

Emily Pajek joined The Lincoln Electric Company in 2012 as a Global Environmental, Health and Safety Engineer. In 2015, she was promoted to Maintenance Engineer, focused on reducing cost and increasing efficiency in the maintenance organization. From 2017- 2022, Emily held various management roles within the maintenance group, where she was responsible for all planned maintenance activities (construction and fabrication shop). In April of 2022, Emily was promoted to General Manager, Euclid Consumables, where she is now responsible for production operations in Flux, Stick Electrode, and Alloy manufacturing. 

Prior to Lincoln Electric, Emily worked at General Electric for five years where she was part of a management training program and held various roles in Environmental, Health, and Safety management. 

Emily is a graduate of Lincoln Electric’s Leadership Development Program and previously served on Lincoln Electric’s Junior Board of Directors. Emily received her Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from The University of Dayton and an MBA from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Meenal Sethna

Executive Vice President & CFO, Littelfuse

Meenal A. Sethna joined Littelfuse in 2015 as Senior Vice President of Finance until assuming her current position in 2016. Prior to joining Littelfuse, Ms. Sethna served from 2011 to 2015 as Vice President and Corporate Controller of Illinois Tool Works Inc., a diversified manufacturer of specialized industrial equipment, consumables, and related service businesses. She has served on the board of directors of SPX Corporation since October 2019 and is a member of its audit committee. Ms. Sethna is a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois.

2:25 - 3:00pm CT
Dessert Reception & Networking 

Reflect on the content and connect with industry peers.

 

3:00pm CT
Luncheon Concludes