Guest blog by Cheer Ning (Cherie) Lau
On Friday 18th October 2024, Chicago Women in Business (CWiB) held its Annual Fall Conference, centered on the theme, “Celebrating Our Differences” at Gleacher Center. We felt it was important to celebrate our differences, not only in terms of our backgrounds, cultures, and past experiences, but also the unique choices we make in our careers and lifestyles, and how each of these decisions shapes our individual definitions of success and happiness.
It was an exceptionally inspiring day as women from diverse industries and backgrounds gathered to share their experiences of breaking barriers and advancing gender equity in business. The conference opened with remarks from Deputy Dean Starr Marcello, followed by a motivating keynote from Booth alum Dru Armstrong (MBA ’08), CEO of AffiniPay, moderated by Mia Saini Duchnowski, Co-Founder and Board Member of Oars + Alps. Dru discussed her career journey following her time at Booth, sharing the importance of resilience and relentless intellectual curiosity, recommendations for the fastest path to the CEO role, and thoughts on navigating an ambitious career as a mother and wife.
After lunch, we introduced a new session this year: “Spotlight on Boothies,” in which our fellow Boothies, Natalie Chun (MBA’26) and Lorenza Ramirez (MBA’25), shared personal stories and challenges that have shaped them into stronger leaders. It was empowering to witness the vibrant community of women at Booth and to know that we can interact and share these stories in our classrooms every day!
Our day continued with two engaging panels. The “Leadership Across Industries” panel was moderated by Kim Vender Moffat, Managing Partner at Rosa Partners, and featured Elley Cheng (MBA ’10), President of Pantone; Sarah Grueneberg, Head Chef and Owner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio; Kathy Ganley (MBA ’96) of Mason Lane Art Advisory; and Hilary Nindorf, GM Finance Leading Performance at Chevron. I personally sat on this panel and was captivated by the insights shared, particularly regarding the distinct challenges faced in each industry, such as the pressures of a fast-paced kitchen versus navigating negotiations in the art world. It was equally inspiring to witness how each panelist found common ground in the challenges of leadership within often male-dominated fields and how they each excelled in their respective careers.
Our other panel, “Female Founders,” included Shima Rayej (MBA ’13), Co-founder & Chief Product Officer of Safe Rate; Disha Gulati (MBA ’09), Founder and CEO of Here Here Market; and Lin Jiang (E/W MBA ’25), Founder & Former CEO of Yishi Foods, moderated by Ale Breuer, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth. It was truly motivating to hear each founder share their entrepreneurial journey, along with the challenges and rewards of building their own businesses. Attendees also learned about the importance of making informed pivots, approaches to fundraising, and recommendations for choosing your co-founder.
Next, we moved on to our workshops! The first workshop, Poker Power, introduced our attendees to the fundamentals of poker, focusing on building confidence and strategic risk-taking skills that are applicable in the workplace. Many attendees were beginners and thoroughly enjoyed the interactive format, which inspired us to host an upcoming Poker Night to practice our skills!
The second workshop, led by Laura Barnard (MBA ’08), Founder of Breakthru Brands and author of Leadership Types, guided our attendees in developing their authentic leadership brand and discovering their unique leadership styles for the future.
We wrapped up our conference with a networking reception, where we had the opportunity to connect with our fantastic sponsors who made this event possible, including Chevron, Dow, PwC Strategy&, EYP, Roland Berger, Marsh McLennan, Guggenheim, the Chicago Booth Polsky Center, and Chicago Booth D&I.
Reflecting on the event, our co-chair team recalled the weekly calls we had over the summer and into the first half of the fall quarter to organize the conference, which involved securing speakers, obtaining sponsorships, planning the agenda and marketing the event. It definitely required a lot of time and effort, but we all agreed that it was incredibly rewarding, especially after seeing how much our attendees enjoyed the sessions and receiving their positive feedback.
It was also heartening to witness our speakers connect and forge new relationships. This experience served as a powerful reminder of the exceptional work being done by our female leaders and the strength of our community in supporting each other!
