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Women LEAD (Leading through Empowerment Affiliations and Development)
 
These programs are designed as short events to encourage networking and provide a woman's view of leadership.  Each program will highlight a female speaker to talk about leadership through a woman's lens, following the speaker there will be an opportunity for discussion and networking.  If you have questions or comments about this program, please email sactleadership@rice.edu.  

SM2incWomenLeadImage

The Women LEAD program is being coordinated this year by three students, Amanda Studebaker, Mingming Jiang and Sophie Xu. 

 

 

Women LEAD is proud to present its April 16th speaker event, featuring...

Ms. Janet Gurwitch

Ms. Janet Gurwitch is the founder and former CEO of Gurwitch Products, the company that produces, manages and markets Laura Mercier Cosmetics and Skincare, a global brand of high-end niche cosmetics now celebrating its fifteenth anniversary. At Laura Mercier, she managed and oversaw Laura Mercier’s day-to-day business operations, as well as strategy development and retail negotiations. Laura Mercier is now available in over 798 stores in 27 countries.

Janet began her career at Foley’s Department Store where she was the Senior Vice President of Merchandising. Prior to founding Gurwitch Products, Ms. Gurwitch was the Executive Vice President of Merchandising at Neiman Marcus, where she set the strategy for and oversaw the ready to wear, accessories, shoes and cosmetics departments from 1992-1995. With over 15 years of experience in the branded personal care and consumer products sectors, Janet Gurwitch joined Castanea Partners as an operating partner in 2011. 

In 1999, Ms. Gurwitch was named a finalist for Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” for Houston, TX and in 1994 Business Week included her as one of the “Top 50 Chief Executive Prospects in the Nation.” Additionally, Janet was named one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2010 By Houston Woman Magazine.

In this event, Ms. Janet Gurwitch is going to share with us her experience from a successful entrepreneur in cosmetics industry to a partner in a private equity investment firm. She will also give a lot of insights as a female leader, for example, why she does not believe in work-life balance.

 The event will be held on April 16th 4-5:30pm! Cupcakes and coffee will be provided. Due to limited seating, students who would like to attend must register by filling out the form on the Student Activities Women LEAD website by April 12th at http://studentactivities.rice.edu/WomenLEAD/

Looking forward to seeing you at the last WomenLEAD event this semester!

Amanda, Mingming, and Sophie

Women LEAD Campus Coordinators, 2012-2013-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please RSVP here.

Please email the Women LEAD Coordinators with any questions. 

 

 Previous Women LEAD Programs

If you are interested in reading about previous Women LEAD programs, please see notes from their discussions below:

              Part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhib17bCfpw
              Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd19BF3CpsU
              Part 3:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55TBFo6Gufs
              Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN5IEE-8TSI