Over 100 women attended the event, a wonderfully diverse group from Judge Business School, other Cambridge departments, the professional Cambridge community, London, and even the United States! (Okay, that was my mom. But still.) We started the day with an ice breaker in the Judge lobby, and then went into the keynote address that was done by the incredible Janet Hanson.
Janet is the founder of 85 Broads, a very successful businesswoman, entrepreneur, and mother of two. Janet actually flew herself to London and put herself up at a hotel here in Cambridge so that she could attend our launch, which she later called "one of the best 85 Broads events ever." Hot.
85 Broads Founder Janet Hanson delivers her keynot address. Photo courtesy of Veneta Nikolova.
Janet's keynote address was funny, candid, touching, and motivational. My key takeaways from her speech were the following:
"If you need something, create it."
"A computer screen doesn't know if you're a woman." Technology has leveled the playing field and we must learn to take maximum advantage of it.
"Have fun." Simple and critical.
"Take an investment approach to life." Invest in yourself so life is a little less random. "Go long whatever is important to you." Word!
We then had a fantastic panel featuring four women tackling the topic, "Is the current financial crisis an opportunity or does it create further challenges?" Unsurprisingly, the women focused on the positive aspects of the recession. Perhaps Margaret Heffernan said it best when she said, "An awful lot of crap is being weeded out of the system."
Our panel on the recession's silver lining. Photo courtesy of Veneta Nikolova.
In the afternoon, we had open surgery sessions. I attended a session on entrepreneurship that Margaret hosted. She is hilarious and brilliant and wise.
Our final two group sessions were a McKinsey exercise about women leaders and - last but not least - the amazing Professor Srikumar Rao.
This guy rules
Professor Rao was incredibly inspiring. It's no wonder his book is a best-seller! Professor Rao is all about altering one's worldview in order to be happier - because when you accept the world just as it is, you will feel happy. The more you want stuff, the less happy you are. Simple enough, and pretty darn major when you really think about it.
Feeling fabulously inspired, a group of us attended the launch dinner, held in a special hall at Queens' College. There we ate, drank, and listened to the merry - okay, actually rather dramatic - tales of Christina Dodwell. To learn more about her, check out her website for the Dodwell Trust.
I am so proud of the efforts of the JBS women who made this event happen. In particular, thanks again to Veneta Nikolova of our MFin programme. Veneta did major groundwork to make this chapter a reality. Her passion has been inspiring for all of us. And endless thanks as well to Jennifer Hersch from the MBA Office. We know that Jennifer will do an excellent job keeping the chapter going. Her enthusiasm is contagious and we look forward to a bright future for 85 Broads Cambridge!
Cheers,
Jen
