Professor Nancy F. Koehn began her keynote address by focusing on women who worked in textile mills — "the high-tech industry of its time" — in mid-nineteenth century Lowell, Massachusetts. She then discussed the careers of a number of remarkable women entrepreneurs, ranging from Madam C. J. Walker, founder of a hair-care products company in the early 1900s and one of the first African-American millionaires in the United States, to Meg Whitman (Harvard MBA 1979), president and CEO of eBay.

"Women have always made their mark in business during moments of monumental social and economic change," said Koehn, an authority on business history and branding and author of Brand New How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers’ Trust from Wedgwood to Dell. "In fact, the rules of the game are changing for us right now; if history is any guide, this means that the landscape of opportunities is much, much broader." More women than ever before are entering the business world at all levels, she pointed out, while at the same time, both women and men are staking out new boundaries for their lives and redefining traditional conceptions of success.

Gail McGovern, president of Fidelity Personal Investments and the conference’s second keynote speaker, emphasized that a business leader needs to be able to do five things

attract, attain, and motivate the best people

embrace change

be resilient

make decisions based on what is good for the business

strike a balance between work and personal life

Driving home her final point, McGovern asked how many in the audience would routinely be fifteen minutes late for a meeting with their CEOs. Barely a hand went up. But when she asked who would routinely be late by fifteen minutes or more for a family engagement, many sheepishly raised their hand.

"You need to learn to treat appointments with your families as you would an appointment with your CEO," said McGovern.

A "work/life balance" workshop was one of sixteen sessions held throughout the day on a variety of topics. Participants could choose from workshops ranging from "Entrepreneurship Tough Decisions in Tough Times" and "Consulting Discovering Your Leadership Style and Exercising Influence" to "Social Enterprise Negotiating the Intersection of Nonprofit, For-Profit, and Public Sectors" and "Mentoring and Networking A Lifetime of Mentorship." Sessions on such fields as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, sports, hospitality and services, retail, and venture capital also allowed attendees to explore many different career paths.

A series of "Meet the Speaker" lunches gave participants and panelists an informal opportunity to get to know each other in small groups. Drawn from dozens of fields, speakers included

Beverly Armstrong (Harvard MBA/JD 1997), chief financial officer of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Janet Hanson, founder, president, and CEO of Milestone Capital Management and founder of 85 Broads, a global network of current and former Goldman Sachs women professionals.

Elizabeth C. Ramos (Harvard MBA 1985), vice president of Bain & Company, Inc.

Ann Sarnoff (Harvard MBA 1987), COO of VH1 and Country Music Television.

Jan Sharkansky, vice president of Women’s Global Product Marketing at Reebok International Ltd.

One of the objectives of the Dynamic Women in Business conference is to provide role models for HBS women students and other women interested in achieving business success, said Sarah K. Jacoby (HBS ’02), a conference co-chair. Another objective is to foster mutual learning for all the women involved, she observed.

"The most rewarding remarks each year center around the inspirational and motivational nature of the discussions," said Jacoby. "To hear these comments from both speakers and participants means that we are truly providing a powerful forum for women in business."