 |
|
MLB's Wendy Lewis Named One of Three Recipients of the 2011 Wise Women of the Year Awards
|
New York, NY / March 01, 2011 / -- Women in Sports & Events (WISE), the leading voice and resource for professional women in the business of sports and events, announced today the recipients of the 2011 WISE Women of the Year Awards. This year's honorees are:
- Stacey Allaster, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Women's Tennis Association (WTA)
- Lisa Baird, Chief Marketing Officer, United States Olympic Committee (USOC)
- Wendy Lewis, Senior Vice President of Diversity & Strategic Alliances, Major League Baseball (MLB)
The three distinguished women will be honored at the 17th annual WISE Women of the Year Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, June 8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The event will be hosted by CBS Sports Tracy Wolfson. Additional hosts and presenters may be announced as they are confirmed.
"As WISE celebrates its 17th year of honoring influential women in sports and events, the group of women in power positions is increasingly making the selection process much more exciting," said Sue Rodin, founder and national president of WISE. "This year's honorees have made lasting contributions to their respective organizations, and the overall sports landscape, and we applaud them for their efforts, dedication and commitment to serving as an inspiration to other aspiring women."
The honorees, which were voted on by the WISE membership, were selected based on the following criteria:
- Women who, in their careers, are visible leaders and continue to be an influential voice for women in the industry;
- Women who have broken down barriers and helped create connections and new opportunities for other women while continuing to be a respected resource in the field;
- Women who exemplify professional excellence and are role models for others.
Meet the 2011 WISE Women of the Year Honorees
Stacey Allaster - Named by Forbes magazine as one of the "Most Powerful Women in Sports", Allaster began her tenure as Chairman & CEO of the WTA in mid-2009 but her impact on the organization began while a member of the WTA's Tournament Council in 2001. As president of the WTA, Allastar brought innovation to women's tennis by allowing for on-court coaching, electronic line calling, revised doubles scoring format. She also was a champion of the Roadmap, the WTA's long term strategic plan aimed at streamlining the calendar to enhance the overall health and well-being of the athletes and delivering top players on a more consistent basis to tournaments and fans.
Allaster was instrumental in the WTA's longstanding quest to achieve equal prize money for women tennis players at all four Grand Slams, a feat finally completed in 2007 when Wimbledon and Roland Garros committed to offering equal prize money to male and female tennis players. Moreover, Allaster helped secure equal and record prize money at the year-end Championships, adding to a total of ten equal prize money events. Allastar's tenure as Chairman & CEO has been marked by maximizing the WTA experience for fans, increasing sponsorship revenues, and enhancing the health and well-being of the athletes. Prior to joining the WTA, Allaster was President of Tennis Canada, where under her leadership, the Canadian Open (currently the Rogers Cup) witnessed the highest tournament revenues and attendance figures on the Tour. Allaster holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Physical Education from the University of Western Ontario, and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business.
Lisa Baird - Since becoming CMO of the USOC in January 2009, Baird has signed nine new corporate partners and renewed seven others in one of the most challenging marketplaces in recent years. She launched a number of innovative new marketing platforms, including a national fundraising campaign-America Supports Team USA - and a program which enabled fans to follow the making of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team - The Making of Team USA-Vancouver Bound. Baird also refreshed the USOC brand and recently re-launched the licensing business under the Team USA brand mark. In addition, Baird has been a public proponent of strengthening anti-ambush measures for the sports industry and sponsored a proposition to prevent unfair advertising targeting Olympic sponsors, which was unanimously approved by the National Governing Body Council.
Prior to the USOC, Baird served as senior vice president of marketing and consumer products for the NFL where she directed the league's consumer products, direct marketing, e-commerce, entertainment marketing and advertising programs. Baird also worked at IBM, first as vice president of advertising and then as senior vice president of worldwide marketing communications where she led IBM's global marketing communications initiatives, including advertising, sports marketing, direct marketing, events and digital marketing in more than 70 countries. Additionally, Baird was responsible for the IBM e-business campaign, which won the 2006 Grand Effie award. She also held a series of marketing positions at General Motors, including a stint as chief creative officer of e-gm. Baird is a graduate of Penn State University where she received a bachelor's degree and MBA.
Wendy Lewis - A highly recognized executive for her pioneering career in creating opportunities for minorities and women, Lewis began her tenure at Major League Baseball in 1987 with the Chicago Cubs and joined MLB's Central Office in 1995. As Senior Vice President of Diversity and Strategic Alliances for Major League Baseball, she implements MLB's Diversity Economic Impact Engagement initiative (DEIE). The DEIE is one of MLB's newest initiatives to advance the level of MLB's current workforce and supplier diversity efforts as well as create methodologies for cultural assessments, diversity economic platforms and industry-wide diversity training. She has developed an internal consultant model that is currently underway and will be utilized throughout MLB. Lewis also established the team that developed MLB's uniquely strategic talent pipeline, The Executive Development Program (EDP), a two-year rotational career development program whose goal is to add to MLB's high-potential talent pool for MLB Clubs and the Central Office. One of her most notable roles is managing the leadership of MLB's Diverse Business Partners' Program, the leading supplier diversity program in sports. This major league procurement initiative has produced significant economic opportunity for MLB, its franchises and local communities. Under Lewis' leadership, a greater number of diverse businesses have had an opportunity to participate in the procurement process for MLB's desired goods and services. Her strategic implementation of the "DBP" Program has resulted in over $800 million dollars being spent with thousands of minority and women-owned businesses.
Prior to her current role at MLB, Lewis served as Vice President of Strategic Planning for Recruitment and Diversity following her position of Vice President of Human Resources and Office Operations. In these capacities, Lewis directed the recruitment, compensation, benefits, performance planning, training and development for MLB's Central Office in New York and its satellite offices. Lewis has a BS in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Additional information about WISE's Women of the Year Luncheon, including purchasing of tickets and/or sponsorship can be found at www.WISEworks.org.
About WISE
WISE (Women in Sports & Events) is the leading voice and resource for professional women in the sports and events industries. Through ongoing meetings, special events and mentoring programs, WISE aims to offer its members the opportunity to gain valuable industry insights and connections that can give them a competitive advantage in their current position and as they advance in their careers. Founded in 1993, WISE is a membership organization headquartered in New York City with chapters in Atlanta, the Bay Area Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, NYC-Metro, Pittsburgh and Washington, DC, as well as Syracuse University's WISE on Campus. WISE and its affiliated chapters are 501 (c) (6) not-for-profit corporations. To become a member of WISE, please visit www.WISEworks.org.
About DiversityBusiness.com
Launched in 1999, DiversityBusiness, with over 50,000 members, is the largest organization of diversity owned businesses throughout the United States that provide goods and services to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, and colleges and universities. DiversityBusiness provides research and data collection services for diversity including the "Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities", "Top 500 Diversity Owned Companies in America", and others. Its research has been recognized and published by Forbes Magazine, Business Week and thousands of other print and internet publications. The site has gained national recognition and has won numerous awards for its content and design. DiversityBusiness reaches more diverse suppliers and communicates more information to them on a more frequent basis then all other organizations combined. We also communicate with mainstream businesses, government agencies and educational institutions with information related to diversity. Our magazine reaches over 300,000 readers, a monthly e-newsletter that reaches 2.4 million, and website visitors of 1.2 million a month. It is a leading provider of Supplier Diversity management tools and has the most widely distributed Diversity magazine in the United States. DiversityBusiness.com is produced by Computer Consulting Associates International Inc. (CCAii.com) of Southport, CT. Founded in 1980.
|
|
|
|
