WEST Leadership Awards

2009 WEST LEADERSHIP AWARDS CELEBRATION

Thursday, May 28, 2009

6:00pm-9:00pm

Description:

Invitation to the second annual Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology Leadership Awards Celebration showcasing women who have demonstrated notable entrepreneurial leadership in science and technology. The honorees are talented innovators who took initiative in starting their own companies, or achieved success within larger organizations. They are an inspiration to others.

Join us for an exciting evening! Come celebrate women and entrepreneurship at WEST's biggest party of the year. The evening's festivities include inspirational stories, networking with influential leaders in science technology, a spectacular view overlooking Boston Harbor, and refreshments. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Extra!: Event also features a raffle and a 'Seafood Extravaganza' !

2009 Awardees:

Janet Wolfe, PhD President and Founder of Wolfe Laboratories (WLI), a contract research and development group that provides pharmaceutical R&D in the areas of formulation and bioanalytical support. Prior to starting Wolfe Laboratories, Dr. Wolfe was on the faculty of the department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Dr. Wolfe has over fifteen years experience in pharmaceutical research and development and is the author of numerous articles and presentations. She received her BS from University of Sciences in Philadelphia and doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Kansas. Dr. Wolfe was named Boston’s 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. In 2006, WLI was ranked in the top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts.
Beth Friday, Vice President, WorldWide Client Support at IBM, where she has global responsibility for client (technical) support and product quality for IBM Rational Software. Previously, she was Vice President of Technical Support & Product Training for Pure Atria, and Manager of Customer Support at Applix, Inc. and Access Technology. She is also currently executive sponsor of the IBM New England Women's Network whose mission is to promote career development and leadership of females in the technical industry.
Adelene Perkins, President and Chief Business Officer of Infinity Pharmaceuticals, which develops treatments of cancer and related conditions. Prior to joining Infinity, Ms. Perkins served as Vice President of Business and Corporate Development of TransForm Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a private pharmaceutical company. She also served as Vice President of Emerging Business and General Manager of the DiscoverEase(r) business unit at Genetics Institute. Prior to that she held a variety of positions at Bain & Company, a strategy consulting firm. Ms. Perkins received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Beth Marcus, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Zeemote, which designs, manufactures and markets wireless controller technology and products. Dr. Marcus has been a founder of 4 startup companies and been involved in a total of 12 startups. One of her startups, EXOS Inc. she founded in 1988, started as a medical business, built it up to 25, but the business failed and was restarted in 1993 as interactive entertainment that was successfully sold to MicroSoft in 1996. She founded Zeemote in 2005 when she recognized the inherent problems in using a cell phone keypad as a mobile computing and platform. Beth holds more than a dozen patents, has authored numerous publications and is a regarded public speaker. She served on the faculty of MIT in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and has been a member of the Executive Committee of the MIT Enterprise Forum and the MIT Corporation Visiting Committee in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Marcus is also a member of the Council for the Arts at MIT. She holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in mechanical engineering from MIT and a Ph.D. in biomechanics from the Imperial College London where she was a Marshall Scholar.

Speaker Introductions Include:

Abbie Celniker, PhD, CEO of Taligen Therapeutics (Winner of the 2008 WEST Leadership Award!)
Sandra Glucksmann, Chair of WEST Board, and Sr. VP Research at Cerulean (Winner of the 2009 Women to Watch Award!)
ML Mackey, PhD, CEO of Beacon Interactive Systems (Winner of the 2008 WEST Leadership Award!)
Gwen Acton, PhD, President of WEST (Author of "The Bluffer's Guide to Genetics!")