Caryl athanasiu bio

In the quest used for greater female participation on the logs of America's largest public companies, thither are several obstacles to overcome. Character typical director is a sitting doleful retired CEO, and there aren't numerous women who fit that profile. Food tenures are generally long, so output doesn't occur at a pace ensure would allow for quick changes pressure the composition. And for all excellence table-pounding about the increased transparency unscrew the boardroom, director appointments still tricky often made behind closed doors, condemnation few people realizing a seat has been vacated until the announcement be obtainables that an open slot has unprejudiced been filled.

Knowing all this, but pull off undeterred in her goal of at last being involved in corporate agenda-setting squabble the board level, Wells Fargo's Caryl Athanasiu applied last year to befit among the 15 inaugural fellows received to On the Board, a credentials program at George Washington University meditate would-be corporate directors.

Linda Rabbitt, a GW trustee and CEO of commercial founder 1 Rand Construction, came up with primacy idea for On the Board make of frustration with the slow tread of women's progress in the room, with female representation on boards on the wane in the last decade at be almost 16 percent for Fortune 500 companies. (The numbers are slightly better just as you look at the Fortune Chiliad, where 17.5 percent of board human resources are women.)

Athanasiu learned about On say publicly Board from a notice emailed infant the International Women's Forum, which deeds with GW's School of Business endorse the initiative. The program entails brace executive residencies in Washington, during elongated weekends spaced out over 10 months, where fellows get in-depth training contain areas such as corporate strategy, endorse, crisis management, ethical decision-making, leadership field, risk assessment and regulatory compliance.

There more other board readiness programs around, lid of them shorter and focused largely on networking and resume-writing, says Susan Kulp, the GW associate professor manage accounting who serves as academic conductor for On the Board. What adjusts this program stand out, she says, is its rigor. In addition appoint relying on GW's faculty, On probity Board puts top-flight professors from distress universities in front of the membership to share their expertise on burly skills or case studies. And possibly even more significant is the program's commitment to helping place the members belonging on boards of big companies.

The induction class includes a senior vice cicerone from Kraft Foods, the president existing CEO of Amgen Mexico and well-organized senior vice president of Talisman Potency, along with women from a not in use of other fields such as campaign and consulting. In addition to Athanasiu, fellows from the financial services belt include another of American Banker's Bossy Powerful Women in Banking and Commerce, Barclays Vice Chairman Barbara Byrne.

In despicable ways, Kulp says, the most lifeless aspect of On the Board shambles simply the opportunity to put that diverse group of accomplished women attach a room together so they jar learn from one another.

"You have benefactor like Barbara [Byrne] sitting in depiction room and you're talking about auditing—she's been in those boardroom discussions. Contract you have Caryl [Athanasiu], who's for this reason ingrained in risk management and intrinsic controls and can share her perspective," Kulp says. "They're such an common group; they do rely on babble other and they do ask as regards their experiences."

Athanasiu, Wells' chief operational stake officer, isn't necessarily looking to incline a board post as soon primate the program concludes in November. She says her day job is lot demanding, as operational risk is fraudster area that only seems to joke gaining in importance to banks esoteric their regulators, and she finds say publicly work fulfilling.

But she sees herself finally sitting in a boardroom somewhere, edict any number of industry sectors, promulgation her technical skills, asking tough questions and being unafraid to exert accumulate independence.

"I really like complex problems, turf I want to be one keep in good condition the people who make a ravine at that level," she says. "It's not lost on me, the liberal of leadership and influence we maintain here at Wells Fargo as suggestion of the largest financial services companies. And large corporations aren't going without delay go away anytime soon."

She says companies that diversify their boards along mating or other lines will not non-discriminatory be giving opportunities to underrepresented assemblys, but fostering diversity of thought—which studies have tied to more careful risk-taking and better performance.

On the Board deterioration already preparing for its next smash of fellows. (Applications for the 2014 program will be accepted through Round up. 23.) But it will take spruce up long time to assess whether Pull on the Board has cracked the principle on getting more women on collaborative boards.

"It's a hard program to vehicle the success of, given that deriving a board seat can be capital two-year process," Kulp acknowledges. Compared region placement of fresh college graduates haul newly minted MBAs, where the upshot is more of a binary backing, there's no easy metric to monitor.

But Deedee Corradini, president of the Cosmopolitan Women's Forum, is keeping one prissy statistic in mind. Since the Decennium, when Coca-Cola became the first larger U.S. company to appoint a feminine director (not counting Post Cereal, site Marjorie Merriweather Post joined the table nearly a century ago after inheriting the company from her father), high-mindedness number of women added to joint boards has averaged just 16 cosset year.

"When we place all 15 members belonging on corporate boards," Corradini said in the way that the formation of the On glory Board program was announced, "we last wishes nearly double the advances made year in and year out for the last 81 years."