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Experts
Karen Cone Venture Partner | Advisory Boards Director
Karen Cone is the former Microsoft General Manager of Worldwide Financial Services, CEO and Board Director of the advisory research firm – TowerGroup, and SVP at Gartner where she served on the Gartner International Board. Currently, Karen serves on multiple Advisory Boards for early stage growth companies in Hi-Tech and FinTech and is a venture partner with the MastersFund, which focuses on women-led firms. Earlier in her career, Karen held executive positions at IBM and MasterCard. Karen has managed P&L’s from $25 million to $6 billion and led cross-functional, direct and matrixed teams worldwide with up to 2000+ people. She was engaged with IPO’s at Gartner and MasterCard. Her global business acumen and multi-cultural intelligence is gleaned from opening markets in the Americas, EMEA & Asia and living in the UK, Germany, Russia, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and US. A visionary who effectively operationalizes complex strategies and delivers high-impact outcomes. Recently, Karen has been a leader in Microsoft’s transformation to a Cloud and AI, customer-centric organization. She has a consistent track record as a change agent who is realistic and bridges business and technology. Karen’s expertise includes financial services, digitization, Cloud, AI, FinTech, opening new markets, new business models, and identifying and developing talent, some examples include: • Grew multi-billion-dollar Microsoft financial services revenue 8% - 12%/year for 7 consecutive years; • Led breakthrough Cloud initiatives with 60 financial regulators and chaired the Financial Services Cloud Advisory Council, which included 14 global systemically important financial institutions; • Scaled TowerGroup banking, payments, capital markets and insurance research and advisory services globally growing revenue at 16% compounded rate vs. 9% industry average. Successfully sold TowerGroup to CEB, which was subsequently acquired by Gartner. • Leadership role in 10X revenue growth and global expansion of Gartner starting from $100M at IPO; • Merged multiple acquisitions and created a new gartner.com, which became and remains the primary client delivery channel; • Held strategic and operational roles diversifying MasterCard lines-of-business in preparation for IPO. Karen launched her career with the first IBM market opening teams in the Soviet Union (now Russia) and the People’s Republic of China. At IBM, she also conceived and deployed a new economic model for IBM’s multi-billion-dollar software business, that was key to revitalizing the mainframe server market, after gaining CEO Lou Gerstner’s commitment. An accomplished and recognized speaker, Karen has regularly presented at major industry events. She is published in trade and industry journals and is active with the National Association of Corporate Directors, Women-in-Cloud, and the Athena Alliance which focuses on gender parity in the boardroom. Karen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sino-Soviet Studies from Franklin and Marshall College and an Honorary MBA from Yunnan Normal University in China. She completed the Directors’ Consortium of the Tuck, Booth and Stanford business schools, and the Women Board of Directors Development Program at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.
Hosts
Athena Alliance
An Athena team member will facilitate this event to provide an open space for casual dialogue and sharing.
About this event
About this event: Defining the nominating and governance committee role requires broad brush strokes and is critical to keeping the Board up to date with changing landscapes. The committee’s key responsibilities include shaping governance policies, planning for board and committee succession, recruiting and onboarding new directors and driving board effectiveness. Increasingly this means being intentional about putting together a diverse and inclusive board and setting policies surrounding shareholder engagement. As Athena members let’s gather to discuss the changing agenda and critical issues of the NomGov Committee, share new tactics and provide a sounding board for best practices and leadership strategies. This is a safe place to challenge the norms and motivate breakthrough ideas, while learning from each other and from the wisdom of experience.
Chatham House rules: What is said in this group, stays in this group. Sessions are not recorded and will not be part of the library.
Who it’s for: Nominating Governance Committee Members and Board Directors of smaller companies where the entire Board acts as a NomGov Committee
What to expect: A topical theme each meeting with guided questions
10 - 15 minutes introductory remarks, 50 minutes of discussion with the whole group or in smaller break-out groups, depending on number of attendees and topic
We may invite some expert guests selectively
Loosely structured dialogue and occasionally a few slides may be included in a brief presentation or to guide the discussion Sessions will not be recorded or added to the Athena library - this is all about open, honest, and supportive dialogue.
Time commitment: 1 hour meeting every other month
Mon, Jun 05 @ 10:00am PT (1 hr)
VIRTUAL (Join us remotely! RSVP for link)
Members Only
Peer Group
Upcoming Events
Join us for a Salon or Meetup to get a peek inside our community! Peer Groups are exclusively for members - log in here
- ALL events
- A Look Inside Athena
- Peer Group
- Salon
- Meetup
- Orientation
A Look Inside Athena
A Look Inside Athena is held monthly for prospect members to come and understand how Athena works. They will learn more about the backstory of Athena, see a tour of our platform, and have the opportunity to discuss more of what they are interested in and ask questions about joining our community.
Salons
Learn about the most pressing topics facing executives today in an intimate, yet casual, virtual setting. Hosted by board directors and leaders from the world's top brands.
Meetups
Gather with Athena members in your area for a casual, in-person Meetup. These are planned by request and hosted by Athena members in various cities. If you're interested in hosting and/or joining a meetup in the future, reach out to the Member Success Team and let them know.
Peer Groups
We have an incredible community of female leaders at Athena and we want to bring you closer together! Join a Peer Group and build a network of peers you can engage with for guidance, lessons learned and insights around a shared interest. Choose a topic that most interests you or drop in and out of multiple peer groups as it suits you best. You’ll find at least one peer group available to join every week. Each live session goes for one hour, no preparation is needed, just show up as you are. We look forward to seeing you there!
Learning Circles
A Learning Circle is an opportunity to connect with a small group of other Athena members in a focused yet casual setting, creating accountability around targeted learning to assist you in achieving your goals. Over the course of 6 sessions, club members will meet every 2 weeks to participate in an organic, peer-led discussion of the session's "chapters" consisting of 1-2 Athena salons which are to be reviewed on your own prior to the group session. When joining, members are committing to completing all 6 sessions.
Guided Networking
Typically led by one of Athena's coaches, networking events provide members an opportunity to meet one another in a smaller intimate and virtual setting.
Partner Events
These are typically in-person events led by Coco and our partnering companies on topics that are relevant to the industry and audience of our business partners.
Workshops
A workshop is an interactive session for members to actively practice something, such as their pitch. These sessions typically involve breakout rooms, member to member feedback and are not recorded.
Orientations
For members new to Athena looking for ways to engage, these bi-weekly orientations led by an Athena Member Success Manager, provide a live tour of Athena, member success insights, and a chance to get questions answered.
Enterprise Events
Athena customizes virtual learning events with expert business leaders tailored to a unique company’s needs. These events cultivate cross-functional community, development, and learning across the partner organization.
Other
Athena listens and we're always adding new event types and opportunities for members to engage. See what new events we are currently offering members.
No Upcoming Events Found.
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Reach your leadership goals with Athena
Athena Alliance is the premier executive development platform for senior-level women, offering a powerful networking community, resources, executive education, and coaching to help women advance and excel in their careers.