Biographies

Roz L. Alford Principal, ASAP Staffing

In 1989, Roz L. Alford founded and is now co-principal of ASAP Solutions Group, LLC.  Roz’s primary focus at ASAP is to work closely with Nancy Williams, co-principal, to execute marketing and sales strategies by providing operations leadership and process implementation.  Working closely with the ASAP team, Roz ensures processes and procedures are executed above and beyond set goals.  Her visionary approach and extensive industry experience have complimented and supported the ASAP team since inception.  As part of her broad responsibilities at ASAP, Roz works closely with clients to guarantee superior contract fulfillment. These efforts have significantly contributed to ASAP’s 2011 sales revenue of $80,000,000.  Roz’s industry insight and business savvy have enabled ASAP to grow in a volatile economy. In March 2011, Roz was appointed to the National Women’s Business Council for a three-year term.  The NWBC is a bi-partisan federal advisory council created to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, Congress and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners.  Roz L. Alford received a Bachelor of Science from the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Institute in Frankfurt, Germany and the University of Chicago.

Dorrit Bern Former President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Charming Shoppes, Inc.	Ms. Bern is the former President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Charming Shoppes, Inc., the second largest retailer for women’s plus-size fashion. Distinguishing herself immediately as a visionary leader, Ms. Bern formulated a new business strategy to save the company that was headed for bankruptcy prior to her arrival in 1995. During her tenure, she grew the corporation from a $1 billion single- channel retailer to a $3 billion multi-channel corporation with e-commerce, catalog direct marketing and magazine publishing in the launch of Figure Magazine. Before joining Charming Shoppes, Inc, Ms. Bern was Vice-President of Women’s Apparel, authoring “The Softer Side of Sears” initiative, and the Group Vice President of Women’s Apparel and Home Furnishings. Prior to that Ms. Bern held merchandising positions at The Bon Marche and Joske’s, a division of Allied Stores. Ms. Bern is a 1972 graduate of the University of Washington, where she is the Executive in Residence of the Fritsky Chair of Business. She also is a course instructor for ISS Board Leadership at Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Donna Couch Owner and Principal, Couch Consultants	Donna is Owner and Principal, Couch Consultants . She previously served as Manager of Global Distribution, Refining and Supply Company, ExxonMobil Corporation where she was responsible for management of global product quality for ExxonMobil Refining and Supply. She has also held technical, operations, sales and marketing positions at Humble Oil and Refining and was a transition team member for the ExxonMobil merger, and director of North America Lubricants and Specialty Products. Donna is a Former Director of the Asphalt Institute and is active in the United Way. She is a passionate mentor. Donna earned her Bachelor’s Degree, Metallurgy and Material Science from Michigan State University.
Nathalie Dauriac-Stoebe Founder & CEO, Signia Wealth	Nathalie is the founder and Chief Executive of Signia Wealth, having previously been a Senior Client Partner at Coutts & Co leading the international proposition for clients with foreign domicile. She was one of the four founding members of the Coutts Private Office, which focused on advising Ultra High Net Worth clients. In 2008 and 2009, she was elected one of the 40 Rising Stars by the European Wealth Management Bulletin. In 2010 she was named in the Financial News 100 Rising Stars and won the Spear’s award for the Future Leader in the Wealth Management Industry. Prior to joining the private banking industry, Nathalie worked at Lazard & Co in their M&A Corporate Finance division. Nathalie read Finance at Cambridge University, and is from Saint Emilion in France and is still actively involved in running her family’s vineyards in France and South Africa.
Marisa Drew Managing Director, Investment Banking Division Global Co-Head of Global Markets Solutions Group Credit Suisse	Marisa Drew is a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse, based in London. She is Global Co-Head of the Global Markets Solutions Group ("GMSG"). GMSG encompasses all of the financing products and financing advisory businesses within the Investment Banking Department, including Equity Capital Markets, Debt Capital Markets, Leveraged Finance Origination and Restructuring, Corporate Derivatives and other Structured Products, Liability Management and Ratings Advisory. Ms. Drew is a member of the Investment Banking Department’s Management Committee and Co-Chairs the GMSG Global Operating Committee. She also sits on Credit Suisse’s Global Leadership Committee, the Investment Banking Division’s Management Committee and the EMEA Operating Committee. Ms. Drew is also active in recruitment, diversity initiatives and philanthropy. She is a founder of the Competitors' Diversity Forum. She also chairs Credit Suisse’s Women in Banking Committee and sits on the advisory board for the industry association, Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF). She is the Bank's senior ambassador for Wharton MBA recruiting in Europe and is on the advisory board of the Wharton School’s UK Alumni Association. Ms. Drew received a BA in Finance and Marketing with distinction from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and an MBA with distinction from the Wharton School.
Tanya Fratto Board Director, Boart Longyear, Smith’s Global PLC	After graduating with a B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1983, Tanya joined General Electric’s Manufacturing Management Program.  This two year program allowed Tanya to explore various assignments in operations with GE’s Aerospace Businesses in Daytona, Florida and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Tanya remained with GE after completing the program and progressed through a number of senior leadership positions in GE becoming a GE Officer in July, 2000. Tanya’s 25+ years with GE included roles in GE Plastics, Corporate Sourcing, GE Appliances, GE Consumer Service, and GE’s Superabrasives’ businesses.  She had a number of responsibilities that allowed her to build a skill set in operations, supply chain management, marketing, product management, Six Sigma, profit and loss, and portfolio management. Tanya became President and CEO of GE’s Superabrasives’ business in July 2000.  During her 11+ years, running this industrial diamond business, Tanya led the business through three ownership changes.  GE divested of the business in January 2004 to a private equity company, Littlejohn & Company, LLC. She led the sale of the business again to a Swedish company in March, 2007, Sandvik AB.  After a successful integration into Sandvik, Tanya left in May, 2011. In June 2011, Tanya joined the Board of Boart Longyear, a mining products and services company.  She is an active member on the compensation committee and the health and safety committee.
Anne Glover Co-Founder & CEO, Amadeus Capital Partners	Anne is a co-founder and chief executive of Amadeus Capital Partners, the management company that provides investment services to the Amadeus venture capital funds. In her current position, Anne brings together many threads of experience – as a scientist, operating manager and venture capitalist. She is a non-executive director on the Board of: GlySure, which has developed a continuous glucose sensor for sale into the intensive care market; and an observer on the Board of Covestor, a real trade sharing service. She has prior experience working in venture capital, first at Apax Partners & Co Ventures, where she was a member of the investment team for five years, and subsequently as a business angel investing in UK-based information technology start-ups. Anne has also had significant operating experience, most recently at Virtuality Group plc where she was chief operating officer of the virtual reality peripherals company. nShe holds an MA in Metallurgy and Materials Science from Clare College, Cambridge and an MA in Public and Private Management from Yale. In June 2006 she was awarded a CBE for services to business and in July 2008 she was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Sylvie Grégoire President, Human Genetic Therapies	Sylvie Gregoire joined Shire in September 2007 with over 20 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience.  Prior to joining the HGT team, she most recently served as Executive Chairwoman of the Board of IDM Pharma, a biotechnology company in California.  She was also CEO of GlycoFi and held numerous leadership positions at Biogen in the United States and France.  Sylvie worked for Merck & Co. in various positions in clinical research and European regulatory affairs both in the US and abroad.  She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her pharmacy degree from Université Laval, Québec City, Canada.
Ruth Owades Founder, Calyx & Corolla and Gardner’s Eden	Ms. Owades is a serial entrepreneur, CEO and Corporate Director. Two of the companies she founded are subjects of Harvard Business School case studies and are taught around the world. Business Week hailed Ms. Owades as a “Best Entrepreneur” honoring her for “changing the way we buy flowers.” As CEO and Chairman of Calyx & Corolla, the first fresh flower catalog and web site, Ms. Owades reinvented the floral distribution chain. Eliminating the many traditional middlemen, she developed strategic alliances with FedEx and top growers, making next-day, direct-from-the-grower delivery possible, and making Calyx & Corolla the foremost flower retailer in the country. Five years after founding the company, she sold Calyx & Corolla to an investor group. Ms. Owades’ first company, Gardener’s Eden, established the now popular U.S. niche market of upscale gardening tools, furniture and accessories. The company was purchased by Williams-Sonoma 3 years after launch and Ms. Owades served for 5 years as CEO of the Gardener’s Eden Division.
Marcia Page Founder, Managing Partner & Co-Chief Investment Officer, Värde Partners	Marcia shares responsibility for setting global investment strategy and managing the firm with the other managing partners. She specializes in corporate and special situation investing, and oversees corporate investing in Europe. Under Marcia’s leadership, Värde has invested billions of dollars in publicly traded securities and has been actively involved in reorganizing numerous small- to mid-size companies.  Marcia has been actively involved in distressed debt and event-driven investing since the mid 1980’s and has dedicated all of her business efforts to the management of the Värde Funds since co-founding the firm with George Hicks and Greg McMillian in 1993. Prior to founding Värde, Marcia managed the Merced Fund as a Vice President at EBF & Associates from 1988 to 993. She invested in fixed income securities, including high yield debt, at Cargill from 1985 to 1988. She holds a BA in Economics from Gustavas Adolphus College and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.
Susan Packard Co Founder, HGTV	Susan Packard is co-founder and former chief operating officer of HGTV.  Packard held a variety of senior positions at Scripps Networks Interactive, (NYSE: SNI), the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet.  The company’s media portfolio includes popular lifestyle television brands HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Cooking Channel, country music network Great American Country (GAC) and the Travel Channel. She also created and served as president of Scripps Networks New Ventures, where she oversaw the development and launch of DIY Network, Fine Living Network, and online interactive platforms.  She was also president of worldwide distribution for the Scripps cable brands. In 1980 she began her cable career at HBO then moved to NBC to help found CNBC.  In 1994 she joined HGTV and became Chief Operating Officer in 1995.  Under Packard’s helm, HGTV became one of the fastest growing cable networks in television history.  Today HGTV is available in more than 99 million U.S. homes and distributed in 175 countries and territories.  She helped to build Scripps Networks to a market value of over $9 billion. On July 1, 2010, Susan joined the firm of Martin Frankel Associates (MFA), an advisory group to global business leaders.
Herta Von Stiegel, JD CEO, Ariya Capital Management	Herta established Ariya Capital in 2008 to focus on Africa as the next major opportunity for sustainable venture and private equity investments.  She has 25 years of experience in international finance with a consistent track record of building profitable highly regulated structured finance businesses and has led/ executed debt and equity transactions in excess of $10 billion. She was MD at AIG Financial Products, where she built a successful European structured finance division, and has also held senior positions at Citibank and JP Morgan in London and New York.  She has specific sector expertise in finance, renewable energy and carbon credits. A tax lawyer by training, she serves on several boards with significant African operations in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, including Camco International, a global market leader in climate change solutions, and Opportunity International, the second largest microfinance organisation in the world. Herta holds a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan, a Masters of Law degree in Taxation from New York University School of Law, a B.A. from Andrews University and completed the Executive Programme in Corporate Finance at the London Business School.  Born and raised in emerging markets, Herta has committed this phase of her career to sustainable investing in Africa and other frontier markets for financial returns but also to achieve quantifiable social and environmental benefits.
Tricia Wilber Chief Marketing Officer, The Walt Disney Company, EMEA & Managing Director, Disney Channels EMEA	As Chief Marketing Officer for Disney in EMEA, Tricia Wilber is responsible for the creation, implementation and oversight of Disney’s integrated marketing organisation. In this role, Tricia is a member of the EMEA executive management team that sets the strategic direction for the company, which she translates into marketing strategies, priorities, budgets and plans to drive execution regionally and locally. This wide-ranging role also sees Tricia engaging at the micro level – examining all components of how we market Disney to the distinct and varied audiences around the region. As Managing Director of Disney Channels in EMEA, Tricia is responsible for all aspects of Disney’s suite of 59 branded television channels that deliver Disney’s unique storytelling to more than 100 million households in 118 countries.  She oversees the programming, operations and P&L of Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior and Disney Cinemagic across EMEA.  Previously, Tricia was Executive Vice President, Disney Media Advertising Sales and Marketing Group, a role to which she was promoted in February 2007. Prior to joining TWDC in 1999, Tricia was employed from 1993-1999 by SNET, a Connecticut-based division of Americast, as Director, Marketing, for that company.