On March 4th, Courtney Plude attended the Carlson School of Management Women’s Leadership Conference.

The day was kicked off with an introduction by Sri Zaheer, Dean of the Carlson School of Management, and a keynote by Kim Nelson, independent board director for Colgate-Palmolive, Cummins Inc., and Tate and Lyle PLC. The keynote centered around “Future Forward Leadership” and key forces of the post-Covid-19 era such as the brave new workforce, decarbonization imperatives, digitization, and geopolitical upheavals.

The day continued with three breakout sessions and a lunch with industry-focused seating. Breakout sessions attended included:

• The New World of Work – Margaret Smith, Founder of UXL
• Navigating Male-Dominated Industries and Organizations – Panel: Amanda Coulombe (Assistant VP of Corporate Accounts at Ecolab), Elda Macias (Head of Customer Insights & Experience Design at Securian Financial), and Mee Warren (President of Bodhi Research Group)
• Authentic Leadership Conversations – Connie Wanberg (Professor and Industrial Relations Faculty Excellence Chair in the Department of Work and Organizations at the Carlson School)

Conference attendees regrouped with a discussion by Dean Zaheer and Kathryn Marinello, President and CEO of PODS, discussing “Inside the Boardroom” – her career journey to the C-suite with valuable insights and advice to other women pursuing leadership roles. The event concluded with a social hour reception.

The event was well attended with over 100 in person attendees, with lively discussions and networking.