Get tickets to the 2018 Influential Women in Business luncheon

Business Report has announced the 10 Capital Region women who will be honored in May as Influential Women in Business.

Those recognized this year are Beverly Brooks Thompson, president and executive counsel, Brooks Thompson Consulting; Marie Constantin, owner, Marie Constantin Photography; Fran Gladden, vice president of government and public affairs, Cox Communications; Sherri LeBas Firnberg, president, G.E.C. Inc.; Gaylynne Mack, executive director, Big Buddy Program of Baton Rouge; Laura O’Brien, Zachary city councilwoman and founder, Fitness Design for Women; Cynthia Peterson, dean, LSU College of Science; Laura Simpson, president, Dugas Pest Control; Sarah Taylor, owner and CEO, Gulf Coast Occupational Medicine & Gulf Coast Event Center; and Kathy Victorian, Medicaid territory marketing manager, Healthy Blue.

The honorees will be profiled in the May 22 issue of Business Report and recognized at the 2018 Influential Women in Business Awards luncheon, set to take place from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 6 at the Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge.

Keynote speaker for the luncheon is Whitney Johnson (left), author of the critically acclaimed Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work. She has been recognized as one of the world’s 50 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. Through speaking, writing, coaching, and consulting, she synthesizes the key levers of change and how to use them effectively.

Johnson is a frequent contributor for the Harvard Business Review and is a LinkedIn Influencer. Her new book—Build an ‘A’-Team: Play To Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve—was just published by Harvard Business Press, building upon her work and research with teams and disruption. Other works include Dare, Dream Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream. 

She is a co-founder of Rose Park Advisors with Clayton Christensen, where they invested in and led the $8 million seed round for Korea’s Coupang, currently valued at more than $5 billion. Johnson was involved in fund formation, capital raising, and the development of the fund’s strategy. Previously, Johnson was an Institutional Investor-ranked equity research analyst for eight consecutive years, and was rated by Starmine as a superior stock-picker.

This event is being sponsored by Acadian House, Lee Michaels, Business First Bank, Mercedes-Benz Baton Rouge, and Kean Miller Law Firm.

Tickets for the event are $48 each. A table is $480. Get yours here.