Alumnae Gives Back through the Gift of Inspiration

“Self-awareness is the number one goal of female millennials,” said Lynne Greene, retired Group President of The Estée Lauder in her keynote address at the Women in Leadership Breakfast." When you know who you are, and when you develop the right skills—you can fly.” 

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With those inspirational words, Ms. Greene set the tone for the September 23 conference, which was hosted by The Peter J. Tobin College of Business and the Office of Alumni Relations, and co-sponsored by the Estée Lauder Companies and Broadridge Financial Solutions. The event gathered St. John’s alumni, students, faculty, and other guests to reflect on issues which affect business women of today. 

Introducing Ms. Greene was Norean Sharpe, Ph.D., Dean and Professor of Decision Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, who noted that in her career, Ms. Greene had worked for 11 world-leading brands, including Lancôme, Chanel, Aveda, and most recently, Estée Lauder. 

Ms. Green highlighted the importance of personal branding and “staying true to who you are both ethically and ideologically.” She also quoted poet Maya Angelou in describing a unique advantage women often have over men in the workplace: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

Following Ms. Greene’s insightful remarks, Anna D. Martin, Ph.D., Alois J. Theis Endowed Chair and Professor of Finance, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, served as moderator for the panel discussion, which was filled exclusively by St. John’s alumni. The panelists included

• Pawneet Abramowski '96C, '99G, Chief Compliance Officer of The Bancorp, Inc.
• Giovanna Cipriano '90CBA, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Foot Locker, Inc.
• Joanne Lenhart '86C, Director and Americas Head of Employee Compliance & Enterprise Risk Frameworks of Barclays Bank, PLC
• Elizabeth Simun-Janson '12TCB, Research Analyst in Strategy and Business Development Research Analyst at Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Each panelist spoke not only of creating a personal brand, risk-aversion, multi-management, and mentorship, but of the value of humility that St. John’s instilled in them. 

“Coming to these events makes me realize that we have a great and esteemed alumni group,” said Elizabeth Simun-Janson. “Even though I’m content in my current position at Broadridge, I know that I can always go to St. John’s for advice, because everything starts with a great alumni network.”  

During a question and answer session, the panel answered questions about mobility, balance, and handling stereotypes and challenges. They stressed the importance of learning from others, never be afraid to speak up, and finding hope and light through dark experiences. 

“The program was relevant to all students and all majors—not just business programs,” said Kassidy Daly '17CPS. “That’s because it really focused on how to deal with positions of leadership as a woman—and that is universal.”