Ireland- A perfect Combination of Beauty and Brains!

Readers,
when I as a layman look at successful people,I think what makes them so different? But at the very next moment I answer myself'   ' Yes, Everything!' Here I am trying to bring you the world's best business women and their biographies.This time I am presenting  Ireland! A model,actress turned business woman! She started working from the tender age.

Kathleen Marie was born on March 20 1963. After working as model and actress she became CEO of her own company which was called Eponymous. A brand product marketing company,  well known in the world. Kathy is called as ‘Ireland’ also. John and Barbara were her parents. Ireland’s parents were working for charity. Ireland, being beautiful, attracted many people. An agent brought her to the lime light. From 1984, Ireland was seen in sports illustrated swimsuit issue for the next 13 years. She kept on appearing on multiple issues for a long time. She was again seen on the front page in 1994, that time she was pregnant!

Ireland also appeared on television and films. In 1993, Ireland put her signature on a line of socks. They sold like hot cakes in the market. Seeing the over whelming response she thought of opening her own establishment called ‘Kathy Ireland Worldwide.’  1994 she published videos on health and fitness. In 2004 she was marketing products from 16 manufacturers. She was enlisted in Forbes as ‘prototype for model-turned –mogul.’ Ireland wrote so many books for children and moms.

Kathy turned out to be a Christian as she took interest in reading the Bible at the age of 18 years.  She studied medical books as her husband is Dr. Greg Olsen. In 2007 Ireland spoke regarding eradicating the poverty on August 13 at the United Nations.  She had become a professional orator to give convincing speeches.  Ireland spoke beautifully and had hit the dart. Again in 2009 Ireland appeared on ‘Larry King’ show to discuss health issues of women. She had slightly put on weight by that time!


Author-Geeta Rao

Read more ...

Melinda Gates- A Name to change the Lives of the less lucky!

I missed you so much my readers, all the time I was thinking of you! Any way I was time pressed hence was not in picture. Who is not jealous of this lady in the world? Am sure everyone is!  Am talking of Melinda, wife of computer wizard Bill Gates, a person changed the direction of the world! I feel how come these people became so extraordinary being so ordinary? Or answer lies in my question itself! Melinda got married to Bill in 1994 in Hawaii. After her marriage she left Micro soft for the nobler cause. For raising the family! Melinda and Bill Gates have three children.

Melinda thought she would rather help people around the world philanthropically. She opened Melinda charity, and is still working for it. She had very excellent education. Melinda being a top student in class, she obtained an MBA degree also. Her last position was Microsoft’s General Manager of Information Products. After this she got married and left Microsoft. Both Melinda and Bill Gates have donated $24 billion to the foundation. Bill Gates and Melinda have been showered by names, honorary degrees. They have all the good wishes of the beneficiaries. Bill and Melinda were named as Persons of the Year in 2005.

I feel Melinda likes to work behind the curtains watching the difference stringently. Melinda was also named as one of the most powerful women in 2008 by Forbes. Bill and Melinda are well aware of the slumping economy of the world. From 2008, Bill has started working full time in Melinda and bill Gates foundation. More in the next post… wait till then readers cheers..!

By Geeta Rao

Read more ...

Wendi Murdoch – Queen of News Corporation Empire!

Women in business world are standing on their strong foothold. Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng were married on June 25, 1999. Wendi, a tall Chinese woman, quit the post to marry Rupert Murdoch a mogul of news agency and multimedia person.Wendi is confined to home only; though she doesn’t have any position officially she has a tremendous influence over NewsCorporation. On her advice, the company started partnership with cable companies in China.Murdoch, a hard core businessman, named his son Lachlan as CEO and second son James as chief executive of Star TV and has carved out Asia and the internet. Anna Mann, also has been connected to the company. Gradually Deng is becoming prominent in the family business. Business and women have a long cherished relationship.

Deng is a daughter of a factory director in China Deng came to US and mastered English, along with business school degree. Having left China as a teenager, Deng is now returning in grand style, as the wife and adviser of a global media baron. Wendi is an amalgamation of two cultures, she wants to grow business out if it. She is moving with perfect strategic steps. So Wendi is always victorious. Murdoch had to do all sorts of acrobats to set up business in China. Right from establishing rapport, trustworthiness etc  to do business. She accompanies Murdoch on his worldwide jaunts and stayed at his side when he received prostate cancer treatment last summer. Wendi Murdoch has become a diplomat on behalf of Newscorporation in China. Wendi did not seek business for women! She helped in expanding the empire.

Nowadays Wendi accompanies her husband stepson James in NewsCorp business meetings. She sometimes acts a trouble shooter indeed! The meeting got off to an uncomfortable start, at least partly because of the language barrier between the Murdoch men and their host, according to a participant. But Deng used her bilingual fluency to put everyone at ease. Wendi Murdoch stays with her husband in Manhattan. Deng was a relatively junior when she took an active role in planning Star TV’s activities in Hong Kong and China, according to former NewsCorp colleagues. She helped build distribution in China for its Channel V music channel, for example, and explored interactive TV opportunities for the company’s News Digital Systems arm. Wendi is an example of women in business world.

Read more ...

Patricia Woertz- A Woman With Determination In Business!

Patricia is known in the field of business and women. She showed the world that there is nothing like ‘business for women’ in this world! You need to rub shoulders with men to prove the mettle.
Her handling of team and strategic plans were excellent, Impressed with her financial insight in handling the job, Chevron invited Woertz to join its San Francisco office and work with strategic planning. In 1989, Woertz was appointed finance manager of Chevron Information Technology Co. and by 1991 had been named head of strategic planning. She stood apart as a business woman in the world. Holding a degree in hand she was preparing herself as a woman and business international.
Woertz took early retirement and left Chevron in February of 2006 to pursue other opportunities. By April, Woertz had been scooped up by Decatur, Illinois-based ADM, one of the world's largest farm-commodities processors. ADM takes products from farmers—like corn, wheat, and soybeans—and turns them into such products as chocolate, corn sweeteners, flour, and soymeal, among other things. Woertz, however, was brought on board to help ADM boost its corn-based ethanol business. As oil costs continue to rise, ADM is betting on the alternative fuel ethanol. ADM is the largest producer of ethanol in the United States and has been making it since the energy crisis of the late 1970s.
Speaking to Fortune , one former ADM manager acknowledged that Woertz had a tough job on her hands as only the eighth CEO in the company's 104-year history. In addition, the company had been run by a member of the Andreas family for decades. "By God, if you only knew the culture there. Bringing an outsider, a woman no less, into a company that's a bastion of lifers and good ol' boys—I can't tell you how huge a change that is.”
One of Woertz's children, Paula Lucchini, seems to be following her mother into the corporate jungle. After graduating with an engineering degree from the University of San Diego in 2005, she joined Chevron, stepping right into the male-dominated workforce her mother has spent her career navigating. Patricia clearly showed the world that business and women can go together to make the world better! She is a woman in business with dedication and determination.
Woertz believes her success is a direct result of her willingness to move around, take on new challenges, and find solutions. "I had a very pragmatic upbringing," Woertz noted in an online article Are such women inspiring others? I think women executives around the world are very small in number but the most powerful!  What matters is quality not quantity!

Read more ...

Patricia Woertz- A Pat On Back As A Business Woman!

Patricia.A. Woertz was born on March 17,1953, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She held so many powerful positions in the most powerful companies. Patricia was named as one the ten most powerful women in the world by Fortune magazine in 2000. Many of them think business and women can’t go together. Patricia is a woman in the business.
Presently Patricia is with food-processing giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. as President and Chief Executive officer. She is one of the ten most powerful women executives In the USA, with 36 billion revenue. ADM is a giant company, never before had hired a female in such a top post. Patrcia is a packed power house among the executives. Patricia cut her teeth for the past 29 years in the male dominated oil business. Patricia plainly states that she was hired on the basis of her performance and not because she is a woman. Like this she joins the line of women in business.
Her father was heading up a home-construction and development company, and mother was a librarian, inclined towards education. Patricia and her brother were taken on tour to see the corporate and industrial America. She studied the place for women in business.
" Her mother’s thoughts were corner stone in chiseling personalities of Patricia and her brother. Definitely there was a seed of inspiration sown there," says Patricia proudly. Further she says, “I have always enjoyed seeing how things are made.”
It was sheer her love for mathematics played magic in her life. Her love for math drove her ultimately to corporate world "If there was any one interest that might have signaled my future in business, it was probably that I liked math. I loved its complexity. I loved taking apart a really hairy problem, understanding its components, and then solving it." She acknowledged that running a corporation involves the same skills, just on an elevated level.
Patricia graduated from Pennsylvania state university in 1974, as an outstanding student. She is a combination of brain, beauty and ambition! She dreamed that one day she might become a partner in an accounting firm. Little did she know she possessed the business acumen to go even farther.
Woertz married and had three children, including a set of twins. Her husband, a logistics consultant, was supportive. Though Woertz is now divorced, she acknowledges her former husband's support helped open up her career path. "At one point, we sort of said to each other, 'Gee, somebody's career is going to have to take priority,'" she recalled to Fortune . In the end, the couple followed her career plans. She is a woman holding business international.

Read more ...

Sally krawcheck- Soothing Solutions in Finanace!

Sally Krawcheck is another substantial woman in business. Meek and fragile looking Sally has rock steady head on her shoulders when it comes to business. Sally is an adorable woman in business. Sally looms large on the platform of women in business international. She was born in 1965 in Charleston, South Carolina. Graduated from North Carolina University, she achieved MBA from Columbia University in 1992.Her father was an attorney. Sally is married to Gary Appel and has two children. Her career graph is fabulous. She has worked with every best  organization, namely, Salomon Brothers, research analyst; Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, corporate finance associate; Sanford C. Bernstein, 1994–1999, senior equity research analyst; 1999–2001, research director; 2001–2002, chief executive officer; Smith Barney, 2002–, chief executive officer. Sally has been honored by the Financial Women's Association as Private Sector...

Sally has believed strongly in imparting values along with her service, hence she is known as ‘ Mrs.Clean.’ Sally has brought those limping companies back on track. She has been the guiding force for other women in business world. Krawcheck, 40, was tapped to be the finance chief of Citigroup. She is viewed as one of the company's next generation of leaders and is undoubtedly one of the most influential women on Wall Street. There is nothing designed as business for women nowadays. Business and women have been an integral part of the corporate world.

Having landed one of the most prestigious finance jobs on Wall Street before her 40th birthday, Krawcheck still manages to be self-effacing. When asked recently in front of an audience how it feels to be such a high-profile woman in capitalism's biggest boys' club, Krawcheck first said she has always been an outsider, and then confessed she was an awkward teen. The one-time chief of research outfit Sanford C. Bernstein, Krawcheck became Citigroup's highest-ranking female after Marjorie Magner left her job as head of Citi's global consumer business. Krawcheck now has to contend with plateauing revenue growth and a lethargic stock price. Late last year, she helped oversee Citi's move to swap its asset management business for Legg Mason's broker network in a $3.7 billion deal. She's also responsible for Citi's investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning.

Read more ...

Anne-Mulcahy-The Pioneer In Xerox!

There is nothing business for women in the business world.Unbreakable relation between business and women has been hailed.

Anne M. Mulcahy (born October 21, 1952) is EX chairwoman and chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation. She rose to  CEO of Xerox on August 1, 2001, and chairwoman on January 1, 2002. She has been a member of the boards of directors of Catalyst, Citigroup Inc., Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd. and Target Corporation.

She was named as 'CEO of the Year 2008' by Chief Executive magazine. Then Anne announced her retirement as CEO on 21 May 2009 prior to the company's annual shareholder meeting.]
Mulcahy was born October 21, 1952, in Rockville Centre, New York, USA. In 1974, she received her B.A. in English and Journalism from Marymount College in Tarrytown, N.Y. and a Masters in Business Administration from The Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.Somehow the path was not very rosy for Anne even.But she was determined to go ahead in the business and wanted to gain name as woman in business.

Career at Xerox

Mulcahy joined Xerox as a field sales representative in 1976 and rose through the ranks. From 1992-1995, Mulcahy was vice president for human resources, responsible for compensation, benefits, human resource strategy, labor relations, management development and employee training. Mulcahy became chief staff officer in 1997 and corporate senior vice president in 1998. Prior to that, she served as vice president and staff officer for Customer Operations, covering South America and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and China.

Though never intent on running Xerox, Anne Mulcahy was selected by the board of directors in 2001. When she became CEO on Aug 1, 2001 the stock price was $8.25, and on Jan 1, 2002 when she became chairwoman the stock was $10.05. On May 21, 2009, the day she announced her retirement as CEO, the stock closed at $6.82. She claims that duty and loyalty from being with the company for so long compelled her to help the company.

Later in her tenure, Anne cut the workforce by 30% and eliminated the desktop portion of Xerox. Visiting offices all over the nation, she attempted to boost morale and help the rest of the organization see how hard she was working, hoping for a mirror effect.

Anne Mulcahy currently serves on four other Board of Directors besides Xerox. She also serves on Catalyst, Citigroup, Fuji Xerox and Target Corp. A letter sent to Citi shareholders on the 26th of March 2009 by American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees requested that shareholders vote against re-electing six of their directors. These where mainly the directors on the Audit & Risk Management Committee. Mulcahy is one of those directors being singled out for termination.
 Magazine Opinion

The Wall Street Journal named Mulcahy one of 50 women to watch in 2005 and Forbes Magazine ranked her at the sixth position among the Most Powerful Women in America in 2005. In 2009, she was ranked 15th. In 2008, she was selected by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's Best Leaders.

Read more ...

Indra Nooyi-An Idol For Career Oriented Women!

Pepsi in the Right Direction
Indra has been proved as a perfect deal maker because of two major deals. She is looked upon as a semi God in business world. . She put together the $3.3 billion-dollar-deal for the purchase of the Tropicana orange-juice brand in 1998, and two years later was part of the team that secured Quaker Oats for $14 billion. That became one of the biggest food deals in corporate history, and added a huge range of cereals and snack-food products to the PepsiCo Empire. She also helped in acquiring SoBe for $337 million.
Because of her charismatic deal making talents, Indra got promoted to CFO, this chief financial officer at PepsiCo in February of 2000. This was the time small statured woman of south India named as one of the top ranking corporate of America. After a year she was named as President. She had earned the trust of management tremendously.She has given the world a perfect definition of women and business.
Shouldering the heavy responsibility, Indra worked hard to bring the company back on track of her vision. It was during these days she brought out a dazzling range of snack foods and beverages, from Mountain Dew to Rice-a-Roni, from Captain Crunch cereal to Gatorade-brand sports drinks.
One of Corporate America's Top Visionaries
Nooyi's success in the business world landed her on Time magazine's list of "Contenders" for its Global Business Influentials rankings in 2003. Many watchers predict that she will someday head one of the company's divisions, such as Frito-Lay, or its core brand, PepsiCo Beverages North America. In early 2004, there were mentions in the press that Nooyi, who still wears the occasional sari to work, was being considered for the top job at the Gucci Group, but she denied rumors that she had been talking with the Italian luxury-goods giant.
Nooyi serves on the board of trustees at the Yale Corporation, the governing board of Yale University. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, not far from PepsiCo's headquarters across the state line in Purchase, New York. At home, she maintains a puja, or traditional Hindu shrine, and once she flew to Pittsburgh after a tough session with Quaker Oats executives to pray at a shrine there to her family's deity. Her predictions that her American graduate education would hamper her marriage prospects proved untrue, for she married an Indian man, Raj, who works as a management consultant. They have two daughters who are nearly a decade apart in ages, and Nooyi occasionally brings her younger child to work. The former rock guitarist is still known to take the stage at company functions to sing. Her job, however, remains a top priority. She watches championship-game replays of the Chicago Bulls to study teamwork concepts, for example, and admitted to Forbes journalist Melanie Wells that she strategizes 24-7 sometimes. "I wake up in the middle of the night," she told the magazine, "and write different versions of PepsiCo on a sheet of paper."

Read more ...

Indra Nooyi-An Essence of Beauty And Brain!

Readers,Indra stands apart as a woman in business.There is a small excerpt of business dress.Indra is one of the best women in business.Her simplicity,tactful tackling,and coming out as a successful candidate are guiding tips for the other women in business.
Nooyi quickly settled into her new life, but struggled to make ends meet over the next two years. Though she received financial aid from Yale, she also had to work as an overnight receptionist to make ends meet. "My whole summer job was done in a sari because I had no money to buy clothes," she told Murray. Even when she went for an interview at the prestigious business-consulting firms that hired business-school students, she wore her sari, since she could not afford a business suit. Recalling that the Graduate School of Management required all first-year students to take—and pass—a course in effective communications, she said in the Financial Times interview that what she learned in it "was invaluable for someone who came from a culture where communication wasn't perhaps the most important aspect of business at least in my time."
Pepsi v. Coke
The rivalry between Pepsi, the flagship product of Indra Nooyi's company, and its Atlanta, Georgia-based competitor, Coca-Cola, is one of corporate America's longest-running marketing battles. In the United States alone, the soft-drink industry is a $60 billion one, with the average American consuming a staggering fifty-three gallons of carbonated soft drinks every year.
The battle between Coke and Pepsi dates back almost as long as each company's history. Both emerged as key players in early decades of the twentieth century, when soft drinks first came on the market in the United States. In the 1920s, Coca-Cola began moving aggressively into overseas markets, and even opened bottling plants near to places where U.S. service personnel were stationed during World War II. Pepsi only moved into international territory in the 1950s, but scored a major coup in 1972 when it inked a deal with the Soviet Union. With this deal, Pepsi became the first Western product ever sold to Soviet consumers.
The battle for market share heated up after 1975, when both companies stepped up their already lavishly financed marketing campaigns to win new customers. Pepsi's standard cola products had a slightly sweeter taste, which prompted one of the biggest corporate-strategy blunders in U.S. business history: in 1985, Coca-Cola launched "New Coke," which had a slightly sweeter formulation. Coke consumers were outraged. The old formula was still available under the name "Coca-Cola Classic," but the New Coke idea was quickly shelved. This incident is often studied by business-school curriculums in the United States and elsewhere, along with many other aspects of what is known as "the cola wars."
Coke is the leader in market share for carbonated colas, but soft drinks remain its core business. Pepsi, on the other hand, began acquiring other businesses in 1965 when it bought the Texas-based Frito-Lay company, and has a larger stake in the food industry.
Nooyi did not earn a second M.B.A. from Yale. Instead, her degree was a master of public and private management, which she finished in 1980. After commencement, she went to work at the Boston Consulting Group, a prestigious consulting firm. For the next six years she worked on a variety of international corporate-strategy projects, and went over to Motorola in 1986 as a senior executive. She remained there for four years, leaving in 1990 to join Asea Brown Boveri Inc. as its head of strategy. ABB, as the company was known, was a $6 billion Swiss-Swedish conglomerate that made industrial equipment and constructed power plants around the world.
Nooyi's skill in helping ABB find its direction in North America came to the attention of Jack Welch, the head of General Electric. He offered her a job in 1994, but so did PepsiCo chief executive officer Wayne Calloway. As she told a writer for Business Week, the two men knew one another, but Calloway made an appealing pitch for Nooyi's talent. He told her, she recalled, that "'Welch is the best CEO I know.... But I have a need for someone like you, and I would make PepsiCo a special place for you.'"
Nooyi chose the soft-drink maker, and became its chief strategist. Soon, she was urging PepsiCo to reshape its brand identity and assets, and became influential in a number of important decisions. She was also a lead negotiator on the high-level deals that followed. The company decided to spin off its restaurant division in 1997, for example, which made its KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell holdings into a separate company. She also looked at the successful plan by Pepsi rival Coca-Cola, which had sold of its bottling operations a decade earlier, and had been rewarded with impressive profit margins on its stock performance. Pepsi followed suit, and the 1999 initial public offering of the Pepsi bottling operations was valued at $2.3 billion. The company kept a large share of stock in it, however.

Read more ...

Indra Nooyi-Cut Out For Business!

Indra K. Nooyi is the president and chief financial officer of PepsiCo. Best known for its Pepsi soft drinks, the international powerhouse that Nooyi oversees is actually one of the world's largest snack-food companies. It makes and sells dozens of other products, including Doritos-brand chips, the Tropicana juice line, and Quaker Oats cereals. Nooyi is one of the top female executives in the United States, and is also believed to be the highest-ranking woman of Indian heritage in corporate America.Indra is the best example of business and women.Because she has been one of the women in business international.


Nooyi was born in Madras, India, in 1955, and was a bit of a rule breaker in her conservative, middle-class world as she grew up. In an era in India where it was considered unseemly for young women to exert themselves, she joined an all-girls' cricket team. She even played guitar in an all-female rock band while studying at Madras Christian College. After earning her undergraduate degree in chemistry, physics, and math, she went on to enroll in the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. At the time, it was one of just two schools in the country that offered a master's in business administration degree, or M.B.A.Indra has set a trend for Indian women and business.She entered the field as business executive then rose to the CEO'S position.

Nooyi's first job after earning her degree was with Tootal, a British textile company. It had had been founded in Manchester, England, in 1799, but had extensive holdings in India. After that, Nooyi was hired as a brand manager at the Bombay offices of Johnson & Johnson, the personal-care products maker. She was given the Stayfree account, which might have proved a major challenge for even an experienced marketing executive. The line had just been introduced on the market in India, and struggled to create an identity with its target customers. "It was a fascinating experience because you couldn't advertise personal protection in India," she recalled in an interview with the Financial Times 's Sarah Murray.

Nooyi began to feel that perhaps she was underprepared for the business world. Determined to study in the United States, she applied to and was accepted by Yale University's Graduate School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut. Much to her surprise, her parents agreed to let her move to America. The year was 1978. "It was unheard of for a good, conservative, south Indian Brahmin girl to do this," she explained to Murray in the Financial Times. "It would make her an absolutely unmarriageable commodity after that."

"Behind my cool logic lies a very emotional person."I would love to write about this small statured and fiery business woman.Hence I'll continue in the next post.

Read more ...

Wu Yi-A New Hope For The Aspiring Women!

Readers,
Lets get to know the world women leaders and their strong determination. Who knows they may act as guide lines in our lives also? In this post I want to share few things about Wu Yi. Wu Yi, was born in November of 1938, in Wuhan, in the Hubei Province, China. Pursued petroleum engineering degree in 1962.From 1962 to 1998 Wu Yi had held high posts in the ministry. She rose from technician to state councilor. She was a member of Leading Party Members' Group of State Council, 1998-2002; named vice-premier of the State Council and minister of Public Health, 2003. Wu Yi is for women in business.
Wu Yi (pronounced Woo Yee), a longtime public servant in China, has earned the reputation as China's Iron Lady. The name, once was given to Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known for her political intelligence. As minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation she negotiated with the United States on such topics as copyright protection, trade, and investment agreements. Her tough yet flexible stance in negotiations has earned her respect inside and outside China. Wu Yi Set her eyes on Tech industry to take sky high, and she did it!
In 1991, she claimed a position in the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. She held the seat of vice-minister for two years before stepping up to the minister role. During that time she was also elected president of the China Association of Foreign-Funded Enterprises. From 1997 to 2002, she also served as an alternate or full member of China's Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee—the ruling elite of China. A short, compact Wu Yi always dresses impeccably; Wu is easy to spot among the men who make up the majority of high-level positions. Her personality has been enhanced by her gray hair; it gives a matured look on her face. In 2003, a deadly virus was spreading through Asia and the world. Known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the World Health Organization indicated that China was an area that was highly affected. Unfortunately, the acting health minister refused to acknowledge that China was suffering from the outbreak. Wu, who was also holding the position of Vice Premier, replaced him. She approached the situation in her usually forthright and honest manner. Her direct and blunt methods left remote chances for others to deceive. Wu Yi maintained a protocol that she means business! Wu Yi' s name can be taken in women in business world.

Sometimes I wonder dedication and determination can take woman so high! The what are we waiting for…..?

Read more ...

RHONDA BYRNE-Woman with Grit

RHONDA BYRNE
Author, Creator, Executive Producer of The Secret
As the creator, author, and producer of The Secret in both the book and feature-length film versions, Rhonda Byrne’s intention is to empower all others to live a life of joy.
In late September 2004 Rhonda discovered an unfailing and unerring principle that permeates and underlies every single aspect of our lives. She was astonished that this life-transforming information was not widely known and practiced. In that moment she made it her life’s focus to share this knowledge with all people around the world, so that billions could powerfully transform and improve their lives.Rhonda immediately began applying and studying this all-powerful knowledge, which was to become The Secret. She studied the work of the world’s finest minds – great thinkers, artists, scientists, inventors, discoverers, and philosophers - drawing from fields as divergent as quantum physics, metaphysics, psychology, and religion. She found again and again that the knowledge of this one principle had run like a golden thread through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets, seers, sages, and saviours in the world’s history, and through the lives of all truly great men and women. Without exception she saw that all they had accomplished or attained had been done in full accordance with this one most powerful principle.Already a successful television and film producer, Rhonda began practicing what she learned, using the Secret to make the film The Secret – attracting the resources she needed to have the production be an effortless and joyful odyssey. And just over one year later, The Secret was released to the world. The Secret reveals the most powerful law of the universe and explains how anyone can use this law to create unlimited happiness, love, health, and prosperity in their lives.Millions have viewed The Secret film since its release in March 2006. Rhonda’s book The Secret, available as an audio-book and printed book, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and has more than 16 million copies in print in over 40 languages. Thank you letters in the hundreds of thousands have poured in to Rhonda and her team, all expressing deep gratitude for the sharing of The Secret. And according to Rhonda, this is just the beginning.Rhonda was born in Australia and began her career as a radio producer. Her creative leadership led to a series of number-one rated programs. Rhonda moved into television production, joining Australia’s Nine Network, where she worked with one of the country’s most highly respected directors, Peter Faiman.
In 1994, Rhonda formed her own production company, Prime Time Productions. Her company produced top-rated shows such as The World’s Greatest Commercials, Great Escapes, OZ Encounters, and Learners. Many of her shows won industry awards and were screened in major countries outside Australia. Rhonda’s experience, background, and skill in film and television production were instrumental in the creation of The Secret.
Rhonda has expanded her Australia-based film and television company, Prime Time Productions, and now works with her teams in Melbourne, Chicago, Austin, and Los Angeles to create new and exceptional films, books, and other tools and experiences that inspire, uplift, and transform lives.
In May of 2007, Rhonda Byrne was recognized as one of the world’s most influential people in TIME magazine’s "The TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World", and shortly afterwards appeared in Forbes’ “The Celebrity 100” list. Rhonda currently lives outside of Los Angeles.

Read more ...

Debbi Fields-A Torch Bearer

Mrs. Fields wanted to open a chocolate chip cookie bakeshop and store. On August 16, 1977, Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery opened its doors to the public in Palo Alto, California. Twenty-plus years later, Debbi Fields' role had expanded from managing one shop to supervising operations, brand name management, public relations and product development of her company's 600+ company-owned and franchise stores in the United States and 10 foreign nations.

Debbi Fields' personal values guide her role as a businesswoman. Her philosophy of excellence, stated in her motto of "Good Enough Never Is," is mirrored in a company that has earned a reputation for providing the best in product quality and superior customer service. She attributes her greatest success to her ability to relate to her customers and earn their lifelong loyalty.

With expansion on the horizon in 1989, Mrs. Fields, Inc. was among the first companies to take advantage of dramatic computer technology advancements. Debbi Fields led her company into the computer age, streamlining operations and production schedules with a state-of-the-art computer system. Her program is used as a model for business efficiency at Harvard Business School. It remains an example of successful application of technology in business management.

Debbi Fields' business accomplishments and capabilities reach far beyond managing Mrs. Fields, Inc. Today, she sits on the boards of Outback Steakhouse, WKNO (a public radio and TV station), and The Orpheum Theater. She is in the process of co-authoring a book called “Service Entropy”.

She is the author of two cookbooks published by Time-Life. The first, 100 Recipes from the Kitchen of Debbi Fields has sold more than 1.8 million copies and was the first cookbook to top The New York Times bestseller list. The second, I Love Chocolate cookbook, published in 1994, has enjoyed tremendous success as well, posting sales of over half a million copies. She hosted Great American Desserts, a weekly program that aired nationally, on public television and is also the name of her third and newest book, Debbi Fields Great American Desserts, published by Simon and Schuster.

Debbi is the mother of Jessica (23), Jenessa (21), Jennifer (19), Ashley (14), and McKenzie (11). She resides in Memphis, Tennessee with her husband and family.

Read more ...

Derschaun Sharpley-Shaping Students

Derschaun Sharpley is the president and founder of Helping Individuals Succeed (H.I.S.). Launched in August of 2004, H.I.S. is located in Detroit, Michigan and focuses on developing positive character, building self-esteem and leadership skills, and enhancing etiquette skills in the lives of inner city youth.
Her Early Years:
Derschaun grew up in a neighborhood that offered few advantages. Born and raised on Detroit’s west side and educated within the Detroit Public School system, she spent hours giving manicures and makeovers to friends and family. She also studied Fashion Merchandising at Randolph Vocational/Technical School.
From early childhood, she appreciated the values of family, charm and etiquette; something that would later translate into a career in helping others.
Educational Background:
Derschaun graduated from Mumford High School. After high school she became a licensed cosmetologist. To further her education, she enrolled in the Detroit College of Business where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Health Care Administration. During her senior year, she accepted an internship at the Detroit Medical Center in Human Resources.
She also went to The Detroit Entrepreneurship Institute to further enhance the success of her business.
A Desire to Help Challenged by Limited Resources:
Derschaun worked as a Program Manager at Drew Middle School in Detroit, MI for approximately eight years developing programs and initiatives for children with social challenges. She was tasked with creating programs to decrease student code of conduct violations, improve attendance while developing strategies to improve test scores and grade point averages.
With limited school funding resources, Derschaun was unable to find a program that could effectively meet all this criteria in a way that was both affordable, and enjoyable to the students.

Read more ...