KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Leadership Summit Preview

By Elizabeth Bethel | May 22, 2015

Feb 6, 2014; Pebble Beach, CA, USA; Phil Mickelson (left) walks with Condoleezza Rice (right) to the tee of the 15th hole during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Even with two LPGA tournaments still to play before the inaugural KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, it’s not too early to start getting ready for the newest and biggest event on the Tour. Created in conjunction with the PGA of America and LPGA, the Championship replaces the LPGA Championship and will combine a world-class, annual major golf championship with a women’s leadership summit and an ongoing charitable initiative.

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It all takes place June 9-14, 2015 at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, a site that rivals Pinehurst and Greenbrier in elegance and ambience, a near-perfect setting for this event that brings women’s golf into clear focus as a catalyst for and driver of social change. The Championship will offer a $3.5 million purse, among the highest in women’s golf, and be broadcast on NBC and Golf Channel. Get this event on your calendar.

I’m intrigued by and drawn as much by the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit that will be hosted on-site during the week of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship as by the golf tournament. It’s a pathbreaking, headliner event, bringing together today’s most accomplished leaders from multiple arenas to inspire the next generation of women leaders.

Headlined by 66^th U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — an avid golfer and a member of Augusta National Golf Club — and Duke Energy President and CEO Lynn Good, who will will deliver the keynote, the inaugural KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit will bring together a group of top luminaries in the worlds of business, sports, and the media to forge a pathway for the enhancement of women in leadership positions across venues.

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The participants have taken on no small task, as Condoleezza Rice — as engaged in the world of sport as in the world of global power — fully understands.

"“It is critically important for the American business community to advance more women into the C-suite. I am proud to stand with KPMG and other influential leaders as we work together to galvanize a new generation of women to move forward with confidence at the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit.” – Condoleezza Rice"

KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit Speakers and Panels

Lynn Good will provide a business keynote to kick off the Summit. She will share her moving leadership story and perspective on leading an organization during a period of tremendous change.
ESPN SportsCenter Anchor Linda Cohn will moderate a panel titled “Achieving Your Personal Best: A Conversation with Women in Sports” that will feature LPGA Tour champion Stacy Lewis, Notre Dame Head Women’s Basketball Coach Muffet McGraw, and Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam. The panelists will share their personal stories and how they reached the pinnacle of their sport.
Nasdaq President Adena Friedman, Mellon Capital (part of BNY Mellon) Chairman, President and CEO Gabriela Franco Parcella, Thomson Reuters President and CEO Jim Smith, and KPMG Global Chairman John Veihmeyer will participate in a panel titled “Road to the C-Suite.” The panel will include a discussion on authentic and visionary leadership.
Two pairs of next-generation leaders and their mentors –former NBC Sports and Olympics executive Dick Ebersol and Golf Channel Executive Producer Molly Solomon, as well as Frontier Communications Executive Chairman Maggie Wilderotter and KPMG Partner and Board member Kelly Watson — will discuss the importance of having strong career mentors as well as career “sponsors.”
Sessions will be moderated by NBC on-air talent including Golf Channel on NBC host Dan Hicks, NBC News’ Weekend TODAY co-anchor and National Correspondent Erica Hill, and NBC News National Correspondent Kate Snow.
Condoleezza Rice will provide the closing keynote and share personal experiences, lessons learned from working with top world leaders, and advice for the next generation of women leaders.

The KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit will be available via live streaming at CNBC.com and Golf Live Extra, Golf Channel’s live streaming platform. We’ll be able to drop in and out of the sessions and participate in a global conversation about gender, power, and sport, three of my favorite topics!

Follow ProGolfNow on Twitter @ProGolfNow for updates on the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit as well as KPMG Women’s PGA Championship preview and round-by-round coverage throughout the event.

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