Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski
Bryant University held its 12th annual Women's Summit Thursday, titled this year "Champions in a Changing Environment." This morning, attendees at the school's Smithfield campus heard from one of three keynote speakers, Mireille Guiliano, who for 20 years served as president and CEO of wine and champagne company Clicquot, Inc.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Nearly 1,000 business professionals -- from corporate computer programmers to solo entrepreneurs -- converged on Bryant University today for its 12th annual Women's Summit.

Entitled "Champions in a Changing Environment," the day-long event offered keynote speakers plus workshops on a variety of topics including how to create portfolios that will weather any economic climate, building to communication skills, and learning how to use golf as way to network.

The event was chaired by Kati Machtley, wife of Bryant President Ron Machtley, and organizer of the event since its inception. Originally intended to draw more women to Bryant's business curriculum, Machtley said it has grown "by leaps and bounds" and sells out year after year.

Although women dominated today's crowd of about 950 attendees, men are also invited. Noting that similar seminars are springing up at more and more colleges, Machtley said the goal is to inspire business people and give them tools to excel in their chosen fields.

The day started with a speech by Mireille Guiliano -- author, former CEO of the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin champagne company, and world traveler. Well-known in the business world, she crossed over into pop culture with her popular book, French Women Don't Get Fat.

Like the summit's other speakers, Guiliano sought to inspire participants to reach their personal best -- whether it's in the board room or how they manage their health and their personal lives.

Journalist Jean Chatzky, a financial editor for Today on NBC was the midday speaker and the summit is slated to end on a high note with an address by Olympic champion gymnast Dominique Dawes.

"We have a lot of strong women making presentations," Machtley said before the launch of the summit. "One of our goals is that their confidence will be passed along and will help lead others."

 Tags  Bryant University business economy

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