[Invite Only] Ignite IMPACT: Women’s Strategic Leadership Summit

Kathy Pearson is a strategist, systems thinking expert, and authority in decision making. She is president and founder of Enterprise Learning Solutions, an adjunct senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and has served as an adjunct associate professor in the Operations, Information and Decisions Department at the Wharton School, both at the University of Pennsylvania. An award-winning educator, Kathy works extensively with mid- to senior-level executives, including high potentials and executive teams, teaching on a variety of topics including critical thinking, strategic agility, change management, and strategic execution. Kathy received her BS degree in theoretical mathematics from Auburn University, her MS degree in decision sciences from Georgia State University, and her PhD in industrial engineering (concentration in statistics) from Northwestern University.

Becky is a 1981 graduate of the United States Military Academy and achieved an historic milestone as the first female graduate of West Point to be promoted to General Officer. She was the senior Commanding General (equivalent to CEO) for logistics in Iraq, and was the first female in U.S. history to command in combat at the strategic level. In this capacity, she was responsible for leading over 200 multi‐disciplined units (20,000 military and 5,000 civilians) located across 55 different bases, providing supply, maintenance, transportation and distribution support to over 250,000 personnel serving in Iraq.

Becky served in Europe as the Deputy Commanding General for the 21st Theater Support Command and has experience leading a multi-national team in wholesale level logistics operations. Prior to Europe, she served as the Chief Advisor to the Combatant Commander (Four Star General) for Southern Command, whose responsibility encompassed military training and operations for South America. She was also responsible for coordinating directly with high‐level organizations such as Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of State, U.S. Congress, U.S. Ambassadors and equivalent foreign military and civilian organizations.

The culmination of Becky’s Army career came in 2006 when she became the first female Chief of Ordnance and Commanding General of the Army’s Ordnance Center and Schools (equivalent to President of a University), responsible for the leader development and institutional training for the second largest branch in the army with over 100,000 members of the Ordnance Corps.

Becky is a recipient of the National Women’s History Project award for “Generations of Women Moving History Forward”, was inducted into the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame and New Jersey Women Hall of Fame. She is the author of 24/7: The First Person You Must Lead is You! as well as the subject of the Harvard Business Case Leadership Study, STEADFAST Leadership. Becky was selected into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, alongside Michelle Obama and Katherine Johnson. In 2022, she was honored as a Distinguished Graduate of West Point.

- Honorary PhD degree, Doctor of Military Science, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA
- MS, National Resource Strategy (Advanced Manufacturing) Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington DC
- MS, Advanced Military Studies, Army Command & General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS
- BS, Engineering, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY

Leanne Meyer directs the Carnegie Mellon Women’s Executive Leadership Academy and is the former executive director of the university’s Accelerate Leadership Center at the Tepper School of Business.

Leanne is making a difference for professionals across the world. Her coaching brings a fresh, global perspective earned from working with countless clients across myriad industries. Her message is designed to resonate with any professional, though her specialty has focused on empowering women to navigate complex work environments for significant career advancement.

“Workplaces are complex environments with many different personalities and relationships, and it’s important to remember that company values on a page don’t make a culture,” Leanne warns. “We have all heard the many corporate statements of ‘Here we believe …’ but the ‘we’ rarely includes everyone. It ignores the fact that unconscious bias exists, and fails to honor the many choices women want to make, personally and professionally.”

Working through such environments can feel daunting, but Leanne’s hope is that women who embrace her recommendations will walk away with a sense of calmness, balance, and inspiration.

With more than thirty years of senior-level and executive development in The United States, England, Ireland and South Africa, Leanne brings finely-honed expertise to bear with each new client. Leaders from some of the most recognizable brands across the world including Salesforce, GlaxoSmithKline, McKesson, Alcoa, Bayer, SAP, the American Bar Association, UBS, EQT, Highmark, and UPMC consistently turn to Leanne for expertise, guidance and mentorship.

She earned her Master’s in Industrial Psychology from the University of Johannesburg.