Inforum Michigan CEO Terry Barclay's Blog | Inforum

Inforum Blog

Inforum at 50: You Have to See Our New Video

Terry Barclay

On March 14, Inforum kicked off its year-long 50th anniversary celebration with a blockbuster event featuring Mary Barra, senior vice president of global product development for General Motors. One of the highlights was the unveiling of Inforum’s new 50^th-anniversary video, "Inforum: 1962 - 2012."

The video shows the magnitude of change for professional women over five deacdes and pays homage to our founding as the Women's Economic Club in 1962. It was created by Russell Video, a Platinum-Level Inforum Corporate Investor. If you have not yet seen the video (or, like us, want to look at it again and again), it is embedded below.

Media Buzz

Here is what the media has been saying so far about Inforum and its year-long 50th anniversary celebration.

"GMC expands Denali line with new Terrain" -- Detroit Free Press, March 15
"GM kicks up hot-selling Denali with upscale Terrain" -- Detroit News, March 15
"GM to produce new GMC Terrain Denali, exec says" -- MLive.com, March 15
"The Paul W. Smith Show" -- WJR (FM 760), March 12"
Carol Cain: Barra excels in male-dominated auto industry" -- Detroit Free Press, March 11.
"Michigan Matters" -- WWJ-TV CBS, March 11
"Street Beat" -- WKBD-TV, March 10
"Women debate glass ceiling as Inforum plans to celebrate 50th anniversary" -- Detroit Free Press, March 9
"Tom Walsh: Inforum's job isn't done" -- Detroit Free Press, Jan. 22

Comments: 0

A Special Update on Inforum's Annual Meeting

Terry Barclay

I wanted to let you know about a programming update to the May 17 Inforum Annual Meeting. Unfortunately, our originally announced speaker, MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski, will not be able to join us on that date. Her network commitments have changed and despite a mighty effort she could not rearrange her schedule.

As the saying goes, "every cloud has a silver lining" and this couldn't be truer with the addition of ad pioneer Charlotte Beers as our keynote speaker -- one of the first female corporate leaders and one of the most influential figures in American advertising. Nicknamed "the queen of Madison Avenue," Beers is the legendary advertising CEO of Ogilvy & Mather and Tatham-Laird & Kudner.

Charlotte has graced the cover of Fortunemagazine as one of America's most influential women. From 2001 to 2003, she served as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy & Public Affairs and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the State Department's highest honor.

Charlotte Beers is a legend in business. She had the courage to enter a field run by men and the vigilance to become one of the most respected names in the industry. Her message to women leaders is perfectly aligned with Inforum's mission as we look toward the next 50 years.

Our Annual Meeting will be special as we announce the 2012-13 Inforum Board of Directors andhonor and thank those who contribute so much to our success. I look forward to celebrating with you on May 17!

Comments: 0

Inforum Entrepreneurial Strategy Moving Forward

Michigan is full of smart, experienced and driven women. A lot of them are also innovators, but they just don’t know it yet.

To help Michigan women tap the entrepreneurial spirit within them, Inforum is bringing world-class programs to Michigan to serve our state’s high-potential women in new ways. Our goal is ambitious: to position Michigan as the Midwest hub for high-tech, high-growth women entrepreneurs.

To do that, we’re taking a three-pronged approach:

1) ACTiVATE
We are targeting the earliest stages of idea mining and validation with a program called ACTiVATE which helps identify and motivate women before they even have an idea to commercialize. It’s a year - long applied learning class for women with a drive to achieve and five or more years of experience in science, technology, business development, management, or professional services. ACTiVATE’d women will enter the entrepreneurial ecosystem more prepared for venture development and able to engage the resources around the state more effectively. We are building capacity and quality in the pipeline of NEW entrepreneurs.

The inaugural ACTiVATE class in Michigan starts in April and will be held at the University of Michigan Dearborn College Of Business. Check out our informational webinars to learn about the curriculum, approach and successes!

2) Astia
Inforum is working to integrate Michigan’s professional and entrepreneurial networks with that of Astia, a community spanning San Francisco, New York, Europe and India made up of more than 1,100 experts, more than 200 investors and about 200 current and former CEOs dedicated to helping women led, innovation based ventures succeed. Inforum will take the lead in matching Michigan’s budding entrepreneurs with advisors and investors in the Astia network. We also will work to recruit advisers and investors from Michigan who have resources and expertise that can add value to the Astia network.

3) Angel Investing
Inforum is seeking to boost the angel investment community in Michigan. Michigan needs more of our seasoned executives to engage and invest their expertise – and money – in women-led entrepreneurial ventures. By organizing around and educating Inforum members about angel investing, Inforum seeks to drive more investors to all the growing angel funds around the state. Will they be mostly women angels? Yes. But the reality is, women invest in women and if we want to increase the number of successful women entrepreneurs, well, we have to increase the number of women investors!

If you are a smart, high-achieving woman who could help drive change in an industry or specific venture, Inforum wants to hear from you. If you know women like that, we need you to send them our way.

To register for an online information session, click here.
To learn more about Inforum’s entrepreneurial training and support, click here.

Comments: 0

Inforum Celebrates 50 Years of Change by Continuing to Evolve

Terry Barclay

What started with 23 women in 1962 as the Women’s Economic Club has evolved to become Inforum, the leading professional organization focused on creating strategic connections and accelerating careers for women throughout Michigan and the Midwest.

The organization has changed a lot over the past 50 years. But, its mission – to help professional women lead and succeed – has remained constant. As Inforum celebrates its 50^thanniversary, we’re doing more than celebrating a milestone. We’re engaged in a year of significant transformation as we set the stage for the next 50 years.
We’ll do that in several ways.

For starters, on March 14, we’ll kick off the first of several high-profile events that will focus on fresh perspectives and helping participants make new connections. We’ll feature a home-grown powerhouse: Mary Barra – the highest-ranking woman in the automotive industry, one of the most powerful women in business and the world and a board member of Inforum Center for Leadership, Inforum’s education and research arm.

We’re also launching two major initiatives: one that positions Michigan as the Midwest Hub for high-growth women entrepreneurs and one that is all about supporting new and emerging leaders.

Midwest Hub for High-Growth Women Entrepreneurs

In April we’ll introduce “Unleash Inforum” by bringing two nationally recognized programs for high-growth women entrepreneurs to Michigan.

ACTiVATE is a year-long curriculum that teaches mid-career women to find innovative ideas, validate and develop commercial viability and launch growth-oriented businesses.
Astia is a global network of successful serial entrepreneurs and investors dedicated to helping women-led ventures secure capital and build growth-oriented companies.

Our entrepreneurial strategy is designed to integrate into Michigan‘s entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’ll partner with the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Business, which will contribute to program development and serve in a principal advisory capacity.

New and Emerging Leaders

Preparing for the next 50 years means reaching the next generation – both young professionals like Gen Y’s and the next generation of women leaders – those who are poised to take leadership roles in their companies and in our community. To get there we have three new programs that complement our signature Executive Leadership Program.

Student Inforum chapters will launch this fall on several college campuses to help young women build a strong professional network before they graduate – linking them to each other and Inforum’s 1800 members statewide. This includes a special student membership with programming and networking events on campuses quarterly.
NextUP isdesigned to jump-start a woman’s first few years in the work world, helping achieve early success by overcoming traditional roadblocks. This program helps employers, too, by retaining young professional women and filling the talent pipeline.
BoardAccess™ provides resources and networking opportunities to develop qualified women candidates for seats on public and private corporate boards. This will help retain Michigan’s top female executive talent, enhance corporate board decision-making, and improve board diversity.

This is going to be a busy year – and an exciting one. With Michigan’s economic rebound underway, we feel there is no better time to help professional women find opportunities and take advantage of them. Inforum’s mission does not change, but the world will not stand still. Because of that, Inforum will continue to look for new ways to help our members achieve their dreams.

Comments: 0