Smart Women Award Winners
2015 Guy Who Gets It winner
Craig A. Marshall
Managing partner, Columbus
Ernst & Young
When he accepted his award at the Smart Women breakfast, Craig Marshall, managing partner, Columbus, Ernst & Young, told the audience that he’s always been passionate about advocating for women’s advancement.
“But let me tell you everyone, our job’s not done,” he says. “It’s absolutely the right thing to do, but we have more to do.
“The reality is gender equity isn’t a women’s issue. It’s a business issue,” Marshall says. “Building gender equity and balanced teams ultimately enables us to be more effective, more efficient and higher performing organizations.”
He has encouraged all of the men at EY to work on the gender equity efforts, because the evidence is all around them at EY and within their own research — gender-balanced teams perform better, both financially and in business results.
“I work with companies across Columbus each and every day, and their executives ask about the desire to fortify their pipelines and boards with female leaders,” he says.
This reassures Marshall that Columbus is ahead of the curve with placing women in leadership positions.
“But we can’t accept the status quo,” he says. “I challenge each and every one of you to join me and make our local businesses stronger, and continue the efforts to bring a representative of women in the workplace to that of men.”
Marshall gets asked frequently how companies can start to enact these necessary changes.
It starts by creating paths to leadership for women, he says. You can enable both women and men to successfully integrate by leading inclusively.
He hopes everyone continues to work on this so that his two daughters can one day experience gender parity in the workplace and be empowered to achieve their goals, without barriers.
2015 Progressive Entrepreneur winner
Elizabeth Blount McCormick
President
UNIGLOBE Travel Designers
Elizabeth Blount McCormick became president of the family business, UNIGLOBE Travel Designers in 2012. She has demonstrated tenacity and leadership for her employees through her own example, as she’s developed long-term business relationships and added more than 80 new accounts in less than two years.
A self-professed risk taker who has the courage to ask questions and ask for someone’s business, McCormick figures the worst someone can say is no.
And if someone does say no, then she still continues to work on that relationship — without a self-serving approach — truly trying to figure out what that business needs.
She’s been known to work for up to 18 months, developing relationships before securing a company as a client.
McCormick puts customer service at the heart of her company, while also adapting new technology, implementing a job-share program, flexible hours and leadership development for employees, and creating a community-service program.
McCormick’s parents served as great entrepreneurial role models for her, so she tries to be that role model for others, serving as a peer model and mentor for various organizations.
2015 Progressive Organization winner
Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI)
Founder and CEO Inna Kinney says the Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI) organization is all about empowering women.
“We provide capital, we provide education, training and most importantly inspiration,” she told the audience at the Smart Women breakfast.
ECDI is the third largest U.S. Small Business Administration micro-lender in the country — it has loaned $28 million in small business loans throughout the state of Ohio.
While capital and support is important, Kinney says inspiration is where ECDI makes the biggest difference.
“We want to leave a legacy behind,” she says. “I’d love to see people within this room who could say in 20 years, because of ECDI, I’ve built a business, I’ve hired people and I’ve taught my children how to be entrepreneurs.”
2015 Progressive Woman winner
Elfi Di Bella
President and CEO
YWCA Columbus
As a leader, Elfi Di Bella has utilized her strengths for the good of the organization.
A skilled fundraiser and expert from the banking world, she’s boosted donations to YWCA Columbus. The nonprofit’s budget and revenue have gone up by $2 million, while Di Bella oversees a $25 million campaign to transform the Griswold Building.
While many corporations and individuals continue to tighten their budgets, the YWCA’s fundraising events have seen record numbers of attendees. At this year’s Women of Achievement event, for example, the YWCA raised $540,000 and hosted nearly 2,000 in attendance. At last year’s Woman to Woman luncheon, its second largest fundraiser, attendance increased 20 percent.
But her success isn’t solely based on what she has accomplished. It includes the people she has brought with her along the way and has inspired to be catalysts for change in their own meaningful way.
And she gives back to many organizations beyond the YWCA’s doors, because she believes we all have a responsibility to empower the next generation of women leaders in our community.
Adrienne Selsor, vice president of development, YWCA Columbus, accepted Di Bella’s award on her behalf.
“All of you that know Elfi know she works tirelessly every day on behalf of this community,” she says.
