Vaca & Perkins Headline Leadership Event

Women Innovators to Share Insights for Successful Entrepreneurship

MILWAUKEE (June 4, 2013) - Mount Mary College's Women's Leadership Institute invites women leaders to participate in generating ideas and creating cultures for innovation in its second Voices of Leadership speaker series on Friday, June 7, 2013. The event, which begins at 7:45 AM, is open to the public and will be held in the college's Alumnae Dining Room, 2900 N. Menomonee River Parkway. The presentation is part of Flying Car (formerly Milwaukee Innovation Week), a week-long series of workshops with entrepreneurs, inventors and game changers from a variety of industries.

The Voices of Leadership event, "Innovation & Entrepreneurship," will showcase Nina Vaca, Founder and CEO of Dallas-based Pinnacle Technical Resources, and a Fast Company Top 25 Business Women of the Year. Vaca also serves as a director with Kohl's Corporation. She will share her entrepreneurial journey from start-up, to growth, to one of the staffing industry's fastest growing firms.

Cheryl Perkins, Founder/President of Innovationedge and former Chief Innovation Officer at Kimberly-Clark will also lead the event. With over 20 years of experience in directing growth and innovation and receiving recognition as one of the Top 25 Champions of Innovation in the world by Business Week magazine, Perkins will lead an interactive discussion designed for both the entrepreneur and the corporate intrapreneur on how to create a strategy, structure, and culture to successfully drive innovation efforts.

"Developing a strategy, building an effective plan and understanding cultural influences are important steps for innovators to get their efforts off to a solid start," Perkins says.

According to the most recent data from AmexOPEN, women own more than a quarter of all companies in Wisconsin and have generated $23 billion in revenues.

"It's clear that women are a significant driving force in the State's economy," says Beth Wnuk, executive director of Women's Leadership Institute. "Vaca's and Perkins' strategies can benefit enterprising women leaders who want to create a new business, or infuse innovation within their current organizations. The environment is ripe for women to energize their leadership skills," Wnuk adds.

This Voices of Leadership inaugural March event drew over 170 women leaders. The second event, which continues the innovation discussion for women, is sponsored by Mount Mary College, Brady Corporation, Kohl's Corporation, Robert W. Baird, ISB Community Bank, WWBIC, Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee and BizStarts.

Tickets are available and may be purchased by calling the Women's Leadership Institute at 414-443-3606. Women's Leadership Institute Executive Director Beth Wnuk and guest speakers Nina Vaca and Cheryl Perkins are available for interviews.