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The College of Business Administration announces Rita McGrath, Ph.D., professor at Columbia Business School, as the keynote speaker for the 2017 Spirit of Women in Business Conference. The conference will be held on March 9, 2017.

McGrath is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and innovation with particular emphasis on developing sound strategy in uncertain and volatile environments. Her ideas are widely used by leading organizations throughout the world, who describe her thinking as often provocative, but unfailingly stimulating. She fosters a fresh approach to strategy amongst those with whom she works.

McGrath maintains an impressive social media presence with a rating of one of the 25 smartest women to follow on Twitter by Fast Company Magazine. She writes regularly for Fortune Magazine’s online edition, authors “The Entrepreneurial Strategist” column for Inc. Magazine and blogs regularly at HBR.org. She is also one of the Wall Street Journal’s Experts, a group of industry and academic thought leaders who weigh in on topics covered in The Journal Report.

Recognized by Strategy+Business as the number one business book of the year, McGrath authored a best-selling book; The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business. She is one of the most widely published authors in the Harvard Business Review, including the best-selling “Discovery Driven Planning” (1995), which was recognized as an early articulation of today’s “lean” startup philosophy and has been praised by Clayton Christensen as one of the most important ideas in management – ever.

McGrath joined the faculty of Columbia Business School in 1993. Prior to life in academia, she was an IT director, worked in the political arena and founded two startups. She received a Ph.D. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and has degrees with honors from Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.

The Spirit of Women in Business Conference brings together women from diverse professional backgrounds. Last year, more than 250 business professionals, along with undergraduate and graduate students from Northeast Ohio and beyond, attended the event. The day-long conference includes a 60-minute keynote speech with Q&A, as well as three breakout sessions, each with presentation options for attendees to choose.

For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Erin Nunn at enunn1@kent.edu or (330) 672-2419.

For more information about the Spirit of Women in Business Conference, visit http://www.kent.edu/business/swib

�鶹��Ƶ's College of Business Administration is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) and one of the largest colleges of business in Ohio. The College has more than 4,300 students representing 43 countries with over 85 full-time faculty from 16 countries.

The college grants undergraduate through graduate degrees, and is one of only three public business colleges in Ohio with a comprehensive Ph.D. program. The MBA program is offered in an accelerated format. The Executive MBA program offers two tracks: one targeting corporate professionals and the other healthcare executives. The M.S. in Accounting and M.A. in Economics are specialized master's degrees for those seeking advanced study in these disciplines. The College also offers a Master of Science degree in Business Analytics (MSBA) that spans all industries and organizations. The college boasts 10 undergraduate majors, 12 minors and a Professional Sales Certificate program.

The college is listed as a Best Business School by Princeton Review, ranked as a Best Business College by U.S. News and World Report, one of only 23 accounting programs worldwide to be endorsed by the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), ranked Top-Tier for Executive Education in North America by CEO Magazine and recognized by the SEF (Sales Education Foundation) for Professional Sales Education.

The college boasts an onsite Career Services Center and International Programs Office dedicated to business students, and operates the Global Management Center, the Center for Information Systems and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation all propelling scholarly research, establishing innovative industry partnerships and providing outreach to Northeast Ohio and beyond.
 

Media Contact:

Joni Bowen, Public Relations and Media Specialist, (330) 672-1279, cell: (330) 221-0637, jbowen1@kent.edu