October 16, 2008
Dear Executive Leadership Council members, friends and sponsors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is proud to sponsor the Executive Leadership Council's 2008 Annual Recognition Dinner and Awards Ceremony. We're both grateful for and energized by the work the Council has done over the past 22 years to inspire leadership and to encourage its talented membership to develop and grow their network. From a business perspective, never before has there been a greater need for diverse leadership. The world is rapidly changing, and organizations that want to be successful in the world's emerging markets will need to demonstrate a high level of cultural competence. At PwC our beliefs are straightforward. We believe that we must attract and retain top talent to be a high performing organization. And we also understand that talent doesn't come in one package. We know we need to look for talent, we need to attract that talent, and we need to demonstrate that ours is a culture where talented individuals can develop and grow their skills to be outstanding leaders. Although our beliefs are clear-cut, the challenges are far more complex. That's why at PwC we are committed to taking on those challenges and creating an environment where diverse leaders develop and thrive. While we know there are no simple solutions, we are committed to addressing them through open and candid dialogue. PwC looks forward to continuing our partnership with the ELC and to making a positive impact on our future leaders. Congratulations on another successful year!
Sincerely,
Dennis M. Nally
PriceWaterHouseCoopers
U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner
2008 Annual Recognition Dinner
For the first time in the Council’s history the Annual Recognition Dinner premiered in New York City – the global epicenter of business and commerce. This year’s theme Diversity Leadership: The Wealth of Our Nation was in full display as a record crowd of over 2,400 were in attendance this year, including more than 75 Fortune 500 CEOs, came to celebrate the best in inclusive leadership.
Lead Dinner Sponsor PricewaterhouseCoopers along with other supporting and contributing sponsors like Verizon, Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, JPMorgan Chase, and MasterCard Worldwide succeeded in helping to raise funds and focus on the powerful influence diversity leadership must continue to play in corporate America, even during these tough economic times. This year’s Dinner emcees were a dynamic duo of journalism luminaries: James “JB” Brown the Emmy award winning sports journalist, entrepreneur and current host of The NFL Today on CBS and Inside the NFL on Showtime and Soledad O’Brien, a Peabody award winning journalist who has covered the globe for CNN and has become one of America’s most respected journalists. This year’s honorees represented a true wealth of leadership talent and committed champions of diversity. They were Ernest G. Green, Managing Director of Public Finance for Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers) who received the Alvaro Martins Heritage Award; Ingrid Saunders Jones, Senior Vice President - Global Connections for The Coca-Cola Company and Chairperson for The Coca Cola Foundation for the 2008 Achievement Award; and ExxonMobil, for the Corporate Award which was accepted by Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson. The evening concluded with a musical feast featuring graceful songstress Deniece Williams, who serenaded the audience with several of her memorable melodies and the Grammy award winning jazz ensemble, Fourplay during a mini concert which ended the dinner and kept the musical atmosphere festive. AARP sponsored the pre-dinner general reception while AXA Equitable sponsored the CEO and President’s Receptions which honored all the year’s dinner sponsors. Target culminated the evening with a spectacular Post Dinner Reception featuring great music and networking for all.
The attention now shifts to our 2009 ELC Annual Recognition Dinner which will take place at the magnificent Gaylord Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor back in the DC area on Thursday, October 8, 2009.
