A Way Forward on International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day, I reflect on the work we’ve done over the past year in what we call “A Way Forward.” We conducted surveys and released research, hosted our first annual Women In Leadership Summit and created BHG’s very first Women In Leadership magazine featuring Pallavi Verma, Senior Managing Director at Accenture and a winner of Brandon Hall Group’s 2017 Excellence Award-Winners for Best Advance in Women Leadership Development.

Our research validated the need for targeted development opportunities for women to improve capabilities, communication, understanding and sensitivity between genders and cultures. To grow and achieve their personal and professional potential, women need support in addressing the unique internal and external obstacles they face. A Way Forward: Women In Leadership provides current female corporate leaders a diverse community to enhance skills and share ideas to build more inclusive environments to improve personal and organizational performance.

There’s still much more work to be done.

Women in Technology Leadership

As the struggle for gender balance in the workplace continues, nowhere is there more opportunity — or potential disaster — than in the tech sector. Technology is changing our world at the most rapid pace in history. And representation of women in technology leadership lags behind national norms at an alarming rate. We partnered with The Blue Circle Leadership Institute and its renowned founder, Bonnie St. John, to launch a Women in Technology Leadership Network and Advisory Council.

We have an open survey on Women in Technology Leadership and it would be great if you participated. You can also join our network — men and women — and their organizations will be catalysts for effective, consistent and persistent change through diverse leadership and technology innovation.

Women In Leadership Summit 2018

Of course, the second Women In Leadership Summit will take place June 6-7 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Designed for women in leadership roles — including mid-level to senior managers, directors, VPs and C-level  executives — in corporations, nonprofits and government agencies, the WIL Summit is also an excellent opportunity for men who lead diverse teams to achieve greater understanding of how to better recruit, engage, develop and retain talented women.

Please download a complimentary copy of the magazine as a thank you for reading this blog.

– Rachel Cooke, Chief Operating Officer and Principal Analyst at Brandon Hall Group

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Mike Cooke

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Mike Cooke

Chief Executive Officer of Brandon Hall Group Mike Cooke Prior to joining Brandon Hall Group, Mike Cooke was the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AC Growth. Mike held leadership and executive positions for the majority of his career, at which he was responsible for steering sales and marketing teams to drive results and profitability. His background includes more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, management, and operations in the research, consulting, software and technology industries. Mike has extensive experience in sales, marketing and management having worked for several early high-growth emerging businesses and has implemented technology systems to support various critical sales, finance, marketing and client service functions. He is especially skilled in organizing the sales and service strategy to fully support a company’s growth strategy. The concept of growth was an absolute to Mike and a motivator in starting AC Growth, in order to help organizations achieve research driven results. Most recently, Mike was the VP and General Manager of Field Operations at Bersin & Associates, a global analyst and consulting services firm focused on all areas of enterprise learning, talent management and talent acquisition. Tasked with leading the company’s global expansion, Mike led all sales operations worldwide. During Mike’s tenure, the company has grown into a multi-national firm, conducting business in over 45 countries with over 4,500 multi-national organizations. Mike started his career at MicroVideo Learning Systems in 1992, eventually holding a senior management position and leading all corporate sales before founding Dynamic Minds. Mike was CEO and Co-Founder of Dynamic Minds, a custom developer of software programs, working with clients like Goldman Sachs, Prentice Hall, McGraw Hill and Merrill Lynch. Also, Mike worked for Oddcast, a leading provider of customer experience and marketing solutions, where he held a senior management position leading the company into new markets across various industries. Mike also serves on the Advisory Board for Carbon Solutions America, an independent sustainability consulting and carbon management firm that specializes in the design and implementation of greenhouse reduction and sustainability plans as well as managing the generation of carbon and renewal energy and energy efficiency credits. Mike attended University of Phoenix, studying Business Administration and Finance. He has also completed executive training at the Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, IL.