Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business presents the Intercollegiate Business Convention
Marissa Mayer
Vice President, Search Products & User Experience, Google
Marissa leads the company's product management and design efforts for search and search properties as well as the overall user experience, including the Google.com homepage. Google's search product portfolio includes web search, images, news, books, products, maps, toolbar, iGoogle, and more. Marissa joined Google in 1999 as Google's first female engineer and led the user interface and web server teams at that time. Today, she continues to work with the company's user experience team, and developing designs and setting standards for the look-and-feel that keep the company's products simple, intuitive, and useful.
Concurrently with her full-time work at Google, Marissa has taught introductory computer programming classes at Stanford to more than 3,000 students. Stanford has recognized her with the Centennial Teaching Award and the Forsythe Award for her outstanding contribution to undergraduate education.
Marissa served as co-chair of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy. She also is a member of the board of trustees for the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian National Design Museum. Her contributions and leadership have been recognized by numerous publications including Newsweek, BusinessWeek, and the New York Times. In 2008, at 33, Marissa became the youngest woman ever to be included on Fortune's Most Powerful Women's list (#50), and she has retained the distinction in 2009 (#44). In 2010, Marissa was honored by the New York Women in Communications, Inc. with a Matrix Award.
Marissa received her B.S. in Symbolic Systems and her M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University. For both degrees, she specialized in artificial intelligence. She also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology.
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Lauren Merkin
Lauren Merkin Handbags
It started with a Singer sewing machine given to her on her 10th birthday. Lauren Merkin had not dreamed of being a handbag designer, yet in the summer of 2002 she found herself with a Columbia MBA but without the creative job she craved. In need of an artistic break from the career hunt, Lauren pulled out the old Singer and created her very first handbag. She named it Lorenzo- a classic canvas tote that seemed to have just the right mix of style and charm.
After weeks of sewing madly to fill orders from friends and a nearby boutique, Lauren knew she had stumbled upon an opportunity. She sought out a factory to produce samples and honed in on the strategy that would define the brand - classic yet feminine styles, quality and value, an emphasis on clutches and made in NYC.
Lauren hit the pavement with three bag styles and a portfolio of samples. The Louise Clutch became an instant hit and the orders began flowing in from top boutiques around the country. By the company's first anniversary, the bags not only lined the shelves of Bergdorf Goodman but were also one of their best sellers.
The press was soon to follow and Time Out New York was among the first to cover Lauren's line. Since then Lauren Merkin has been regularly featured in top publications including Vogue, Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Lucky, WWD, and The NY Times.
Almost eight years later the collection can be found in more than 300 retail doors worldwide including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales. Lauren attributes much of her success to remaining true to the core values she set out with. Both the Lauren Merkin buyer and customer quickly become devoted to the quality, timeless style and lighthearted attitude that make the bags instantly recognizable. Inspired by her loyal customer base, Lauren Merkin continues to create chic, understated clutches and bags that make the women who carry them feel effortlessly stylish.
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