2011 Panel

Veronica Biggins

Managing Director, Diversified Search

Veronica Biggins is a Managing Director of Diversified Search and heads the Board practice. She is also an active member of the Financial Services industry and Education/Not-for-Profit practices. She was previously a Managing Partner with Hodge Partners, and prior to that with Heidrick & Struggles.

Veronica served as Assistant to the President of the United States and Director of Presidential Personnel under William Jefferson Clinton. She was responsible for selecting and hiring all political appointees within the federal government. In this role, she worked directly with the President on appointments at all levels of the administration, including the placement of agency heads, ambassadors and members of presidential boards and commissions. Veronica served as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. When she stepped down as Chair of the Czech Slovak American Enterprise Fund, Veronica received a Points of Light award from President George Walker Bush for her leadership of the Fund.

Veronica’s background includes 20 years’ experience with NationsBank (now Bank of America) and its predecessor, The Citizens and Southern National Bank. Prior to joining the White House, Veronica was one of the highest ranking women in the banking industry, serving as Executive Vice President for Corporate Community Relations.

Janice McKenzie-Crayton

President and Chief Executive Officer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, Inc. (BBBS)

Janice McKenzie-Crayton currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, Inc. (BBBS), one of the largest and oldest mentoring programs in the south. She has held this position since January 1992 and provides leadership to a diverse and multi-cultural staff of 35 professionals. As the chief administrator of this youth-serving organization, Janice has led BBBS through strategic growth and has expanded the reach of Big Brothers Big Sisters to ten metro Atlanta counties currently serving over 2,800 children. The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to transform the lives of children through professionally supported, one to one mentoring relationships with caring well trained volunteers.

Prior to joining Big Brothers Big Sisters, Janice was the Vice President for Development at Spelman College after moving to Atlanta in 1988. Prior to her notable work at Spelman, Janice held administrative positions with Howard University, Hampton University, and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Janice is involved with numerous community organizations. Currently, she is a member of the distinguished Atlanta Rotary Club. She currently serves on the board of the Atlanta Partners for Education, and a former Governing Board Member with American InterContinental University and the Community Advisory Board of The Junior League of Atlanta. Janice is an alumna of Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Georgia.

Recognized throughout the community as a leader, Janice has been honored throughout the community for her work. Recent awards include the Atlanta Business League Women of Vision, Concerned Black Clergy Community Award, The Concerned Black Clergy Salute to Mothers Award, 2005 Business to Business Divas Award and the Atlanta Woman Magazine’s Woman of the Month in July 2008. Janice holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Howard University.

Janice is married to Pernell Crayton . They have two daughters, Janell, age 26, and Carrie Rose, age 16; they currently reside in historical Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mona Pearl

Founder & COO, BeyondAStrategy, Inc.

Mona Pearl’s experience in international strategic development and global entrepreneurship has been vital in helping companies design and execute their global strategies. Ms. Pearl is known for her out of the box thinking and developing creative solutions to tough challenges which produce bottom line results.

Ms. Pearl founded and operated 3 successful businesses and sits on boards of Duo AG, UDSIDE LLC, and others. From operations to organization to top line growth strategies, Ms. Pearl initiates and executes cost effective and creative opportunities for companies to make money across borders. From actionable due-diligence to integration processes, she helps companies increase global market share, enhance leadership and engage the stakeholders along the value chain. These activities lead companies to growing their business across-borders, leverage their global competitiveness and address operational and strategic growth trends in international markets.

Her book Grow Globally (Wiley, 2011) guides middle market C-level executives, boards of directors, and those in charge of corporate global expansion strategies on how to craft a successful global actionable strategy. It provides the skills needed to build a successful global execution platform that will stand the test of change and still be on target, on budget and on time.

Ms. Pearl lived in three continents, and is proficient in six languages. She was quoted by CNBC, NPR/WBEZ, Microsoft, Bloomberg, Crain’s Chicago, Entrepreneur.com, and interviewed by other media on global issues and strategies. She is a frequent speaker at global related conferences, has co-authored two published books. Ms. Pearl is a guest lecturing in executive MBA programs around the world.

Panel Facilitator

Cynthia Good

Owner, LittlePINKBook.com

An award-winning journalist and successful business owner, Good created the #1 digital platform for career women. An internationally recognized expert and speaker on women's advancement, you've likely seen her discuss women's career issues on CNN International, CBS, ABC, CNBC and FOX. Her latest contribution, Little PINK Book, has grown into a national phenomenon, inspiring businesswomen everywhere to achieve a beautiful career and a beautiful life – and have courage to do what they love. Called, "the No. 1 online resource for America's 70 million working women," Little PINK Book's daily e-note offers success secrets, Top Women Profiles and Minute Mentoring videos to ambitious women globally. The company's robust event series, now in its seventh year, features America's most influential women owners each spring and top women executives each fall who speak to sold-out crowds in venues across the country. It all started when Good launched PINK in 2005 as a website, signature event series and national women's business magazine, which she grew to a readership of 650,000 under her leadership.