October 4, 2012

Celebrating Watermark Women Who Have Made Their Mark

By Marilyn Nagel

Every Watermark woman makes her mark on business, on society, and on the world, simply by being a woman senior executive. As much as we would like to see women in equal numbers to men to holding top positions and leading large enterprises—we’re still in groundbreaking territory.

However, there are women among us who, in addition to being women at the top, have carved out lasting and inspiring legacies. Through your nominations, six outstanding women leaders have been selected from the Watermark community to be celebrated as our 2012 Women Who’ve Made Their Mark.

They embody what Watermark stands for. These six women exemplify the highest level of professional excellence, positive change in the world through action and thought leadership, and advocacy for women to fulfill their full leadership potential, and they’re human —warm, approachable, and humble in character.

These women truly inspire. They make others feel good. Their presence is felt, and to know them is a delight. Most of all, they’re Women Who Have Made Their Mark: in their field, in their communities, and on the landscapes of business.

During this year’s Women Who Have Made Their Mark Celebration, we will celebrate:

Erna Arnesen
Chairman of the Board, Watermark
Most recently VP, Global & Strategic Services Partnerships, Cisco

With a strong commitment to help women grow in the corporate world, Erna is widely known for her strong leadership skills, positive management philosophy, and highly collaborative style. Throughout her 25-year career in Silicon Valley where she specialized in channel and alliance management for tech companies that include Apple, Symantec, and Cisco, Erna has mentored many women while advocating for them to fulfill their leadership potential.  A member of the Wellesley Business Leadership Council and the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP), Erna has served as an advisory board member for Women in Consulting (WIC), is a graduate of Leadership California, and has completed the Harvard Corporate Board Governance Program. Honored as one of the 2011 Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal, she has also received the YWCA Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) award. Erna’s passion extends to helping women develop those skills that will help them contribute on corporate boards.

Denise Brosseau
CEO, Well-Connected Leader, Inc.

As the co-founder and former CEO of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (now Watermark), the co-founder and National Council of Advisor Member of the Springboard Venture Forums and the co-founder of the Invent Your Future Conference for Women, Denise has exemplified Watermark’s values of advocating for women. She has always believed that creating community, collaboration and connections will create the most powerful change in the world. Denise is most proud of the women-founded and –led companies she has helped to foster, the women executives she has strategized with and championed for, and the young women leaders she has mentored. She is also honored to include many of them among her closest friends. Recognized as a Champion of Change by the Obama White House for her work as an entrepreneurial mentor and by the Girl Scouts as one of the Top 100 Women of Northern California, Denise continues to advocate for the rights, choices and possibilities for women as the Chair of the Advocates Board of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and as a Board Member of 416 Holdings, a for profit company formed to increase the financial self-sufficiency of Planned Parenthood affiliates.

 Jennifer Cullenbine
Founder, Executive Director, and Queen Elf of The Family Giving Tree 

What does an MBA student do after developing a business plan for a class project that focuses on a company that would make a positive impact on the lives of others? She turns it into a reality. A selfless and tireless leader, Jennifer is Queen Elf of Family Giving Tree, a non-profit dedicated to children most in need in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. For over twenty-three years, the organization has provided these children with gifts at the holidays and a backpack filled with school supplies at the beginning of each school year. In 2012, Jennifer and her team of 16 (75% of whom are women) will fulfill the wish of their millionth child. An inspiration to entrepreneurs in the non-profit sector and beyond, Jennifer is frequently called upon to provide guidance, wisdom, and expertise to budding and experienced businesswomen and men. In addition, over the past two years, while working with an animal shelter, she and her family have helped socialize over 100 rescued kittens to ready them for adoption.

Karineh Khachatourian
Partner, K&L Gates

Intellectual Property (IP) Litigation has traditionally been a male dominated field with very few women leaders. But Karineh has spent 15 years making her mark while helping advance women in both IP and the legal profession generally. At the beginning of her career, Karineh was mentored by a woman at a large New York law firm who was representing Shannon Faulkner in her quest to become the first female cadet at the Citadel, the all-male military academy in South Carolina. As a result, Karineh was inspired to move to Silicon Valley and tackle the male-dominated world of IP. As President of WIPLA (Women’s Intellectual Property Lawyers Association) she grew the membership to over 100 members. As current head of the Palo Alto chapter of the Women in the Profession program, Karineh organizes events and partnerships with women’s organizations to provide K&L Gates female partners and associates the opportunity to increase their relationships in Silicon Valley outside of the firm. She’s also an active member of ChIPs, where she helps with educational programming. Karineh joined Watermark in 2005, and has been actively involved in sponsorships, membership recruitment, program organization, and now strategic development. Her greatest reward is when she is able to connect great, accomplished women with one another to help them advance and achieve their professional and personal goals.

Wendy Lea
CEO, Get Satisfaction

A highly respected technology executive who has achieved unequivocal success in Silicon Valley, Wendy was recruited to Get Satisfaction in 2008, where she has built it from $0 to $10M in bookings and now counts P&G, Microsoft, Tri Net and Mint among their customers. Prior to joining Get Satisfaction, Wendy founded The Chatham Group, where she currently serves as an angel investor, strategic advisor, and board member for a long list of startup companies. She has co-authored two innovative sales methodologies, CHAMP (channel and alliance management process) and TMP (territory management and planning), which were widely adopted as global standards by IBM, Hewlett Packard and Oracle.  Serving as the Board Chairperson for Watermark in 2010 and as a Board Member for 4 years, Wendy now serves on our Emeritus Board. She’s also on the board of Get Satisfaction, Corporate Visions, Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2.org), and on the board of advisors for Duarte.com. Wendy’s been recognized as a Top 100 Woman of Influence in Silicon Valley and continually uses her considerable energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge to support and advance other Bay Area women professionals.

Maya Strelar-Migotti
VP, Head of IP & Broadband Development Unit, Ericsson
Head of Ericsson Silicon Valley Site

As leader of a global research and development organization that includes 6,000 engineers, Maya brings more than 20 years of international telecom management experience to her position. With a background in international R&D and strategic product management, she has proven to be a strong leader in complex commercial and technical markets, having turned around large businesses and successfully integrated acquired companies. Known for building high-performing, and innovative organizations, Maya has established Ericsson as one of Silicon Valley’s leaders in IP development. For over 6 years, Maya has been included among Swedish Business Week’s (Veckans Affarer) list of the most powerful women in the Swedish business community and in 2008, she received Sweden’s IT & Telecom Star of the Year Award. Actively involved in promoting women in leadership, Maya is a board member of Watermark

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