2025 Theme:
When Leadership Matters Most —
Shaping the Future in Turbulent Times

Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025
Time: 10am – 4pm
Location: Tishman Commons

The inagural Wellesley in Business Symposium is being hosted by the Wellesley College Business, Entrepreneurship, and Money Management (BEAM) Initiative, in partnership with the Wellesley Business Leadership Council (BLC). This new signature College event will conclude the BLC plenary to celebrate the rich presence of Wellesley alumnae in business. The Symposium will provide new preparation pathways and exposure for current students, and create a space where the Wellesley community can come together to learn, grow, and continue to advance women in business. 

Featuring a Keynote Conversation with:

Jean Hynes ’91, CEO and Managing Partner at Wellington Management and Paula A. Johnson, President of Wellesley College

Symposium Schedule

10 - 11 am
When Leadership Matters Most —
Shaping the Future in Turbulent Times
Jean Hynes ’91, CEO and Managing Partner at Wellington Management
and Paula A. Johnson, President of Wellesley College

11  - 11:30 am
New BEAM In-Residence Program Announcement
and 2025–2026 Honorees 

11:30 - 12:15 pm
Alum Panel: Leading Through Turbulence — Stories from the Field

Moderated by:
Lakshmi Ramarajan ’98, Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School

Panelists:
Joanne Lager ’93, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Genetix Biotherapeutics
Mia Mends ’97, Chief Executive Officer at C&W Services
Kaitlyn Wilkins ’03, Vice President, Small Business Group at Meta 

12:15 - 1:30 pm
Lunch and Mentorship Conversations with Students and Alumnae 

1:30 - 2:30 pm
Finalist Round of Student Case Competition (read more below)

2:30 - 2:45 pm
Case Competition Voting and Presentation of Prizes

2:45 - 3 pm
Closing Remarks and Reflection by Lois Juliber ’71 

3 - 4 pm
Reception and Networking 
 

About the Student Case Competition

Leading up to the plenary and Wellesley in Business Symposium, students will be able to sign up for the Wellesley Business Case Competition. The BEAM Initiative will partner with an organization each year to adapt or construct a unique case for Wellesley students. This year, we are pleased to announce that Priya Paul '88, Chairperson of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, and her team have been working with Career Education to provide an update since the 2014 Harvard Business School Case The Park Hotels: Revitalizing an Iconic Indian Brand. 

Student teams will present their strategies in the first round on Friday, November 14. The three top teams will then move forward and present LIVE at the Wellesley in Business Symposium!

Special Thanks

The Lulu Chow Wang '66 Center for Career Education is grateful to Lois Juliber ’71 for her generosity that made the BEAM Initiative possible, and to the members of the BLC College Career Connections Committee (“Quad C”) for their partnership in developing the Symposium: Janet Anderson ’83, Anne Byerly ’82, Elyse Cherry ’75, Laura Sue D'Annunzio ’85, Cyndi Glassman ’67, Susan Harmon ’67, Steph Hsieh ’89, Adele Morrissette ’77, Carrie Pianin ’85, Colleen Richards Powell ’95, and Laura Sparks ’97.

Questions

Please contact Casey Hurley, Lois D. Juliber '71 Director for Business, Entrepreneurship, & Financial Empowerment at ch111@wellesley.edu with any questions about the Symposium.