On October 23rd the Committee of 200, also known as C200, held a private ceremony in Washington, DC honoring the recipients of the 2015 C200 Luminary Awards. The C200 Luminary Awards recognizes women leaders around the globe working to help change the business world.
Margery Kraus received the Entrepreneurial Champion, Kraus founded and serves as executive chairman of APCO Worldwide. APCO Worldwide is a consulting firm based out of Washington DC catering to clients around the world. Led by Margery, APCO Worldwide specializes in business, communication, and public affairs consulting. The company was founded in 1984, and ever since Margery has worked hard to transform the once small, single office firm into a major international firm with offices across the globe, including America, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa! She’s paved the way for women in the business world creating and running one of the top PR firms in the world.
Reshma Saujani received the Skills to Succeed Champion award. Saujani founded and serves as CEO of Girls Who Code, a non-profit organization working toward closing the gender gap in the technology industry. Led by Reshma, the organization also helps prepare the younger generation of women for their future jobs. She wrote a fascinating new book, Women Who Don’t Wait in Line. Through the pages of the book, Reshma advocates for a new type of female leadership, one embracing risk-taking, and failure while seeking mentorship to become better, more meaningful leaders in the business world.
Megan Smith received the STEM Innovator award. In 2014, she was named the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the Office of Science and technology policy department. As the CTO, she helps raise awareness to our nation’s leaders on how technology policy, data, and innovation lead to cultural advances in the future. She is also an influential and successful entrepreneur, recently working as a Vice President at Google.
Sandra Peterson received the Corporate Innovator award and is the Group Worldwide Chairman for the healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson. Since joining J&J, she helps transform the company as the leader of multiple company organizations accounting for more than two-thirds of the company’s workforce! She also leads the charge to totally transform the healthcare industry by using technology to create better solutions for healthcare providers, patients, and consumers.
Thanks to groups like C200, the business world recognizes women more and more as capable leaders. At this pace, it won’t be long before female domination begins in the business world!