ABOUT THE ORGANIZER
9 Lives for Women is a career advisory firm for current and returning professionals. Through individual coaching services, live and online seminars, a popular blog and speaking at large events, founder Kathryn Sollmann helps smart, highly educated women integrate work and life through many ages and stages.Kathryn Sollmann is at the forefront of women’s work+life issues, and many times I have seen her energize and empower groups of women. A dynamic speaker, she ignites compelling discussions for women transitioning through many life stages.
KATHY MCSHANE, CEO, Ladies Launch Club
The company is also the creator of MAKE WORK FIT LIFE events, premiering May 12, 2016 in Stamford, CT. Through this event (and a book Kathryn has underway, No Regrets: A Reality Check on Work, Motherhood & Long-Term Financial Security), 9 Lives for Women is launching a new, pragmatic dialogue on women and work. Kathryn believes that predominant “lean in” and “can women have it all” discussions link work primarily to the pros and cons of “get to the top” career advancement, skirting the issue of career sustainability and long-term financial security. The real question is whether women can fund a retirement that could last 30+ years—as well as all of life’s “you never knows”. Most women need to find a way to work in some way from college to retirement—and flexibility is key. The 9 Lives for Women mission is to keep women working.
For many years Kathryn Sollmann has successfully created large scale events for the investment community and for women navigating many stages of work and life. She is recognized for her large following of highly educated current and returning professional women, a very innovative approach to event programming, and the ability to create compelling dialogue and build relationships among buyers and sellers.
DIANE ALFANO, Chairman, Institutional Investor
MAKE WORK FIT LIFE is expected to draw 300+ women in the New York metro area for discussions on how to make a professional pitch for flexibility in your current job, how to return to a flexible job in the workforce after time out with family, and how to find flexibility through a wide range of entrepreneurial ventures. The objective is to show women that there are many ways to work—far beyond the traditional, rigid corporate structure. MAKE WORK FIT LIFE is a comprehensive roadmap to finding flexible employment or entrepreneurial ventures that fit a full and busy life.
Kathryn Sollmann has unique, brilliant, & informative insights as she helps women navigate work and life. I can’t wait to read her book, No Regrets: A Reality Check on Work, Motherhood and Financial Security. Her advice to stay in the workforce is a lifesaving message.
SAMANTHA SCHACHER, Co-Host, “Dr. Drew on Call”, CNN
Conferences of this size and scope are in Kathryn’s professional DNA. Over several decades she has created large-scale events under major corporate and entrepreneurial umbrellas. Beginning in the esteemed Institutional Investor Conference Division, she created and facilitated thought leadership programs featuring prominent Wall Street, academic and government speakers from around the globe. As an event consultant her client list has included AIMSE (the Association of Investment Management Sales Executives); Morningstar (where she launched the company’s conference division with founder Joe Mansueto); Investors Press (a company she co-founded with a former Institutional Investor executive); Fortune and CFO magazines, leading asset management firms and Saul Poliak, considered the pioneer of the trade show business. Most recently Kathryn’s event management innovation has focused largely on women—including several high-end “Professional Connections Forum” recruiting events and many seminars that help women navigate the job search process as well as integrate work and life.
A frequent media resource, Kathryn has also been interviewed on The Today Show, on NPR—and by Mika Brzezinski for CBS News. Since 2012 her award-winning blog, 9 Lives for Women, has been read by highly educated, accomplished current and returning professional women nationwide and carried on Huffington Post, Linkedin, Forbes and other major sites.
From early trade show days, to staging large conferences and small seminars of every type, Kathryn Sollmann has made a name for herself as a leading event organizer and speaker on a wide range of topics related to professional women, financial security and cutting-edge business and investment topics.
DAWN PRATT, Managing Director, The Negotiation Institute and The WIN Summit