Forum 2018 | EmPOWERed!

CEO
The NPD Group

Karyn Schoenbart is Chief Executive Officer of The NPD Group, a global provider of information and advisory services.

NPD combines unique data assets and solutions with industry expertise, working with the world’s leading brands to support better business decisions. Under Karyn’s leadership, NPD is proud to have been named one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York State.

Passionate about coaching others to greater levels of achievement, Karyn is also the best-selling author of Mom.B.A. Essential Business Advice from One Generation to the Next, a practical guide on everything from effective first impressions and workplace politics to relationship development, skill-building, and priority-setting. The book is based on the real-life business lessons Karyn amassed during her career.

Karyn has over 30 years of experience in the market research field, and has led NPD’s strategic expansion with the introduction of analytic solutions and new types of data. Prior to being named CEO, Karyn was President and Chief Operating Officer of NPD.
Karyn received the 2016 Long Island Brava Award, which recognizes high-impact female business leaders, and was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market for 2017, 2016 and 2015 by the CEO Connection®. She is also a recipient of the 2017 Legacy Award from Women in Consumer Technology, an organization that promotes the advancement of women in the consumer technology industry.

Karyn currently serves on the ARF Women in Analytics Board and the advisory board of The Resolution Project, a nonprofit organization that develops socially-responsible young leaders. Karyn has also served on the boards of directors of Civic Science and CASRO, the Council of American Survey Research Organizations. She regularly teaches classes in leadership and developing client relationships. Karyn is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events, notably:

• Beauty and FN (Footwear News) CEO Summits
• Fairchild WWD (Women’s Wear Daily)
• FFANY (Fashion Footwear Association of NY)
• Hewlett Packard Annual Meeting
• Women in Auto Care Winter Conference, Keynote speaker (2018)
• Women in Consumer Technology
• Women of Isenberg, Keynote speaker
• Women of The Channel East: Leadership Summit (2017)
• Women’s Foodservice Forum (2018)

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, summa cum laude, Karyn and her husband live in Woodbury, NY. They enjoy the beach and spending time with their adult children.

You can follow Karyn on Twitter @karynschoenbart, Facebook @karynschoenbartauthor and www.karynschoenbart.com

Founder
Amplitude Strategies

Betsy Jaffe is a public affairs executive with more than 25 years of experience serving corporations and trade associations. She started Amplitude Strategies, a strategic communications firm serving the audiovisual industry, earlier this year.

Prior to founding Amplitude, Betsy served as a senior vice president at AVIXA – the Audiovisual Integrated Experience Association (formerly InfoComm International), where she worked in several different senior level positions in communications, government affairs, conferences, sales, social media and membership for more than a dozen years.
She was executive director of the AVIXA Foundation, leading the association’s workforce development efforts, as well as the co-founder of Women of InfoComm Network (WIN).

Prior to joining InfoComm, she was with Powell Tate/Weber Shandwick, where she crafted communications campaigns for Cisco, Altria, the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, American Airlines and assorted trade associations.

Her work has been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, and hundreds of business journals and trade publications around the world.

Betsy has practiced mindfulness for close to ten years and is a student in UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center’s Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification program.

Command of Joint Task Force North
U.S. Army

Brigadier General Laura L. Yeager assumed command of Joint Task Force North on September 29, 2017. BG Yeager’s active military service began in May of 1986 after receiving her commission as a Distinguished Military Graduate through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the California State University, Long Beach. She commanded on Active Duty and in the National Guard as a company commander, Aviation Battalion and Aviation Brigade Commander.

During subsequent assignments she served as a helicopter pilot in both the UH-1 Iroquois and UH-60 Blackhawk aircraft, accruing over 1500 flight hours and qualification as an Instructor Pilot in the UH-1. From 2010 to 2011, BG Yeager served as the Deputy Commanding Officer for the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade during its deployment to Iraq in support of Operation NEW DAWN.

BG Yeager’s civilian education includes a Baccalaureate Degree in Psychology from the University of California at Irvine, a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Chapman University College and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. Her military awards and qualifications include the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, Army Parachutist Badge and the Expert Field Medical Badge. She and her husband of thirty years, Curtis, have four grown sons.

Brigadier General Yeager believes strongly in the “Empowerment of Women” and will share experiences from her youth through her over thirty-two years in uniform. She will also discuss how the female role in military service has evolved, tips on work/life balance and executive leadership techniques applicable to civilian career goals.

Founder
Repuvue

Angela is the founder of Repuvue, a marketing firm specializing in reputation management and customer reviews.

Prior to founding Repuvue in 2016, Angela held leadership positions in the consumer electronics publishing space first as the Associate publisher of Sound+Vision and then as Publisher of Home Theater.

Her expertise in consumer technology and reputation management give her a unique perspective in media, marketing, public relations and brand positioning.

Founder and Managing Partner
The Hatchery

Yao is the Founder and Managing Partner of The Hatchery, an organization instrumental in developing the New York technology ecosystem. Hatchery’s incubator works with corporations to collaboratively develop new innovations and companies for competitive advantage and revenue streams leveraging machine learning, artificial intelligence, prediction, natural language processing. She has helped over 350 early stage companies through various phases of maturity with a focus on product, business, revenue, and funding. She leads up the enterprise incubator in New York building products with corporate partners -- from ideation, development, sales, funding to exit. She is advisor and deal maker to the governments of 10 countries throughout North America, Europe, and Asia to assist foreign technology companies in their expansion to the U.S. market.

Previously, Yao co-founded an award winning digital agency, Gigapixel Creative, building technology solutions and digital strategies for corporations, startups, and advertising agencies. Clients and campaigns included Cline Davis Mann, BBDO, Y&R, Nextel, Cigna, Chase, Starwood Hotels, Universal and more. She helped launch several startups and lead the agency to 30 accolades including Top 10 Hot Creative Agencies to Watch and Forbes Best of Web.

Yao was named by Forbes as one of 11 women at the center of New York’s digital scene, by Beta Beat as one of 25 Women Driving New York’s Tech Scene, and TechWeek’s 100 most influential people in tech. She is part of the U.S. State Department Global Entrepreneurship Program Delegations in bringing entrepreneurship and initiatives to strategic countries.

Yao is a sought after speaker in areas of building internet companies, technology, big data, social media, and entrepreneurship. Yao and her efforts have been featured in Fortune, Inc Magazine, The Miami Herald, Reuters, Daily News, Red Herring, Crains, American Venture, and TED. She has a particular passion for helping entrepreneurs, women, and social causes with projects in place to build global communities, push more women into executive positions.