Since 2014, Amazon has proudly served as a recruiting partner to the Forté Foundation—a nonprofit focused on enhancing gender diversity among MBAs and helping women start careers in business and finance. Last month we were honored to further our relationship with the organization by hosting the 10th Annual Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference.
Designed to support women entering MBA programs prepare for business school, as well as empower them with insights that will support their career development, the conference brought together over 600 women from 48 MBA member schools in the United States, Canada and Europe. It also welcomed over 200 corporate sponsors, school sponsors and industry-leaders who shared their perspectives, best practices and advice to the sold-out crowd.
Amazonians from across the company participated in the event, speaking to their experience and career paths. Maria Renz, VP of delivery experience at Amazon, opened the event by sharing details about her MBA journey, and offering advice on how women can best take advantage of the programs and resources offered by their school. Brian Olsavsky, senior vice president and CFO at Amazon participated in a panel entitled “Deepen the Dialogue: Perspectives of the C-Suite Panel” where he candidly discussed how his learnings from business school have impacted his career at Amazon, and how Amazon is working to proactively recruit and retain diverse talent. Amazonians from the transportation, video, logistics teams and more participated in events and panels throughout the day, sharing their stories and engaging with passionate women MBA candidates.
The three day event was an incredible success, and just one step on the journey to continue to empower women to start and build careers in business. We look forward to what’s ahead.
