The Forum's members are a group of influential global business leaders who are committed to creating opportunities for women as an integral part of their core business, corporate social responsibility agendas, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

Forum Members

Lloyd Blankfein
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Henryka Bochniarz
Boeing

Frank J. Brown
INSEAD

John T. Chambers
Cisco

Kristin Clemet
Norfund

Samuel A. DiPiazza
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Rick Goings
Tupperware Brands Corporation

Kevin L. Kelly
Heidrick & Struggles

Nancy Killefer
McKinsey & Co.

Sung-joo Kim
Sungjoo Group (Korea) and MCM Group (Germany)

Yang Lan
Sun Media Investment Holdings LTD

Wendy Luhabe
Women Private Equity Fund

Marilyn Carlson Nelson
Carlson

Hüsnü M. Özyeǧin
Hüsnü M. Özyeǧin Foundation

Elena Viyella de Paliza
Grupo Inter-Quimica, S.A. Monte Rio Power Corp.

Nitin Paranjpe
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

Mark Parker
Nike

Peter Sands
Standard Chartered PLC

James S. Turley
Ernst & Young

Mona Zulficar
Shalakany Law Office

Samuel A. DiPiazza CEO Company: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Web: www.pwc.com Women's Initiatives: visit site >

Member Background | Company Information | Focus on Women's Empowerment

Member Background

Samuel A. DiPiazza, CEO.CEO since 2002. Previously, he led the PwC US firm as Chairman and Senior Partner, and was a member of the Global Leadership Team. Sam currently serves as a Trustee of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, as Chairman of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, and as an Executive Committee member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is the recipient of many awards and is committed to gender diversity [Listen to Podcast]. DiPiazza is the creator and executive sponsor of the PwC's Gender Advisory Council, which is an action and results-oriented advisory group, with participants from PwC locations around the world who provide advice on women's advancement at PwC. DiPiazza also features on the Gender Advisory Council's recently produced film, "Closing the Gender Gap: Challenges, opportunities and the future" in which global academics, politicians and business leaders share their views on the gender gap and how it will impact our future.

Company Information

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) provides industry-focused assurance, tax, and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 155,000 people in 153 countries across the network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. PwC is an active partner of the World Bank Group's Doing Business and Doing Business Gender projects.

"PricewaterhouseCoopers" refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.

Focus on Women's Empowerment

PwC's award winning programs to support and empower women are profiled at www.pwc.com/women. Visit the site to learn more about recent initiatives such as The Gender Advisory Council published report "The leaking pipeline: Where are our female leaders?" The publication sheds light on the various obstacles faced by women as they rise within the ranks of professional services organizations and provides recommendations for companies wishing to build gender diversity to increase the bottom line, while still promoting the advancement of women in the workplace.

The PwC Ulysses programme is a leadership development initiative designed to build a global network of responsible leaders by taking senior level personnel on a unique learning journey that challenges their way of thinking and behaving. An experiential project collaboration is at the core of the program, where multicultural PwC teams join host organizations from the social sector in developing countries.

Ulysses recently partnered with Selfina (SERO Leasing and Finance Ltd), a registered microfinance institution in Tanzania with the mission to increase the income and employment of poorer businesswomen in the country. Three PwC partners from Mexico, France and the United States spent eight weeks in Tanzania immersed in the challenges, opportunities and daily life of Selfina. The objective of the collaboration was a mutual learning journey in which the PwC partners could learn from a new social, cultural and economic environment and an inspirational leadership role model in the form of Selfina's Managing Director, Dr Victoria Kisyombe. In return, the partners shared their business expertise to help Selfina address some of its organizational challenges. To understand the local context in which the organization is operating, the team visited five of Selfina's branches and met a sample of clients and other stakeholders such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), auditors, attorneys, and government officials. The Ulysses team gained a broad perspective on the organization before working with Dr Victoria and her management team to conduct a high-level management review. Analysing Selfina's needs and challenging the status quo, the Ulysses team provided recommendations to Selfina related to its operational and financial effectiveness.

The collaborative journey resulted in enormous benefits for both Selfina and the PwC team. A relationship based on mutual trust and an understanding, acceptance and commitment was at the heart of the success and will continue through the participation of one of the Ulysses team members on the newly created Advisory Board of Selfina. As the Ulysses team returns to their offices with new perspectives on leadership, the Selfina management team are using the Ulysses report to monitor the positive changes in their organization.