Women in Business Roundtable
November 18, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO –– At November’s Women in Business Roundtable, Jenny Ming, president of Old Navy and member of the Executive Leadership Team at Gap, Inc., will share her views on Old Navy’s position in the retail marketplace, her experience building and leading a $6 billion brand, and lessons she’s learned along the way.
As the brand’s leader, Ming oversees all aspects of Old Navy and its more than 800 stores in the U.S. and Canada, including product development, planning, production, marketing, merchandising, strategy, store operations and much more.
She was named by Business Week magazine as one of the nation’s Top 25 Managers in 2000, and by Fortune magazine as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business in 2003 and 2004.
The event is produced by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce program for dynamic, achievement-oriented businesswomen, and is considered one of the most successful ongoing networking events of its kind.
DETAILS: $30-45, Tue., Nov. 29, 5-7 p.m., Hyatt Regency San Francisco, 5 Embarcadero Center, S.F.
Hawai‘i Architect Firm Plans its 1st Resort in Tibet
HONOLULU –– Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo is planning its first resort project in Tibet.
Shambhala –– meaning paradise in Tibetan –– will sit on 2,500 acres near the capital city of Lhasa. The firm’s client is Hong Kong businesswoman Annie Woo, who is working to secure development rights.
George Berean, senior vice president of WATG’s Hawai‘i office, said the project includes a hotel with about 150 rooms, plus smaller buildings with about 25 rooms each. Visitors will also be able to camp out in traditional Tibetan tents in remote, pristine areas, where yaks and cattle graze in the nearby mountains.
Designed as a sustainable tourist destination, the resort also includes a Tibetan cultural center, spa and wellness center, health clinic and school for local children.
WATG will be involved in its architecture, landscaping, interior design and engineering.
San Jose Resident Wins $10,000
SAN JOSE, Calif. –– Wells Fargo celebrated its 10th anniversary in online banking by giving away 10 prizes of $10,000 each to online customers.
San Jose Korean resident Jinho Park was one of two winners from the Bay Area.
“I’m surprised and thrilled that I won, said Park. “I’ve been banking with Wells Fargo for years and winning this prize was so exciting. You never think it will happen to you!”
Park is a design engineer for Marvell Semi-Conductor in Sunnyvale.
Said Michael Billeci, Wells Fargo’s Greater Bay Area regional president, “The Internet has evolved from its early days when it was focused on simple transactions to, today, when it’s a central tool for managing money.”
Phoenix Couple’s Lab Finds Sweet Success
MESA, Ariz. –– When Vivian Valenty arrived in America on a scholarship to Pennsylvania State University, she brought her values of hard work, perseverance, focus and determination with her.
At the university, she not only earned her Ph.D. in chemistry, but also married fellow student Steven Valenty, and had their first child. Today, the Valentys operate companies Analyze, Inc. and CHEMpartners. –– laboratories working on plastics and other synthetic organic materials, and V B Cosmetics –– which includes full-service salons and day spas.
“I was the oldest of six children,” said Valenty of her childhood. “We lived in a house on stilts in the Philippines. We had no water and a kerosene lamp. We slept on the floor on woven mats.”
The Valentys moved from the East Coast to Arizona, where they eventually started their businesses.
“We were the first tenants at the Arizona State University Research Park,” Steven recalls. Today, their laboratory occupies 25,000 square feet in Chandler, Ariz.
“We’re a strong proponent of keeping manufacturing of products here, in the Valley and the United States,” said Vivian, who enjoys gardening, a hobby she learned as a child growing up in the Philippines.
Family remedies made from homegrown herbs inspired Vivian’s early experiments in healing sources and helped her develop unique cosmetics.
The Valentys have several patents for chemicals, including those used in cosmetics and sealants used on ceramics, giving them exclusive rights as well as national and international distribution.
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