Leadership Forum Inc.

PRESS RELEASE

*Release Source: Deborah Marshall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Leadership Forum Inc. certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise

DURHAM, NC—August 16, 2009 – Leadership Forum Inc., a business specializing in Executive Education, recently received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council Southeast, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC’s national standard of certification implemented by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council Southeast is a meticulous process which includes a comprehensive review of the business and a site inspection. The certification process authenticates the business to be at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.

By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier/vendor diversity programs.

“Our company is pleased to be part of this women’s business organization partnership, both LFI and WBENC share a commitment to the diversity agenda”, states Wanda Wallace, President and CEO.

Helps companies improve:

Leadership agility
Strategic thinking and execution
Team performance and inclusivity

We are adept at listening to problems, identifying underlying causes and proposing solutions. We provide coaching, workshops, off-site meetings and consulting services to outstanding Fortune Global 500 and FTSE 100 companies.

Our clients include business in the following sectors: financial services, pharmaceuticals & healthcare, manufacturing, oil & gas, consulting, legal, high-tech, and consumer packaged goods to name a few. And, we have a strong practice which focuses on developing and retaining women.

Plotting direction is easy. The hard part is developing and deploying leadership with the strategic insight to get you where you need to go. We help our clients put better thinking into action to drive superior performance.

WBENC

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) is the leading advocate for, and authority on, women’s business enterprises (WBEs) as suppliers and vendors to the nation’s corporations. Founded in 1997, WBENC is the also nation’s leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with WBENC certification accepted by more than 1,000 corporations, representing America’s most prestigious brands, as well as government entities at the state, local and Federal levels. For more information, please go to www.wbenc.org.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Christian Grossmann, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
919-309-4025

TESTIMONIALS

"It was absolutely fascinating to view the business from a new perspective. I can now look at the business with a new set of eyes."

"Dr. Wallace is a gifted story teller and her research illustrates the challenges women still face climbing the corporate ladder. The findings are extremely insightful, both for individual women and the companies trying to retain them."

"In 20 years the most valuable workshop/seminar I attended: thank you so much for giving me this opportunity."

"You are delivering a smart message to these leadership teams, causing them to think about their roles and giving them the intellectual tools to use."

"The program was down to earth, hands on, pragmatic, convincing and involving program. Clear messages, sufficient examples, no overload, excellent preparation, good timing."

"Excellent job of utilizing learnings into real life issues. Will be quite useful in strategically looking at issues in my business area."

"This program really allows you to have more than one tool to build on; the tools seemed to have built on each other. Networking opportunities were unbelievable!"

"...yes, even an old dog can learn new tricks."

"You brought up many new topics that broadened our perspectives and gave sound practical tips to help us out. I am sure we will all accomplish even more great things in our careers because of the insights you so willingly shared."

"All that attended really appreciated your insights. We overheard much discussion in the hallways afterwards, particularly on the importance of coalition building, displaying confidence rather than toughness or defensiveness, how to find common ground and becoming skilled at conflict."

"The strength of the program was its capacity to shed light on your personal style in a constructive, non-traumatic way, with clear goals and targets as your walk back to your desk."

"Highest skills I’ve seen so far! Clear in mind and communication, holds the thread in discussions, encourages different points of view."

"I came here to acquire some inspiration and new ideas and got it."

"Your narrative related succinctly with our professional careers and will, most definitely, encourage many of our group to follow your advice and to move forward on the path to success."

"Your coaching advice was the best advice I have ever received in my entire career."

"This was an unusual, intense, growth-oriented workshop which I got a lot out of. Wish I’d met all these people earlier in my career."

"You are truly a role model not only for us and the women who read our magazine – but for any woman that sees your accomplishment and begins to believe something greater about herself as a result."

"The participants loved your session (as you can see from the Summary of Evaluations). I particularly appreciated your tirelessness and the amount of yourself that you gave us."

"I thought you were absolutely brilliant and completely on the money with everything you spoke about. As I mentioned, I can get quite cynical about these things, but I feel utterly infused."

"Thank you for the hour of great advice last week. We talked about office politics - and the need to have a well-balanced approach to dealing with those dynamics….I will absolutely keep that spectrum you drew in mind."

3200 Croasdaile Drive, Suite 604
Durham, NC 27705

tel +1-919-309-4025
fax +1-919-309-4026