CHICAGO, August 29, 2016 – Syngenta, one of the world's leading agribusiness companies, tops the list as a company committed to promoting diversity in the workplace and will receive the WIA Demeter Award of Excellence as Company of the Year for that honor. The award will be presented at the 5th annual Women in Agribusiness Summit (WIA), here next month, September 27-29 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Joining Syngenta in this recognition is Stefanie Jill Fogel, partner at DLA Piper, who was chosen as Leader of the Year; and Laura Daniels, founder of Dairy Girl Network, who was recognized as Innovator of the Year. Each also will receive a WIA Demeter Award at the September summit.
The Women in Agribusiness Demeter Award of Excellence, presented by HighQuest Group, acknowledges the outstanding achievements of those who have taken identifiable actions to create positive results in retaining, recruiting and promoting women in the ag sector. Recipients are nominated in a formal process and are selected by the Women in Agribusiness team and advisory committee.
Company of the Year -- Syngenta
Syngenta, a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources, includes 28,000 people in more than 90 countries. The company is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace, evidenced by the launch in 2014 of a Global Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) policy to leverage the company’s differences, catalyze innovation, maximize performance and create business value. This expanded to offering programming in a range of areas such as Women’s Leadership, African American Leadership, Young Leader Development and an LGBTQ Leaders & Allies group.
Recent programming by the Women’s Leadership Group has included Lunch ‘n Learn sessions featuring women agribusiness executives, professional development seminars in the areas of coaching and networking, Syngenta career pathing and advice, and local volunteer opportunities.
Earlier this year, Syngenta rolled out training on unconscious bias to help employees identify their own challenges based on their unique experiences and backgrounds.
Innovator of the Year – Laura Daniels, Dairy Girl Network
As founder and president of Dairy Girl Network, Laura Daniels has been recognized for her vision in forming this network that includes dairy farmers, dairy professionals and employees on a dairy. Established in 2014, this non-profit organization now has over 1,200 members and more than 3,000 Facebook followers. It will host its first Dairy Girl National conference this November in Minneapolis, along with its multiple networking events held throughout the year.
The network also has an active board of directors and support of major businesses in the sector. “Because of Laura’s insight and vision, a very real need has been met for women in the dairy industry to connect with other women and find opportunities for comradery, experience-sharing and personal development,” said LuAnn Troxel, the Dairy Girl Network leadership team member who nominated Daniels. “It has truly been inspirational to see this network grow.”
Leader of the Year – Stefanie Jill Fogel, DLA Piper
Stefanie Jill Fogel is partner and co-chair of DLA Piper’s Global Food and Beverage Sector. DLA Piper is one of the world’s largest law firms with more than 4,000 attorneys located in more than 90 offices across the world. Fogel’s practice focuses on cross border regulatory compliance, food safety, supply chain and distribution risks, and recall and government investigation assessment and response.
She is recognized with the WIA Demeter Award for her work in co-founding the law firm’s Leadership Alliance for Women (LAW) Program, an initiative launched to help develop, retain and promote women lawyers in the firm’s global environment. LAW fosters internal networking, facilitates the flow of information, and empowers women lawyers by developing leadership skills and creating business development opportunities. LAW regularly hosts national Speaker Series videoconference presentations focused on leadership and business development, which are available to DLA Piper employees as well as all women lawyers. It also hosts the well-known Global Women’s Leadership Summit.
Nearly 600 attendees are expected at the Women in Agribusiness Summit, where women will develop valuable professional skills, network with influential executives, and learn about industry outlooks and trends in an interactive and innovative forum.
For more information, visit www.womeninag.com.
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HighQuest Group, headquartered in Danvers, Mass., is a strategic consulting, event and media firm serving corporations, financial investors, and governments across the global food and agribusiness value chains. Founded in 2000, HighQuest has successfully completed over 400 strategic advisory engagements and hosts preeminent industry events including the Global AgInvesting series, GAI AgTech Week, Organic & Non-GMO Forum, Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit, and the Women in Agribusiness Summit series. Learn more at www.highquestgroup.com.