Dell brings Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Home to Austin for Fifth Anniversary
New Delhi, India, May 7, 2014: Dell today announced the preliminary speaker line-up for its fifth annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network event, convening June 1-3 in Dell’s hometown, Austin, Texas.
The Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network global event, co-sponsored by Intel, is an exclusive, invitation-only conference that will connect more than 200 of the world’s top female entrepreneurs, business leaders and media to share insights and best practices as part of a vibrant entrepreneurial community.
Previously hosted in emerging entrepreneurial hotbeds Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi, and Istanbul, Dell is bringing this year’s event to Austin where Dell began in a University of Texas dorm room 30 years ago. Programming will be centered around the impact that women-owned businesses are having on the global economy and unite around this year’s theme “Bold Beginnings, Brave Futures,” showcasing the stories and technologies inspiring global entrepreneurs today.
The United States is the world’s largest economy and was named the best place to be a female entrepreneur out of 17 countries surveyed in the Dell-commissioned Gender-GEDI 2013 rankings for its good institutional foundations and strong entrepreneurial environment. Austin recently was named the fastest growing U.S. city by Forbes, making it a prime location to host this year’s event, providing attending women entrepreneurs with access to networks, technology, capital and the knowledge needed to grow their businesses.
Senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Dell Karen Quintos said, “Dell began 30 years ago with a belief that putting technology in the hands of people everywhere could change the world. The fifth annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network in Dell’s hometown will bring together top women entrepreneurs from around the world to celebrate that same entrepreneurial spirit, the potential of female entrepreneurship to affect the global economy and the bright future ahead.”
Speakers at this year’s event will include leading female CEOs, founders and thought leaders:
- Dr. Brené Brown, Researcher at The University of Houston and Bestselling Author, Daring Greatly, How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
- Anasuya Gupta, Chairperson & Managing Director, CICO Technologies Limited
- Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Founders, Gilt Groupe
- Jane Wurwand, Founder, Dermalogica
- Eileen Gittins, Founder and CEO, Blurb
- Linda Rottenberg, CEO and Co-founder, Endeavor Global
- Nina Vaca, Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, Founder, Pinnacle Technology
- Jane Poytner, CEO, Worldview Experience
- Pamela Prince Eason, President, WBENC
- Genevieve Bell, Director of User Experience Research, Intel Labs
- Michael Dell, Founder and CEO, Dell Inc.
- Karen Quintos, Chief Marketing Officer, Dell Inc.
- Andi Karaboutis, CIO, Dell Inc.
- Ingrid Vanderveldt, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Dell Inc.
The DWEN agenda will focus on how women can grow and scale their businesses with technology, and will include keynotes, panel discussions, workshops designed to address top business issues, facilitate introductions to the right business connections, and share lessons learned.
Michael and Susan Dell on the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundationseeks to transform the lives of children living in urban poverty through better health, education and family economic stability. It applies metrics-based methodologies and analysis to identify where resources can be effectively applied to produce both immediate results and long-term systemic changes that can be expanded and sustained. Michael and Susan Dell will join MSNBC’s Alex Witt to discuss the mission of the Foundation, and how insights and lessons learned from partnerships, collaboration and a data-driven approach have shaped their path forward – inspiring them to push for even greater impact and improvements in the education, health and well-being of children today and for generations to come.
Follow the event
Women entrepreneurs and business leaders are invited to join in the conversation through the Women Powering Business group on LinkedIn or on Twitter via @DellBizWomenand #DWEN.
Global Research
At the event, Dell will announce the findings of its second annual Gender-GEDI Index, the only global index to measure high-potential female entrepreneurship based on individual aspirations, business environments and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Created with the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute(GEDI), the 2014 research will expand the index from 17 to 30 countries and is designed as a diagnostic tool for countries to expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
