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Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame
2010 Honorees
Notable Women in Business
Ellen Alemany is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Financial
Group, Inc. and RBS Americas. Ms. Alemany joined RBS Americas in June 2007
after an extensive career in the banking industry. Prior to this role, Ms. Alemany held
various positions at Citigroup including President and CEO of CitiCapital and, more
recently, CEO for Global Transaction Services. Today, she also serves on RBS’
Executive Committee, a nine-member executive leadership team. Her roles at RBS
Americas make her the only woman responsible for one of the top 10 commercial
banking companies in the U.S. In 2009, Ms. Alemany earned the honor of being #17
on U.S. Banker’s “Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking.” Ms. Alemany was also
honored on Forbes magazine’s 2009 and 2010 list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful
Women.”
Cindi Bigelow is President of Bigelow Tea, the number one national market leader of
specialty teas headquartered in Fairfield, CT. Founded in 1945 by her grandmother
Ruth Campbell Bigelow, the company remains family-owned and operated, employs
350 people, and produces over 1.4 billion tea bags annually. Ms. Bigelow graduated
magna cum laude from Boston College with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing and
earned her MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She
joined the family business in 1986, working in varying capacities before assuming
overall command of operations in 2004. Her diverse background and passionate
enthusiasm for family, professional career, and community activities have been the
foundation of Ms. Bigelow’s success and a driving force in the company’s continuing
development.
Roxanne Coady is the founder of Connecticut’s R.J. Julia Booksellers and
justtherightbook.com. After a 25-year financial career in New York City, R.J. Julia was
born out of Ms. Coady’s passion for books, literacy, and community. The store has
received dozens of national and local awards, including Publishers Weekly
Bookseller of the Year and Business New Haven’s Small Business of the Year. Ms.
Coady also founded Read to Grow, the state’s largest literacy organization, which
distributes over 100,000 books a year to the children of Connecticut. Today, R.J.
Julia remains a leader among independent booksellers, welcoming thousands of
readers and hosting hundreds of authors. After 20 years, Ms. Coady still believes that
putting the right book in the right hands can change a life.
Lynn Malerba is the first female in the Mohegan Tribe’s modern history to be elected
Chief of its Council. She brings decades of managerial experience to this position.
Ms. Malerba, a registered nurse, acted as Director of Cardiology and Pulmonary
Services at New London’s Lawrence & Memorial hospital before returning to the
Mohegan Tribe. Upon her return, she followed in the footsteps of her mother, Loretta
Roberge, a Tribal “Nonner” (experienced woman of respect and admiration), and
immersed herself in tribal business. Beginning in 1997, Ms. Malerba served in various
director positions for the tribe’s Health and Human Services Department. In 2005,
she was elected Vice Chairwoman of the Tribal Council and became Chairwoman in
2009. Ms. Malerba was inducted as Chief in August 2010.
Christine Marcks is the President of Prudential Retirement, a business unit of
Prudential Financial which serves 3.2 million participants and annuitants with $184
billion in retirement account values. Ms. Marcks has played a key role in the evolution
of the financial services industry, first as an international economist with the U.S.
Treasure Department in Washington, D.C. and later as a corporate executive in
increasingly responsible positions within the retirement services industry. At
Prudential, Ms. Marcks has launched a number of pioneering product and service
solutions, financial tools designed to transform the U.S. retirement sector. Committed
to ensuring that American workers are secure in their later years, Ms. Marcks has
been a champion for executing new strategies and a tireless advocate for legislation
that will help individuals build secure futures.
Kristin Muschett became the CEO and owner of Habco, Inc. in 1998 with a
commitment to providing support for the military and commercial aerospace industry.
Under Ms. Muschett’s direction, Habco’s revenue doubled, product lines grew from 2
to 25, job opportunities increased, and the company expanded into fuel cell,
automotive, and medical industries. Her vision led to Habco receiving the Space
Flight Awareness Award from NASA’s biggest partner in human space operations,
becoming only the 11th company in the U.S. to receive this award. Ms. Muschett has
been recognized for her transformational leadership style, which drives the
company’s focus on the customer. In 2008, Ms. Muschett was honored with the
Connecticut Technology Council’s Woman of Innovation Award.
JoAnn H. Price is a successful entrepreneur, generous philanthropist, and good
friend to many in the Greater Hartford region and beyond. A graduate of Howard
University, in 1994 Ms. Price co-founded Fairview Capital Partners, an independent
investment management services firm. She is managing partner of Fairview’s sixteen
institutional funds-of-funds, representing over $3 billion in committed capital under
management dedicated to the private equity markets. Prior to Fairview, Ms. Price
served as President of the National Association of Investment Companies in
Washington, D.C. Ms. Price has also served in leadership roles in a number of
charitable organizations including the Amistad Center for Art & Culture, the Apollo
Theater Foundation, Hartford Hospital, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving,
Howard University, Union Baptist Church, and the YWCA of Greater Hartford.
Meredith Reuben was named CEO of Eastern Bag & Paper Group in 1990 after ten
years working in her family’s paper distribution company. After graduating from law
school, Ms. Reuben was a practicing attorney for five years before joining the
business her grandfather had founded in 1908 in Milford, CT. At Eastern Bag &
Paper, Ms. Reuben began as the Director of Purchasing before climbing the ranks to
Vice President and then CEO. With Ms. Reuben at the helm, eastern Bag & Paper
has expanded its operations to three distribution centers in Connecticut,
Massachusetts, and New Jersey. The company is known as one of the largest
distributors of environmentally-friendly janitorial and food service paper products in
the Northeast.
Francine Farkas Sears founded Fabrique, Ltd. In 1978 as a designer/manufacturer
of business cases for technology productions. Prior to Fabrique, Mrs. Sears was one
of the first woman stockbrokers (1964), a VP of merchandising, and fashion director
of Alexander’s. In the 1970s, she designed and produced luggage for Yves Saint
Laurent, Bloomingdales, and Latinas. Since its launch, Fabrique has grown globally,
developing exclusive collaborations with computer-related companies including
Hewlett-Packard, Logitech, Dell, and Ingram Micro. Fabrique recently launched
Women in Business (WiB), providing working women with affordable, stylish business
cases. In September 2010, Mrs. Sears’ accomplishments were acknowledged by
Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro in the U.S. Congressional Record.
Fabrique, Ltd. Is ranked by Inc. magazine in the top 5,000 fastest growing
companies.
Catherine H. Smith is a 27-year veteran of ING and the current CEO of ING U.S.
Retirement Services. Previously, Ms. Smith was CEO of the company’s U.S.
Insurance business, a title she earned after working in numerous leadership positions
within ING. In her current role, Ms. Smith leads one of the country’s largest definedcontribution plan managers with $277 billion in assets under her management and
administration. Ms. Smith’s business acumen has resulted in numerous media and
industry speaker engagements. U.S. Banker magazine ranked her #7 in its 2010 “Top
25 Most Power in Finance” issue. From 2008 to 2010, The 401k Wire has honored
Ms. Smith in its list of “100 Most Influential People in Defined Contribution.”
Student Entrepreneurs
Tiffany Ho, a junior at Yale University, co-founded ReadySetLaunch in the
summer of 2008. This 501(c)(3), non-profit organization is dedicated to providing
college admissions counseling to low-income high school students. The
organization recently became a two-time awardee in the highly-acclaimed Chase
Community Giving corporate philanthropy program. The award facilitates
ReadySetLaunch’s vision to grow its client base to 45 students, build a lending
library, and provide students with funds for application fees. Ms. Ho, a B.A.
candidate in Sociology, also serves as the Mentorship Chair on the Executive Board
for the Women’s Leadership Initiative at Yale.
Jaclyn Simonetty is a candidate for an MBA at the University of Hartford. Her
bold vision to create an environmentally-friendly jeans line helped her build an
award-winning business plan for The Green Jeans Company. Ms. Simonetty took
3rd place at the 2010 University of Hartford International Business Plan
Competition and was given the opportunity to present her plan at the statewide
Connecticut Collegiate Business Plan Competition. Ms. Simonetty is a Dean’s List
and President’s List student who has also spent much of her time mentoring and
tutoring third graders in Harford.
Lucy Williams, a senior at Greenwich Academy, launched KidzKitchen when she
was just 11 years old. Seven years later, the summer camp equipping kids with the
skills they need to cook fun and healthy meals is still thriving. Community-oriented,
Ms. Williams distributes 10% of her organization’s profits to charity and recently
brought the program into a local non-profit daycare center. In 2009, ms. Williams
was a finalist in the Stevie Award’s Best Young Entrepreneur category. She has
been applauded by the Rachael Ray Show, Food & Wine Magazine, CBS, and
others for this successful business venture.