In the last few years, with an ever increasing competitive coffee environment and global economic crisis around the world, Starbucks Coffee Company had to reexamine its path to the future and truly innovate across products, brands and communication to differentiate and be relevant for the future.  From innovations in the digital space like My Starbucks Idea to new product launches like VIA!, Starbucks is poised to continue its record 2010 first quarter earnings into the next decade. Starbucks Coffee Company provides an uplifting experience that enriches people’s lives one moment, one human being, one extraordinary cup of coffee at a time.

Our guest speaker Shannon Jones is Marketing and Category Director for Starbucks Coffee Company Europe, Middle East & Africa.  She has been with Starbucks for over 10 years in various marketing roles in the U.S. and international. For the past 4 years she has lead marketing and product in the EMEA region from their EMEA headquarters and roasting plant in Amsterdam.

Join us on March 15^th when we will get insights into one of THE most innovative companies, Starbucks!

Participants are welcome to network from 19:00 to 20:00. The program begins at 20:00.

Registration and Guest Policy: Registration is required for members (no charge) and guests (guests are welcome at a cost of 25 Euro which includes snacks and drinks). Guests are allowed to attend two EuropeanPWN-Amsterdam functions per year. Please contact Caroline van Leuven, our VP Membership.

Embedding Innovation in Your Leadership DNA

Hollis Kurman:  Growth Strategy and Innovation Advisor

March 29^th 2010, Renaissance Hotel

Embedding Innovation and Creativity in Your Leadership DNA

One of the ironies of leadership – whether it be for companies, brands, or individual managers – is that once we get to a certain level of success, we tend to spend more time and energy protecting what we’ve achieved rather than actually leading. At best, this means that we risk losing our edge and sliding into a conservative comfort zone. At worst, we also leave a gaping hole in the market for challengers to come in and shake things up for us.

As the bar for creating truly differentiating and sustainable innovation gets higher and higher, we need to challenge and re-shape the rules, sharpen our ‘inquisitiveness’ muscle, and make fresh connections that others don’t make or don’t know how to use.  Perhaps most importantly, we do need to be ‘always on’. Not in the Facebook/Twitter/Skype sense of the word – but simply to be able to recognize, capture and leverage the inspiration that is quite literally all around us, at all times.  Women, especially, should be masters of this refreshing version of the blurred boundaries between ‘professional life’ and ‘personal life’ – and use it to their advantage.

Hollis Kurman: Growth Strategy and Innovation Advisor

One of the ironies of leadership – whether it be for companies, brands, or individual managers – is that once we get to a certain level of success, we tend to spend more time and energy protecting what we’ve achieved rather than actually leading. At best, this means that we risk losing our edge and sliding into a conservative comfort zone. At worst, we also leave a gaping hole in the market for challengers to come in and shake things up for us.

As the bar for creating truly differentiating and sustainable innovation gets higher and higher, we need to challenge and re-shape the rules, sharpen our ‘inquisitiveness’ muscle, and make fresh connections that others don’t make or don’t know how to use. Perhaps most importantly, we do need to be ‘always on’. Not in the Facebook/Twitter/Skype sense of the word – but simply to be able to recognize, capture and leverage the inspiration that is quite literally all around us, at all times. Women, especially, should be masters of this refreshing version of the blurred boundaries between ‘professional life’ and ‘personal life’ – and use it to their advantage.

Our guest speaker, Hollis Kurman, is an independent growth strategy and innovation advisor (as well as an aspiring writer of poetry and children’s stories…) and is currently:

• Advising clients (multinational leaders, challengers, not-for-profits, cultural institutions)
• Serving in a number of advisory- and innovation boards (commercial & academic)
• Member of the Dutch committee of Human Rights Watch
• Expert ‘outside advisor to the Firm’ McKinsey & Co.
• A frequent Workshop- and Co-Creation session- leader, speaker, university guest lecturer

Prior roles include Founder and Managing Director of Auberon, Growth Strategy Consultants; Founder and Managing Director Publicis Consultants (and in parallel Worldwide Account Director Unilever, and SVP Publicis Groupe); SVP Senior Account Director and Multinational Business Development, BBDO Worldwide; and Consultant/Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in NY, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels. Hollis is originally from New York but has spent most of her adult life living in Europe.

Join us on March 29th as Hollis shares some new perspectives as well as some practical tips and tricks for honing your innovation skills and creativity.

Participants are welcome to network from 19:00 to 20:00.

The program begins at 20:00.

Pre-registration is advised.

Registration and Guest Policy: Registration is required for members (no charge) and guests (guests are welcome at a cost of 25 Euro which includes snacks and drinks). Guests are allowed to attend two EuropeanPWN-Amsterdam functions per year. Please contact Caroline van Leuven, our VP Membership.

We had a fabulous discussion with our members new and senior at the Library in January. We’d like to broaden the discussion and present some of our new and on going collaborations with our members.

Please join the EuropeanPWN-Amsterdam board at the Renaissance Hotel for discussions about opportunities here and abroad in collaboration with some of our other European Professional Womens Neworks.

Guests are of course always welcome to the borrel, conversation will be tailored to our “club” business. There will be no guest speaker at this event. Rieke Smakman will be facilitating our discussion.

My May favorite is the Odessa.
They are often reserved for large groups though so I’ll
get back to you on the details as we get closer to the event.

Subsequent to registration, venue details automatically will be sent to you when the website is updated.

venue to be chosen

Subsequent to registration, venue details automatically will be sent to you when the website is updated.

BLINQ
Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 5
1017 RP Amsterdam
Leidseplein
Tel: +31 (0)20 330 4000
http://www.blinq-amsterdam.nl/

Anita and I will meet in the bar around 19:00 and when sufficient folks arrive we will move upstairs to the restaurant. Just ring if you think you’ve missed us.

They’ve stopped the Jazz on Thursday night in the Pijp – so that venue is “out” until we decide to go on a Sunday…

In the meantime we have some folks that have agreed to help us on visuals and marketing brainstorming – so in consultation with other board members – we’ve decided that WERCK is the best place. There is “s’feer” for a proper borrel & there is room for “discussion”.

I’ll be there around six in the bar and then we’ll have a table in the restaurant (also for folks that haven’t eaten) at 19:45. Please join us as your schedule permits.

See you soon & thanks for registering.
I’ll keep scouting for live music venues this spring.
Suggestions welcome.

Cheers,
Anna

Stephanie Ward, owner of Firefly Coaching

The amount knowledge and wisdom within the EPWN group is deep and wide. Speed networking is a great way to extract it and share it.

Think about all of the ideas, information, and contacts that each person in the network has. Imagine how much we can help each other and what kind of opportunities we will be able to create by meeting face-to-face and exchanging our knowledge.

In one evening of Speed Networking you will have the opportunity to meet between 10-13 people and exchange ideas, information, and resources. Brings loads of business cards, you are going to need them!

In preparation for the event, please think about:

1. A very brief introduction of yourself
2. What you have to offer people in the network
3. What you need from people in the network

What happens after the event is just as important as the actual event itself. Be prepared to follow through with the connections you make. Relationships are built over time and based on trust. Keeping your commitments goes a long way to building trust.

If you’d like to know more, check out this review from one of the attendees of a previous EPWN speed networking event: http://tinyurl.com/le6l5w.

This Speed Networking event will be hosted by Stephanie Ward, owner of Firefly Coaching, who is passionate about helping business owners attract more clients and build successful businesses! Stephanie is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire. You can get a copy of her free special report, 7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time, plus monthly business building tips at http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

She is also the author of the book, No Sweat Networking: Simple Solutions to Overcome Networking Obstacles which can be purchased at http://www.nosweatnetworking.com.

Participants are welcome to network from 19:00 to 20:00.
The program begins at 20:00.

Registration and Guest Policy: Registration is required for members (no charge) and guests (guests are welcome at a cost of 25 Euro which includes snacks and drinks). Guests are allowed to attend two EuropeanPWN-Amsterdam functions per year. Please contact Caroline van Leuven, our VP Membership.

Erika & Karin would like to welcome you to the Hague Borrel.

Subsequent to registration, venue details automatically will be sent to you when the website is updated.

Please save the date in your agenda.