you're right, it's thrilling and sad news all at once

anti9to5 — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 12:34:47 -0600

Thanks for pointing this out, Elana. And kudos to Anderson and Wendy's. I also commend the P-I (my local paper!) for running the glass ceiling series. And hang my head in cybershame for not blogging about any of it yet! ;) It's on the list for later this week.

Have a great holiday... M.

Michelle Goodman, author of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide

Ever heard of Kerrii Anderson? She's the Boss of a Fortune 1000

Elana Centor — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 05:32:10 -0600

It's not as if a woman is named as head of a Fortune 1000 every day. The announcement that Kerrii Anderson is the permanent CEO of Wendy's means there are now 21 women heading up Fortune 1000 companies. Do the math and that comes out to 2.1%.

If I hadn't been reading News On Women a blog that provides daily news on the achievements of women in business, science, technology, education and the arts I would never have known about Anderson.

Sure,the usual suspects ran blurbs about it, but women bloggers did not. If we can't celebrate and honor the women who are breaking the glass ceiling, who is going to do it?

While there has been little written about Anderson, in 2002 CFO Magazine ran a profile.

Finally, what achievement in your career are you proudest of?
I'm probably proudest of the fact that a girl who grew up on a tobacco farm in North Carolina could work hard and aspire to be the CFO at Wendy's. And at the same time, I have a great marriage and two great kids â€” a six year old and a nine year old.

Click here to watch an "exclusive" interview with Anderson on CNBC.
Anderson was named interim president six months ago. Since then the stock has jumped 30% and the company is now cooking with oil that has zero grams of trans fat per serving at its 6,000 U.S. restaurants.

Meanwhile, the The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a special report, "The Glass Ceiling Where The Rise To The Top Stops."

In a state that made history last year by becoming the first to have a female governor and two women serving in the U.S. Senate, women on average hold fewer than one in five senior-level executive jobs at the top 73 public companies. Records compiled and analyzed by the P-I also show that in the boardroom, just 14 percent of all seats at those companies belong to women.

Starbucks has 10 women senior executives --that's 30% of the Starbuck executive team. It also makes Starbucks the largest publicly held company in Washington state with the most feamle senior executives.

Chief Executive Jim Donald said half of the 10 senior managers who report directly to him are women, and he attributed the Seattle-based coffee company's financial success and growth to having gender diversity.

"Women are great leaders. Women have more patience. They are more empathetic, and they are fantastic listeners," Donald said. "Quite honestly, they are used to handling many things at one time."

Those kind words and a $1.50 won't buy you a cup of coffee in most corporations.

Elana Centor blogs about business culture at FunnyBusiness

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you're right, it's thrilling and sad news all at once

Ever heard of Kerrii Anderson? She's the Boss of a Fortune 1000