Catalyst welcomes new leader Ilene H. Lang and salutes former president.

Special Issue

The Buzz

On September 8, 2003, Ilene. H. Lang assumed leadership of Catalyst, after a long and illustrious career in the technology industry. An experienced business leader, a founder of companies, and a successful CEO, Lang has broken barriers to the advancement of women in the high tech industry for years. Succeeding Sheila Wellington as Catalyst's new president, she is uniquely positioned to apply her energy and expertise to the advancement of women in the global business community.

New Beginnings

Among her many accomplishments, Ilene Lang was the founding CEO of AltaVista Internet Software Inc., where she commercialized the highly popular AltaVista search service and marketed a line of award-winning Internet-based software products for business people. Before joining AltaVista, she served as a senior executive at Lotus Development Corporation, responsible for worldwide development and marketing of Lotus's SmartSuite product line. Most recently, Lang also led Individual.com, Inc., a web site offering personalized news and business information to one million customers.

"I've had an extensive career in business and have lived the Catalyst mission," says Ilene. "I've gone from situations of being the only woman for many years--especially in the technology industry--to being one of a few, to now seeing that I am one of many. I've known Catalyst for a long time; I've admired what it does and what it stands for. So for me, having an opportunity to then come and actively devote myself to working in this organization is a big achievement--it's like a dream come true."

Ilene looks to the future of Catalyst with great enthusiasm and is dedicated to expanding the organization's current success. "I want to focus on strengthening and deepening the Catalyst mission," she explains. "If you look at every initiative underway, there are significant opportunities to build on Catalyst's already strong foundation." Eager to establish relationships and work with Catalyst members, board directors, advisors, and clients, Lang has already begun to make these connections in the United States and in Canada.

Reflecting on the state of today's business world and Catalyst's place in it, Ilene describes Catalyst as a solid organization poised for growth and ready to make change. "On the one hand, we're seeing corporations renew their commitment to talent development, recruitment, and retention. But on the other, we're seeing companies that are forced to make huge restructurings in which they are laying off large numbers of people. As a result, there is an overwhelming amount of stress, and some of the most talented people are under a great deal of pressure to reinvent themselves, their work, and their lives."

Fortunately, as Lang explains, for women at the most senior levels, these trends have not yet had a negative impact. "Our numbers of women on boards and in the top positions in corporations have not declined--they've actually continued to grow a little bit. So that's really good news. But when we look to the future, to where the pipeline is coming from, we see that women and people of color graduating from college today are having a hard time finding jobs. We are also seeing the elimination of many mid-level career jobs. Despite these economic hardships, Catalyst has a very strong, solid base from which to pursue our mission--thanks to the support of our members, our clients, our boards, and our staff."

Catalyst currently has 276 members that help to carry out our mission. According to Lang, "Membership is the key to our ability to impact the world. Our members sponsor our research, engage our advisory services, and participate in benchmarking so that we can track what's happening. Our members, who implement programs, are the ones who really change the world. We work through and with them. Our members are our foundation."

Ilene salutes former Catalyst President Sheila Wellington for her contributions to the organization and follows in her footsteps with pride. "Sheila established Catalyst as the premier organization for women in business," compliments Lang. "During her ten years as President, Sheila put Catalyst on the map, more than tripled the budget, and strengthened Catalyst's impact on the corporate world as a whole."

Having been with Catalyst for almost two months now, Ilene shares some of her first impressions of working at the organization as a new and exciting challenge: "Work here is fun--people make it fun. It is an extremely smart group of people with a tremendous amount of creativity. I also find it exciting to be in a situation where I'm learning a lot. I'm not a researcher; I don't come from that background. I've worked with research organizations before, so I have an understanding and an appreciation for what's involved. But it's something new that I can learn, and I find that really exciting."

A Salute to Former President Sheila Wellington

After a decade of advancing women in business, former Catalyst President Sheila Wellington has turned her efforts to the academic world. Ms. Wellington is now a clinical professor of management at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. During her tenure with Catalyst, she expanded the organization's research, services, budget, and visibility. Below are excerpts from an interview in which she shares some thoughts about her time with Catalyst as well as her new path.

Q. Reflecting on your tenure at Catalyst, what accomplishment are you most proud of?

A. The introduction of measurements that are now of such importance in the business world: the Catalyst censuses of corporate officers and top earners and of board directors in the Fortune 500. Also, the women-of-color studies have meant a lot to me personally and have been very useful in focusing on issues that generally were not discussed.

Q. Do you feel that the issue of advancing women in business is as relevant as it was ten years ago when you started at Catalyst?

A. Because there were so few actual accounts, like our censuses, and large-scale studies, like our women-of-color and women in corporate leadership studies, the significance of the issue was actually less ten years ago. Now that it has been documented, there is a real interest and commitment in the business community for change.

Q. How do you plan to carry out this mission of advancing women in your new position?

A. It is my hope that by teaching at NYU/Stern, I will be able to implore to the students the issues that many women have told Catalyst they face and the success strategies they use to overcome them. I am also excited to encourage women and people of color to enter business school.

Q. Did you ever envision that Catalyst would become what it is today?

A. My goals for Catalyst when I took the job were considerably more modest than the goals Catalyst has reached now. That is about everyone in the organization; clearly it is an exceptional group of people that works for Catalyst. The organization's achievements are outstanding, and I have no doubt that it will continue to thrive under Ilene Lang's stewardship.

Catalyst Timeline

1962

At the beginning of the women's movement in the United States, Felice Schwartz founds Catalyst to help women enter the workforce.

1971

Catalyst establishes the National Network of Career Resource Centers, linking 83 autonomous career centers across the US and providing them with materials to help with career counseling and job placement.

1974

Catalyst begins to build its library--an unparalleled collection of publications on women and work. The library later becomes the Catalyst Information Center, serving as a resource for corporate policymakers, scholars, and journalists.

1977

Catalyst creates the Corporate Board Placement (CBP) service to help companies identify qualified women for their boards of directors. Since the service began, Catalyst has worked with more than 250 companies and firms.

1980

Catalyst establishes the Career and Family Center to help companies develop new policies to meet women's work/life needs.

1987

Catalyst begins awarding companies for adopting innovative programs to attract, advance, and retain women'. Since 1987, we've awarded nearly 50 companies for a wide range of initiatives.

1993

After serving as the first woman secretary of Yale University, Sheila W. Wellington becomes president of Catalyst.

Catalyst establishes the first of its national benchmarks of women's progress to the highest reaches of corporate leadership with the Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors.

1996

Catalyst conducts Women in Corporate Leadership, a survey of senior women and CEOs that examines success factors employed by women and perceived barriers to their advancement. The study is later replicated in Canada, the U.K., and in Europe.

1999

Catalyst releases Women of Color in Corporate Management: Opportunities and Barriers, a groundbreaking study that looks at the perceptions and experiences of African-American, Asian-American, and Latina women managers in corporate America.

2002

Reaching new industries and geographies, Catalyst continues to expand by launching our Western Region office based in San Jose, California, two years after establishing an office in Toronto, Canada.

2003

Ilene H. Lang assumes leadership of Catalyst after a long and illustrious career in the high tech industry.