November 12, 2024
The 8th Annual IWF Georgia Member Signature Event:
Reception & Dinner with Keynote Speaker
Featuring: Roz Brewer moderated by Virginia Hepner
Location: Maggiano's Buckhead Private Ballroom
Timeline:
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm New Member Orientation & Reception (Invitation only)
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Cocktail Reception
6:30 pm - 7:00 pm Seated Dinner
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Program
About Our Speaker:
Rosalind "Roz" Brewer is a renowned corporate executive celebrated for her visionary leadership, transformative impact, and unwavering dedication to advancing positive change in global business. As one of the few Black women to reach the C-suite in a Fortune 100 company, her groundbreaking career has cemented her status as one of today's most influential figures. Recognized among Fortune's “Most Powerful Women in Business” for her strategic acumen and commitment to excellence and equity, Brewer drives powerful results across corporate, educational, and cultural initiatives.
In a homecoming that bridges corporate leadership with academic stewardship, Brewer recently returned to her alma mater as Interim President of Spelman College. Drawing on her proven executive experience, she now leads this prestigious historically Black women's college through a pivotal transition while advancing her broader professional endeavors. Her vision for Spelman combines institutional stability with strategic advancement, as she builds on the college's legacy of excellence to prepare students for an evolving global landscape.
With a career marked by impactful leadership, Brewer has driven innovation and digital transformation across healthcare, retail, and hospitality. As President and CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, she redefined the company's strategic direction, guiding it through the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic and expanding access to essential healthcare services. During her tenure as COO of Starbucks, she led operational excellence initiatives and spearheaded technological innovations that elevated customer engagement globally. At Sam's Club, she served as President and CEO, implementing digital solutions that transformed the customer experience and strengthened the brand's market position. Brewer's earlier work at Kimberly-Clark further underscores her versatility, where she strengthened market presence and drove breakthroughs in nonwoven materials.
Beyond the corporate sector, Brewer's influence extends through her board positions with United Airlines, the KIPP Foundation for Public Chartered Schools, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Her past corporate board experience includes Amazon, Starbucks, Lockheed Martin, and Molson Coors. As a limited partner in her hometown team, the Atlanta Falcons, Brewer is one of only three Black women with an ownership stake in an NFL team, reflecting her far-reaching influence across corporate and community arenas.
True to her roots as a chemistry graduate of Spelman College, Brewer's role as Interim President and Chair Emerita underscores her enduring commitment to educational advancement, equity, and future leadership development. She remains actively involved in philanthropic initiatives supporting academic opportunity, healthcare, and economic empowerment.
About Our Moderator:
Virginia A. Hepner is active in various corporate and community activities, following five years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She currently serves as a Director of Cadence Bank (Audit
Chair, Compensation), National Vision Holdings, Inc. (Nominating
& Governance Chair, Audit) and Oxford Industries, Inc.
(Chair of Nominating, Governance and Compensation). Virginia continues to serve on several non-profit boards with her main focus being revitalization of the historic Westside Atlanta neighborhood
through the Westside Future Fund board and executive committee.
Other current civic advisory board service includes the Housing
and GoAtl Investment Committees of the Community Foundation,
the Penn Institute for Urban Research, and IWF Georgia.
In 2005 she retired from Wachovia Bank as an Executive Vice President after a 25-year career in corporate finance with the firm. Leadership roles included Managing Director of US Corporate Finance, head of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Trading and Atlanta Commercial Banking Director. She holds a bachelor's degree in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and attended the J.L. Kellogg Graduate Business School of Management at Northwestern University.
Virginia is honored to be a Life Trustee of the Woodruff Arts Center, and
Is grateful to be a recipient of the City of Atlanta Phoenix Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Governor's Award for arts leadership in Georgia, and the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award honoring exemplary corporate board service by a female director.
Virginia is married to Malcolm Barnes and have two children.
