Brenda Barnes

The keynotes by Brenda Barnes focus on role reversal in the corporate world. Brenda Barnes left the workforce to raise her children, and came back with a set of new and innovative ideas that helped her develop a new culture for her company Sara Lee.

Brenda Barnes earned a bachelor's in economics from Augustana College, and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago. She woks as a business manager for Wilson Sporting Goods in 1976, and was the vice president of Frito-Lay in 1981. She was the Group VP of Marketing for PepsiCo, and became the president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola North America. She left Pepsi-Cola to spend more time with her family, and this career decision made national headlines. Since then, she became president and CEO of Sara Lee, and is on the board of directors of The New York Times Company, Sears, Staples, Avon Products, Inc and many more.

The keynotes by Brenda Barnes change the ways people see women in the work force, and promote women returning to work after having kids. Motherhood affects business, and Barnes emphasizes how important it is to remove the negative stereotypes.