KPMG Makes Significant Contribution to WomenCorporateDirectors, World's Largest Organization of Women Corporate Board Members, Enabling It to Expand Global Resources and Become Not-for-Profit

NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2015 /CNW/ -- WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD), the largest global community of women corporate board directors with 3,500+ members serving on more than 7,000 boards around the world, is now the WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. (the WCD Foundation), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. To make this possible, U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP (KPMG), purchased the assets of WCD and contributed them to the WCD Foundation. This contribution, along with increased pro-bono services to be provided by KPMG, marks an expansion for WCD and its capabilities.  

"KPMG is making this investment because we embrace the WCD Foundation's focus on increasing boardroom diversity and advancing leading practices in corporate governance – areas our organization is committed to as well," said KPMG U.S. Chairman and CEO Lynne Doughtie. "This development – a continuation of our long-standing relationship with WCD – will help propel the growth of the WCD Foundation, enabling it to expand its resources and influence in the global business community."

Susan Stautberg will remain Chairman and CEO of the WCD Foundation. The WCD Foundation will be based in West Palm Beach, FL.

"At this point, we are poised for the next level of growth," said Stautberg, co-founder of WCD and CEO of the WCD Foundation. "In our 15-year history, WCD has become a highly sought-after destination for business leaders seeking to improve their knowledge and skills, and our WCD members and our corporate sponsors and research partners around the world want us to scale up."

Stautberg continued, "With the support of KPMG – which has been a global lead sponsor of WCD for the past ten years – the WCD Foundation can strengthen its mission to advance best practices in corporate governance, and expand our vision of placing more women on boards and supporting them once they are in the boardroom."

Under this new structure, the WCD Foundation will expand the existing WCD resources to benefit members and support growth in a number of areas: 

• Increased support of WCD's 70 chapters worldwide, with seven to eight more chapters to come in the next year. Last year alone, WCD added more than 500 members and launched new chapters from Mongolia, Spain, Kenya and Guatemala to four new chapters in the U.S.
• More educational and networking events for directors – such as WCD's prominent Global Institute and other regional Institutes in Asia, Europe, and the Americas – as well as an expansion of OnBoard Bootcamps and other programs for new directors.

KPMG's commitment to women's leadership

KPMG's support of the WCD Foundation represents a continuation of KPMG's long-standing relationship with WCD in numerous areas, including chapter launches, global and regional Institutes, event programming, and thought leadership. KPMG partners and professionals have been active in providing support to WCD chapters in more than 60 cities. Most recently, KPMG sponsored the development of the 2015 WCD Thought Leadership Council report on Family Business Governance and the inaugural Family Business Governance Institute held in New York in May. KPMG will become the Global Lead Sponsor of the WCD Foundation.

"We're excited about the possibilities this development creates for WCD and its members throughout the world," said KPMG Global Chairman John Veihmeyer. "We remain committed to continuing to help the WCD Foundation expand internationally, providing increased opportunities for women to serve on boards across the globe."

Continued commitment from additional corporate sponsors

Spencer Stuart, JPMorgan Chase, Coca-Cola, Diligent, Marsh & McLennan, McGraw Hill, and Pearl Meyer & Partners are a number of companies who will continue their sponsorship and support to the WCD Foundation.

"Each month, WCD's momentum is growing," said Stautberg. "We are making a significant and measurable impact on getting more women into board seats, as board chairmen and nominating committee heads are coming to us for leads on qualified directors. And, just as important, we are providing a much-needed community of fellow women directors – both in regions with a longer history of having women on boards as well as in countries where women directors are truly pioneers."

"As women around the world gain more presence in corporate boardrooms, the additional resources brought through this development uniquely position the WCD Foundation to deliver even more strategic value to its members," commented Julie Hembrock Daum, North American Board Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart, a global sponsor of the WCD Foundation and its upcoming global board survey.

"Pearl Meyer values our relationship with the WCD Foundation and continues to benefit from the opportunity to network with its members and to share ideas and new thinking about best practices in corporate and compensation governance," said Melissa Means, Managing Director at Pearl Meyer, which is a sponsor for WCD's Thought Leadership Council reports, including the 2014 report on executive compensation.

Media Contacts
Davia Temin or Suzanne Oaks Brownstein
Temin and Company
212-588-8788
[email protected]

Ichiro Kawasaki                                              
KPMG LLP                                                       
201-307-8640                                                 
[email protected]

About WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc.  (WCD)
The WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. (The WCD Foundation) is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors, with more than 3,500 members serving on more than 7,000 boards. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the WCD Foundation has 70 chapters around the world, with seven more to launch over the next year. The aggregate market capitalization of public companies on whose boards WCD Foundation members serve is over $8 trillion. In addition, WCD Foundation members serve on numerous boards of large private and family-run companies globally.

WCD Foundation membership provides a unique platform for learning from the intellectual capital of accomplished women from around the world, and the WCD Foundation's mission is to increase courage, candor, inclusion, and cohesion in the boardroom.

The WCD Foundation has 70 global chapters, located in Arizona, Atlanta, Beijing, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Chile, Cleveland, Colombia, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Delhi, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greater Colorado, Greater New Mexico, Guatemala, Gulf Cooperation Council, Hanoi, Hawaii, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kansas City, Kenya, London, Los Angeles/Orange County, Malaysia, Melbourne, Mexico, Milan, Minnesota, Mongolia, Morocco, Mumbai, Netherlands, New York, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern California, North Florida/South Georgia, Panama, Peru, Philadelphia, Philippines, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San Diego, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, South Africa, South Florida, Spain, Switzerland, Sydney, Tampa, Tennessee, Toronto, Turkey, Washington, D.C., and Western Canada. 

For more information visit www.womencorporatedirectors.com or follow us on Twitter @WomenCorpDirs, #WCDboards.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG is one of the world's leading professional services firms, providing innovative business solutions and audit, tax and advisory services to many of the world's largest and most prestigious organizations.

KPMG is the fastest growing Big Four professional services firm in the United States and is widely recognized for being a great place to work and build a career. For the eighth time in nine years, KPMG was named one of the country's "100 Best Companies to Work For" by Fortune magazine, advancing 17 spots on this prestigious annual list to become the highest ranked of any Big Four firm.

Our people share a sense of purpose in the work we do, and a strong commitment to community service, diversity and inclusion, and eradicating childhood illiteracy.

Learn more at www.kpmg.com/us.

KPMG LLP is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity with a global network of 162,000 professionals serving clients in 155 countries. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

SOURCE WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc.