GREENWICH, Conn., Feb. 8, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Janet Hanson is leaving her position as Managing Director and Senior Advisor to the President of Lehman Brothers to establish BROAD IMPACT(sm), a new company which will work with corporations in a variety of sectors and industries to "position, develop, and truly differentiate their brands and their organizations with women as current and prospective employees, consumers, shareholders, leaders, service providers, and partners." Lehman Brothers has entered into a multi-year contract to be the new firm's first corporate client.
Commenting on Hanson's departure and new business venture, Joe Gregory, President of Lehman Brothers, said, "Janet has always been a trailblazer and a true champion of women professionals at all stages of their lives and careers. She joined us three years ago and has been both an inspiration to women at Lehman Brothers and a great ambassador for us on the college and graduate school campuses in the U.S. and abroad. We are sorry to see Janet leave as a Managing Director, but Lehman Brothers looks forward to continuing our unique partnership with Janet through our business relationship with BROAD IMPACT."
BROAD IMPACT, as the name suggests, will work with companies to create innovative new strategies to reach and inspire women in college, graduate school, in the workforce, and at home. Hanson notes that, "The competition to engage women as clients, employees, and consumers globally has become absolutely fierce. Companies must use every tool at their disposal to reach this critically important demographic. We intend to help them do just that."
Hanson says that the "power of the connection and the power of the story" have been two of the greatest sources of inspiration for her groundbreaking global network community, 85 Broads, as chronicled in her book, More Than 85 Broads (McGraw Hill, 2006). Founded in 1999 as a network for current and former Goldman Sachs women, 85 Broads has expanded its membership base to women at over 200 of the world's leading colleges, universities, and graduate schools. (The name of the network is a humorous play on 85 Broad Street, which is Goldman Sachs' headquarter address in NYC.) Today, 85 Broads has become a one-of-a-kind network community of over 16,000 of what Hanson passionately describes as "some of the most exceptional women on the planet." 85 Broads has recently launched BROAD ADVANTAGE (a one week "immersion" in business for college women), BROAD INNOVATION (virtual internships and online collaborative communities for college and graduate school women), and BROAD 2.0 (virtual assignments and business ventures for women in the 85 Broads network who are not currently part of the formal workforce).
Hanson points out that, "While the 85 Broads network will remain completely independent and autonomous, BROAD IMPACT will definitely draw on the success, talent, and lessons learned from this remarkable global community of women."
In addition to BROAD IMPACT's core advisory and network-based services, Hanson plans to launch BROAD INTERACTIVE (internet and multi-media services) and BROAD CAPITAL PARTNERS (private equity and investment services) for the firm's clients in the fall of 2007. Currently located in Greenwich, CT, BROAD IMPACT plans to open offices in New York, London, and Singapore in 2008.
To build the BROAD IMPACT organization, Hanson is tapping "the phenomenal women of 85 Broads, and we will bring in more talent on a 'virtual basis' from the network depending on the needs of our clients." Among those Hanson has enlisted for her new BROAD IMPACT team is Analisa Balares, a Harvard Business School graduate who worked at Goldman Sachs, Milestone Capital and MSN, founded the Global Entrepreneurship Network at Harvard, and who is joining Hanson as a co-founder and COO.
This is by no means Hanson's first entrepreneurial venture. As Founder and Chairman of Milestone Capital Management, she built the company into a $2 billion asset management firm. Milestone is the only woman-owned firm of its kind in the $2 trillion U.S. money market fund sector. (Milestone was named one of the 25 Best Small Companies in the U.S. by Working Mother Magazine, 2006.) On leaving Lehman Brothers to return to her entrepreneurial roots, Hanson says, "This is a marvelous example of how the best companies find ways to adapt and maintain long term relationships with women as we transition throughout our careers. The right answer in 2002 was for Lehman Brothers to form a strategic partnership with my investment firm, Milestone Capital Management. The right answer in 2004 was for me to work as a Managing Director at Lehman in direct partnership with Joe Gregory and his team to build the firm's brand with women on college and graduate school campuses and in the global community at large. The right answer in 2007 is to create a truly different kind of company based on what we've learned since launching the 85 Broads global network 8 years ago. We are thrilled to have Lehman Brothers as a client in BROAD IMPACT."
NOTE: Janet Hanson will be profiled on CBS EVENING NEWS on Monday, February 12th in a new series called "The American Spirit" with Katie Couric.
For more information please contact: info@broad-impact.com