A large and enthusiastic crowd greeted five high-powered women panelists as they took the stage two weeks ago to talk about “Empowering Leadership with WIT and WISDOM” with Ann Steffora Mutschler of Semiconductor Engineering. The memorable evening was co-hosted by ANSYS, the ESD Alliance and SEMI at SEMI’s new headquarters in Milpitas, Calif.

Ajit Manocha, SEMI’s president and CEO, offered a welcome and conveyed the organization’s commitment to advancement in the workplace as attendees began settling in. He suggested that a better title for the evening would be “WIT and WISDOM with Women in the Workplace,” that got plenty of smiles and heads nodding in agreement.

At the WIT and Wisdom panel (standing from left to right): Amita Dharwan, Annapoorna Krishnaswamy, Renuka Vankuri, Neela Kulkarni, Panelist Indira Joshi, Vic Kulkarni, Moderator Ann Steffora Mutschler, Panelist Sundari Mitra, Julie Rogers and Panelist Mona Sabet. Kneeling from left to right: Dhrithi Bankuru, Emine Bostanci and Jason Woo.

I’m sure audience members, a mix of men and women, will take heed to the pearls of wisdom from the empowering 90 minute-long discussion. Ann asked each panelist to focus on an area, from personal branding and leadership to negotiation, networking and mentoring. She captured valuable insights each of the women made in a great wrap-up article that includes photos of the evening. It can be found at: http://bit.ly/2Apad0C. A recording of the panel is posted on the ESD Alliance website, along with additional photos, at: http://bit.ly/2jc5ffQ.
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