Special Section
The Next Generation: Emerging Leaders Under 40
Diversity Executive Staff, 05-10-2009
Continued from 3 Article Beginning
“My childhood ambition was to be a scientist and come up with incredible solutions to save human lives,” Mona Jhaveri said.
Now, as the founder of biotech company Foligo Therapeutics, Jhaveri is in the business of saving lives — literally.
Published reports indicate the company’s goal is to make significant advancements in how ovarian cancer is detected and treated. Employees work on early diagnostic techniques and DNA-based therapeutics capable of wiping out cancerous cells, according to a news release.
“My hope is that my work as a CEO/cancer researcher will positively impact women who suffer from ovarian cancer,” Jhaveri said. “I believe this is within our grasp using technologies that are less invasive and cheaper — this will benefit women and society. And if I succeed in that, I believe the techniques we develop will also lead to superior diagnoses and effective treatments for other cancers.”
Jhaveri received her doctorate in biochemistry at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University.
Last year, she won the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award for the North American region. The award — created by Cartier in partnership with the Women’s Forum, McKinsey & Co. and Insead business school — is presented on an annual basis to five leading female entrepreneurs in various regions of the world.
Family is of utmost importance to Jhaveri. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her 2-year-old daughter, and she is busy preparing to welcome a son.
“I work with my husband to create a happy and interesting home for our children that provides life tools for their future success,” she said.
Jhaveri also provided some words of wisdom for aspiring female business leaders: “There is nothing in my experience to indicate that either doing business is easy or that becoming recognized as a business or thought leader is easy,” she said. “Listen to all advice, but be selective on the advice you actually take. You need champions, as it is impossible to go it alone. Pay attention to the actions and energies of those around you — these are more meaningful.”
– Deanna Hartley
Patrick Koppula, 34
CEO
ffwd
Patrick Koppula is an entrepreneur. In 2007, he founded ffwd, a video-sharing and suggestion site that helps users navigate Web video content because he wants “to make it push-button simple for viewers to enjoy the impending video content explosion.”
Koppula enjoys working at ffwd because he’s “working on the product from a customer’s point of view. There’s nothing more satisfying than hearing customer needs and soon after creating something that meets those needs,” he said.
Koppula has a degree in environmental science and public policy from Harvard University. He’s also a guest lecturer at MIT Sloan on crowd-sourcing intelligence and distributed innovation.
Before founding ffwd, Koppula co-founded and acted as a strategic adviser to iLike, a social music discovery service with more than 30 million registered users. Born out of Garageband.com, iLike is a social music discovery site. Valued at more than $50 million as of December 2006, iLike has been funded by former MTV CEO Bob Pittman, and at the time of the valuation, Ticketmaster took control of 25 percent of the company for $13.3 million.
Koppula plays lead guitar for a hard rock party band called Bottoms Up. He’s also a mentor for an 8-year-old at a residential treatment home for emotionally disturbed boys.
When asked what his greatest achievement was, he said: “I don’t really measure myself by accomplishment but rather by presence of mind. Like Chesley Sullenberger who landed US Airways Flight 1549, my greatest achievement is being thoroughly competent at what I do.”
– Lindsay Edmonds Wickman
Chef LaLa, 40
Chef, Author, Owner
Savor! Caterers
Chef LaLa grew up in her family’s restaurants, but she wasn’t always determined to follow in their footsteps. Instead, she wanted to be a singer and achieved considerable success as a former member of Pares y Nones, a five-girl group that opened for the Latin boy band, Menudo. But a devastating car accident forced her to abandon that dream. So LaLa turned to another passion that ran in her blood: food.
She attended Le Cordon Bleu and has studied around the world learning different cuisines. She founded her catering company, Savor! Caterers, which serves A-list celebrities and VIPs in entertainment and politics, including two U.S. presidents and a president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Her mantra has become: Any cuisine can be good for you and still have sabor, or flavor, according to her Web site.
“People pay better attention to the gas they put into their cars than the foods they put into their bodies,” LaLa said. “In the meantime, heart disease, which is largely preventable, remains the number one killer in America.”
Chef LaLa has a special interest in the obesity and diabetes crisis in urban America, and as a result, makes food that is healthy, but tastes good. She is certified as a specialist in fitness nutrition, kids’ nutrition and lifestyle and weight management.
LaLa wrote Latin Lover Lite and Best Loved Mexican Cooking with Chef LaLa. She also works with the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and the Liver Foundation, among other organizations. She received Macy’s Community Star Award, General Mills’ Corazón de Comunidad (“Heart of the Community”) and the inspiration award from the National Association of Women Business Owners-Los Angeles, which recognizes someone who has made a tremendous impact on those around her and serves as a true role model for others to follow.
– Lindsay Edmonds Wickman
Dylan Lauren, 33
CEO and Founder
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Dylan Lauren has a famous dad: fashion icon/mogul Ralph Lauren.
“Anyone who has a last name can do many things with the name — they can sit around and sort of live off the name and their parents’ money or they can actually use it for charity or for business,” Lauren said in an interview with PR.com. “I’m very serious about what I do, and I think my parents just sort of brought me up that way.”
Lauren is CEO and founder of Dylan’s Candy Bar, a sweet shop business with a handful of locations across the United States.
Lauren and her team are constantly exploring new markets for the stores, which reflect a blend of art, popular culture, fashion and candy. Entering one of the stores is not unlike wandering into a parallel universe complete with a magical decor and treats for the young at heart.
The stores sell more than just delicious high-brow and regular candy and chocolates, however. It boasts an array of “sweet” beauty products — such as soda pop shower gel and smoothie body lotion — as well as fashion products ranging from stylish tees to colorful jewelry to stuffed animals.
Cafes and private party rooms are available for shoppers looking to escape and treat themselves.
