Johnson & Johnson, a Leader in Executive Development for Women

Johnson & Johnson - Smith Executive Education's primary corporate partner in customized executive development for women - has entrusted more than 600 of their best and brightest high-potential female managers to Smith.

The relationship began in 2002, when Johnson & Johnson learning officers realized that the small group of 20 women they were sending through Smith's Leadership Consortium and the Smith-Tuck Global Leaders Program each year just wasn't filling the company's pressing need for savvy female executives who were ready to take J&J to the next level. So they asked Smith to partner with J&J to create a customized program for 50 women managers at a time, delivered annually at corporate headquarters, in order to get J&J's leadership pipeline filled more quickly.

Today the Smith-J&J program is a mainstay of the prestigious Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI), begun in 1995 at J&J by Executive Committee member JoAnn Heisen. Under her watchful mentorship, WLI has grown the female executive numbers at J&J from 300 in 1995 to more than 2000.

 "Smith College offers outstanding leadership programs, world-class faculty and top-notch curriculum," says Heisen, VP and Chief Global Diversity Officer for Johnson & Johnson. "There is no doubt that Johnson & Johnson has benefited enormously from these programs and our women rave about the experience.  To attend one of their sessions is a gold star on their resume."