Devoted to women of color in business

In past years, we've done highlights on Fortune magazine's "Most powerful Women in Business" and one thing that all of these women have in common is they are fearless: they break new ground and they constantly find ways to expand their opportunities to lead.

Andrea Jung on SistersinBiz.com: http://www.sistersinbiz.com/2006/10/powerful_women_in_business_and.html

One such leader is Andrea Jung, who I found out today (via Susan Gunelius's Women in Business blog: http://womenonbusiness.com) recently joined Apple's (AAPL) board as their newest director, the first woman and the first Asian to do so. Jung is the current CEO of Avon (AVP), the well-known beauty products company. She has a reputation as being a management tiger who has turned around Avon's financial outlook by cutting costs and remaking the brand. Jung is also fluent in Mandarin and helped break Avon into the Chinese market.

The other members of the Apple board include:

Bill Campbell (Chairman and former CEO, Intuit Corp.)
Millard Drexler (Chairman and CEO, J. Crew)
Albert Gore Jr. (Former Vice President of the United States)
Steve Jobs (CEO, Apple, Inc.)
Andrea Jung (Chairman and CEO, Avon Products)
Arthur D. Levinson, Ph. D. (Chairman and CEO, Genentech)
Dr. Eric Schmidt (CEO, Google)
Jerry York (Chairman, President and CEO Harwinton Capital)

Congratulations, Andrea! We're rooting for you!

All of us who are interested in women of color in business, now is a time to either join a board or plan the date you'll join a board. Let's rise to more levels of leadership in 2008.

If you have the ability to recruit a minority women to your board, follow Steve Job's lead and benefit from a fresh, different, original outlook.

If you're part of an existing board, consider adding a new person's voice by increasing the diversity of your board.

If you're in leadership, consider joining a board that will challenge and expand your capacity this year. You'll benefit from the added connections and all of us will benefit from your example as a role model.

Here's to the success of all women in business in 2008 and beyond!