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Daphne E. Jones

Breakthrough Fortune 50 Executive, Leadership & Transformation Expert

Fortune 50 leader and business accelerator who led digital transformation at multinational companies, including GE, Hospira (now Pfizer), Johnson & Johnson, and IBM
Shares her inspiring story of overcoming poverty to shatter the concrete ceiling to becoming a high performing senior VP in multiple corporate C-Suites
Outlines proactive insights and disruptive digital strategies to help organizations reimagine and transform their businesses and create exponential growth
Demonstrates the steps organizations and individuals can take to “Win when they say you won’t” and achieve their vision of success

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Barrier-breaker, transformational leader, a force to be reckoned with — these are just some of the words to describe Daphne E. Jones, an accomplished and seasoned Fortune 50 executive whose forward-looking vision played a key role in unlocking growth within various multinational corporations. Through the course of her illustrious 30-year career, she held executive roles at IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Hospira, Inc. (now Pfizer) — where she shattered the ‘concrete’ ceiling by becoming the first woman and first person of color to report to the Chairman of the Board and CEO, and General Electric, where she became the highest-ranking African American woman in GE IT. Jones is widely regarded as a power player in her field and draws upon her extensive experience using digital technologies strategically, entrepreneurially, and globally to advise organizations in every industry on the way forward for their businesses.

In her talks, Jones revisits her unconventional journey to becoming a C-suite leader to share proactive insights organizations in any industry can adopt to drive innovation, nurture a culture of high performance, and reimagine their businesses to be more agile and customer-focused. She’s a celebrated digital strategist who makes the complex simple as she outlines disruptive digital-first strategies to help organizations meet their objectives in a business landscape that is shifting dramatically, and offers practical tactics for exponential growth. Seamlessly weaving stories from her inspiring life story of going from poverty to executive leadership into her talks, Jones inspires organizations and individuals to overcome any obstacle and defeat their self-limiting beliefs to create their next breakthrough.

Jones has advised CEOs, boards of directors, and corporate officers and has spearheaded global teams that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for the companies she led. At General Electric, she served as the senior vice president for future of work; senior vice president and chief information officer for product engineering, imaging, and ultrasound; and as senior executive and chief information officer for global services — all comprising a $13 billion segment within GE Healthcare. Prior to GE Healthcare, Jones held roles as an IT executive at IBM and Johnson & Johnson followed by her role as corporate officer, senior vice president, and chief information officer at Hospira, Inc., a global pharmaceutical and infusion technology company. A driver of change acceleration and leadership development, her career is defined by leading the way in using digital technologies to transform business models, distribution channels, and products.

Recognized as a business transformationalist and sought-after board member, Jones serves on the board of directors for AMN Healthcare, Inc., as well as the Barnes Group and Masonite International Corp. On a mission to pay it forward in business, she is also the founder of The Board Curators, through which she prepares diverse senior leaders for corporate board roles, and Destiny Transformation Group, a coaching program dedicated to helping professionals chart their desired career path. She is the recipient of the ICABA Caribbean Achiever Award and the University of West Indies’ Luminary Award. Jones was also named one of Illinois’ “Most Powerful and Influential Women” by the National Diversity Council, a “Premier 100” by Computerworld, and was named one of the “Most Influential African American Directors” in 2021 by Savoy Magazine. In her book, Win When They Say You Won’t, she shares her tried-and-true strategies for how anyone can achieve the career of their dreams with a winning mindset and proven playbook.

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Daphne E. Jones' Book "Win When They Say You Won't"

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Focus FIRST on Transformation: A barrier-breaking business leader and seasoned Fortune 50 executive, Daphne E. Jones developed and implemented disruptive digital strategies that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars generated for global organizations, including General Electric, Hospira (now Pfizer), IBM, and Johnson & Johnson, and positioned these companies as first-to-market innovators and industry leaders. In this talk, Jones offers tailored tactics for how organizations can find their digital “True North” and execute it to reimagine and transform their businesses and set the pace in their industries. She highlights the ways any company can leverage digital transformation to enhance the customer experience, optimize internal productivity, and catalyze innovation and growth.

From Poverty to Prosperity: An Immigrant’s Journey to the C-Suite. Business transformer and accelerator Daphne E. Jones’ path to becoming a disruptive C-suite leader was anything but typical. The odds were stacked against her, what with her being an immigrant and woman of color working to make her mark in the STEM field, where no one else looked like her. She reflects upon her own career journey of shattering glass ceilings in the business world and keeping the door open for those that came after her to share powerful lessons for how anyone can take ownership of their career, rewire their mindset, and overcome the challenges in front of them to achieve their vision of success and find fulfillment in their work and life.

From Insecurity to Security: How Your Company Can Become More Cyber Secure & Ready: As an expert in spurring digital transformation to help organizations reach their next iteration, Daphne E. Jones possesses authoritative insights into the cybersphere and the threats and opportunities that exist within it. In an immersive session that is sure to change the way audiences view the digital landscape, she empowers groups to embrace the possibilities digital transformation presents to their organizations while briefing them on what’s at stake as new challenges arise in the cybersphere. The insights Jones shares shine the light on the key role boards, management teams, and digital leaders play in helping their companies be more secure and ready — helping them move from cyber insecure to confidently more cyber secure.

Using Crisis to Catapult Your Business in the Marketplace. As a leader, your response in times of crisis will trickle down your organization and set the tone for whether you and your people will come out on the other side as the disruptors or the disrupted. A retired Fortune 50 executive who has navigated her teams through countless business hardships, Daphne E. Jones draws from her real-life experiences leading her companies to thrive in the face of disruption to provide actionable steps for how organizations can reset during times of crisis and adapt to seismic shifts in the market as they strive to compete at the highest levels in their industries.

E.D.I.T.: Strategies for Reimagining and Transforming Your Brand. “Win when they say you won’t.” That’s the mantra that founder, Fortune 50 C-suite executive, board member, and digital transformation expert Daphne E. Jones has carried this with her throughout her trailblazing career. In this eye-opening talk, she shares the unique four-step E.D.I.T. methodology that has provided the playbook for her to keep leveling up her success and can have a similar impact for organizations and individuals looking to reimagine and transform their brands. Jones inspires groups to:

Envision: create their unique vision for success
Design: focus on how, when, and with whom you will accomplish the vision
Iterate: get feedback from the environment, and decide to pivot or persevere
Transform: sit with the change and get ready for the next level

With this methodology, anyone or any group is capable of adopting the winning mindset that will motivate them to stop talking about transformation and start doing the transforming.

The Evolution of the Board Room. Slowly, but surely, the makeup of corporate boardrooms is changing. They’re becoming more representative of the customer base, and inclusive of the diverse groups that keep the workforce moving, but there are still challenges and barriers to entry for nontraditional board candidates. In this talk, Fortune 50 business leader and sought-after board member Daphne E. Jones illustrates the ways in which the board room has evolved in recent years while putting forth solutions for how we can continue to progress toward board rooms that are wholly reflective of the workforce. As part of this interactive session, she demystifies the path to board positions for candidates from all backgrounds — especially women and people of color — and shares valuable tips in preparation for leaders working toward earning their seat at the table in the board room.