PowerToFly has been fortunate to partner with American Express on past events from New York to London so we were thrilled to return to Sunrise, Florida on August 27th, to host a brand new night of networking and tech talks featuring American Express' women tech leaders and allies.
PowerToFly's Dionna Smith-Keels hosted the event, which took place at Amex's gorgeous (and huge) complex in Sunrise, Florida, which is just thirty minutes from Fort Lauderdale. As our guests arrived, they had plenty of time to network, enjoy refreshments and take part in our complimentary headshot photo station.
After some brief opening remarks from Dionna, Adrianna Bailey - VP, Software Engineering at American Express began the evening with warm welcome remarks, diving deeper into the company culture at American Express that truly sets it apart.
Next up, we were treated to a tech talk entitled "Machine Learning: Unstructured Content Organizer" which was hosted by Amex's Prasad Kanvinde and Valencia Steiger. The audience followed up the talk with plenty of probing questions.
The centerpiece of the evening was a panel discussion where Adrianna was joined by four colleagues to discuss their current projects and career journeys. Our panel then concluded with ample time to take questions from the audience and for our panelists to share career advice. Our esteemed speakers included:
- Ileana Figueroa - VP, Technology
- Lisa Meisenbacher, VP, Technology
- Dean Vocaturo - VP, Network Engineering & Optimization
- Man Chon (Kevin) U - VP, Technology
The night wasn't over yet! Our guests stuck around to mingle and network with our speakers and hiring leaders while everyone walked away with fun goodie bags of Amex swag.
American Express is hiring. Their amazing benefits include up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, Healthy Living wellness programs, tuition assistance, and great medical coverage. Learn more about American Express and their open roles by going to the American Express profile page on Power to Fly and clicking "follow."
All photos by Ivan Apfel Photography
Getting ready for the night to begin!
A delicious spread.
PowerToFly's Dionna Smith-Keels kicks off the event.
Keynote Address speaker Adrianna Bailey
Adrianna welcomes our guests.
Our amazing panel.
Another look at our panel.
Our panel took questions from the audience.
Top off the night with some delicious treats.