Women's Presidents' Organization to Attend International Business Roundtable Hosted by London House of Parliament

New York, NY (September 7, 2016) -- Members of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), an international peer advisory group for million dollar plus women-led and owned companies, will gather in London on Monday September 12th at 10:30 a.m., at a roundtable event on international business. Hosted by the Women and Enterprise All Party Parliamentary Group, chaired by Craig Tracey MP, the “Shifting the Needle”, attended by the London Stock Exchange, will be held at Parliament of the United Kingdom in the Palace of Westminster. Topics will include global trade, access to capital and accelerating business innovation.

British Conservative Party Politician Craig Tracey, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Warwickshire since 2015, extended the invitation to WPO. The session will be followed by a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Enterprise, and a reception for women entrepreneurs sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr Tracey commented: “We are delighted to welcome the Women President’s Organization to Parliament to share their experience in the vital area of Women and Enterprise. Our All Party Parliamentary Group aims to promote equality for women in executive and ownership positions in the world of enterprise and the events we have on Monday will help to promote these aims.”

One of the motivations prompting MP Craig Tracey to go into politics was the way he felt small businesses were treated by government during the recession of the late 2000s. “As a small business owner, I definitely felt the impact of the recession. I personally felt that the government did not understand what it was like and then there was the added burden of increased regulation on top of that.” He was elected on to the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee in July of 2015. https://www.craigtracey.co.uk/.

Karen Tracey, the Birmingham and Midlands Chair of the Women President’s Organization, has helped to organize the event. Mrs Tracey said: “It is exciting that the WPO will have representatives from around the globe attending this special day of events at the UK Parliament. This is a real opportunity for our group to interact with key stakeholders in politics and business.”

“We are very proud to be invited to such a high-level discussion focused on women-owned and led business initiatives and challenges with our own distinguished group of WPO business leaders. Each delegate attending this exciting event is at the peak of her professional achievement, has demonstrated outstanding leadership running a multi-million-dollar business that promotes economic security.” said Marsha Firestone Ph.D., President and Founder of the Women Presidents’ Organization. Dr. Firestone will attend the London event, along with WPO global sponsor representatives from IBM, Wells Fargo and UPS.

At the event, WPO members and Chapter Chairs from around the world -- including the US, New Zealand, Portugal, Birmingham, UK and London, UK -- will reflect on their own experiences building their businesses and what they believe is needed to “move the needle” for other women running businesses, particularly with access to financing, scaling up and government assistance.

Two WPO representatives from St. Louis will attend: Karen Conant, President of Mexico Road Florist and Serendipity Floral Events, and Laura Jones, CEO of Regent Power, LLC and St. Louis WPO Chapter Chair.

“We are both excited to be selected to participate in such an elite gathering of international business leaders,” said Laura Jones. “Not only does it validate the importance of WPO’s member companies’ multi-million dollar effects on our local economy, but our members are sought after for high-level global business discussions.”

Fellow St. Louisan, Karen Conant, agreed: “Being part of the Women Presidents’ Organization has played a big part in my business strategy and growth—having a powerful board of peer advisors is invaluable. This opportunity is just one of the amazing advantages of being involved with such a powerful world-wide force of women leaders.”