Women's Leadership Symposium

Paula Bennett is a highly experienced CEO from the retail industry, with proven success at creating brand value and driving profitable growth across omnichannel platforms. She has an exceptional record at building portfolio companies for public, private and private equity investors, and led the successful IPO of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) in March 2017. Paula served on the board of At Home (NYSE:HOME) and its Nominating & Governance Committee through transition to a private company in July 2021. 

As CEO of J.Jill from 2008 to 2018, Paula transformed the business and culture to create an industry-leading omnichannel brand. She has held senior leadership positions at Eileen Fisher, Tiffany & Co., Calvin Klein and Bloomingdale’s, where she developed and leveraged her extensive experience in women’s apparel, jewelry and decorative home categories across sales, marketing, CRM, merchandising, product development and omni-channel business and team development.

When Paula graduated from what was then known as the College of Administrative Science at The Ohio State University, women comprised just 4% of her class. Over four decades later, in 2017, when she took J.Jill public on the NYSE, she was struck by another stark reality ― fewer than 5% of IPOs over the previous decade had been led by female CEOs. This disparity further fueled her lifelong commitment to advancing women in business, both as students and throughout their careers.

A dedicated advocate for women's leadership, Paula serves on the board of the Women’s Forum of New York and is a member of C200, a distinguished organization of leading women entrepreneurs and corporate executives. She is also a managing director at Golden Seeds Capital and an active member of Paradigm for Parity.

A proud alumna of The Ohio State University, Paula serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council at Fisher and is the founding donor of the Women in Leadership Fund.

Prior to serving as the CEO at Sana Foods by The Real Coconut Products Co. LLC from 2019 to 2022, Camille was the vice president of marketing at General Mills and business unit director for Cheerios, Wheaties, Nature Valley and Cascadian Farms. She was responsible for the growth and profitability of the $2.5B business unit, including vision and strategy development and marketing and new product innovation. From 1983 to 2015, Camille led several businesses including Pillsbury, Green Giant, Yoplait, Nature Valley and Cheerios.

She earned her bachelor's degree and an MBA from The Ohio State University and was the first woman selected to receive Fisher's Distinguished Leadership Alumni Award in 2003. In 2014, she was named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company, received Adweek’s Brand Genius Award, and was recognized by Brand Innovators as one of its “Women to Watch.”

One of 10 children, Camille was born in London, England, and has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Columbus, Ohio.  

Camille is an active member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at Fisher and founder of the Women Leadership Symposium, which brings women leaders, business owners, CEOs, students and allies together to inspire, enlighten and support.

Camille lives in Seattle and has two adult children.

Donna is a highly respected advisor to leaders across the public and private sectors, from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 executives. As managing director of Lardon & Associates, LLC, she specializes in corporate governance, business strategy, financial and risk management and leadership development. She serves on the boards of Victoria’s Secret (as chairwoman), Boston Scientific, The Hartford, OhioHealth and Xponance. She previously held board positions at L Brands, Marathon Petroleum, Time Warner Cable, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and more.

Before launching her own firm, Donna spent 25 years at Nationwide, retiring as president of Nationwide Strategic Investments.

Deeply committed to community service, she co-founded and chaired The Center for Healthy Families and is the co-executive director of the African American Leadership Academy.

In addition to The Ohio State University, she holds honorary doctorates from Otterbein University, Tiffin University, and North Carolina A&T State University, her alma mater. She resides in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, attorney Larry James. They have two adult children and five grandchildren.

Joyce began her 36-year professional career in the Columbus office of Price Waterhouse and was admitted to the partnership of PwC in 1998 as a lead client service tax partner. During her PwC career, Joyce was selected for a tour of duty in the Washington National Tax Services office and held various client service and internal management leadership roles while working in the Detroit, Atlanta and Dallas offices.

After retiring, Joyce joined the Fisher Leadership Initiative Founders Group, the Dean’s Advisory Council at Fisher, and she created a Women in Leadership Fund at the college. She is actively involved in the Dallas, Texas, community serving as a volunteer for the Dallas Museum of Art, Habitat for Humanity, Reading Partners and Pet Partners.

Joyce earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from The Ohio State University in 1984. She received Fisher’s Excellence in Service Alumni Award in 2022.