NEWS RELEASE
CANADA’S FUTURE FEMALE SCIENTISTS AND
ENGINEERS FROM 11 UNIVERSITIES
TO HEAR CO-DISCOVERER
OF COLD-FX’s “BUMPY JOURNEY TO SUCCESS”
TORONTO, ON A story of a
roller coaster ride of crushing disappointments and euphoric successes- that’s
what Canada’s future female scientists and engineers from eleven universities
will hear at their upcoming conference in Toronto on January 23. And the words will be coming from someone
who’s been there - one of Canada’s most powerful and successful female
scientists - Dr. Jacqueline Shan, co-discoverer of COLD-FX.
Dr. Shan is the keynote speaker who will open the annual two-day
conference of WISE - Women In Science and Engineering - a national organization
dedicated to promoting women in these fields.
The conference is being held at the Toronto Regional Board of Trade
offices.
Dr. Shan began studies for the first of two doctorates at the age
of 15. By 24 while she was finishing
studies for one of the doctorates she took the risky step of forming a company
with her mentor that eventually led to the runaway success story of
COLD-FX. But Dr. Shan will recount a
decade of struggles and disappointment before her ‘baby’ - COLD-FX - caught on
with the public - catapulting it to the #1 position and beating out market
leader Tylenol. Before that happened she
faced near bankruptcy and had to go through the heartbreaking job of laying off
her entire 25 member research staff to keep the company afloat.
She knows hardship and disappointment, but also success. After she took over the company in 2003 as CEO,
she embarked on a spectacular PR strategy which included Don Cherry and sales
jumped from $1.5 million that year to $31.5 million two years later. She will recount the challenges she faced as
a female CEO in a world where men dominate.
The theme of her speech is “Never Give Up.” She says, “It’s simple, but often hard to
do. It’s hard to believe in yourself,
believe in your dream when you’re laying off your co-workers.”
Dr. Shan will recount the bumpy road to success as she seeks to
inspire other women to follow in her footsteps.
Amreen Poonawala, President of WISE U of T says, “Dr. Shan is an ideal
role model to inspire our members to believe they can do what she did by
passing her knowledge and experience on to the next generation.”
One thing I learned in business is, “Hire people who know more
than you do, respect them, give them ‘their head’ and watch them catch
fire. I came to Canada to study under a
person who became my mentor. From him I
learned, “Everyone is my teacher”.
She says, “There’s nothing that stops skepticism like success.”
Media Contact:
Warren Michaels warren.michaels@afinity.ca Phone:(780) 977-8261