Fudge (HBS MBA '77) received the Bert King Award for Service to the Community. Thomas-Graham (HBS MBA '88) won the Professional Achievement award. The Alumni Awards were presented February 23 during the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference.
Ann M. Fudge
Former Executive Vice President, Kraft Foods
Ann Fudge, one of the most influential and noteworthy people in corporate America today, is equally well known for shaping corporate values and making a difference beyond the bottom line.
The Washington D.C. native graduated from Simmons College in Boston where she was encouraged to apply to Harvard Business School by faculty members Charles A. Coverdale (HBS MBA '71) and Margaret M. Hennig (HBS MBA '64). Before enrolling at HBS in 1975, she worked in human resources at General Electric.
After graduating from HBS, Mrs. Fudge worked at General Mills in Minneapolis from 1977 to 1986, progressing from marketing assistant to marketing director. During that time, she was part of the team that developed Honey Nut Cheerios, one of the nation's best-selling cereal brands. In 1986, she was hired by General Foods, which later merged with Kraft Foods. In marketing posts and later as a general manager, Mrs. Fudge gave new life to perennial favorites such as Kool-Aid and Shake 'N Bake. In 1994, she was named president of Maxwell House Coffee, where she doubled profits. She was later put in charge of Post Cereals, and eventually all of the well-known brands that comprised the Kraft Foods $5 billion Beverage, Desserts, and Post Cereal Division. The extent of her responsibilities and her extraordinary success at building teams, repositioning products, and increasing profits landed her on several lists including Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.
Through her leadership and personal example, Mrs. Fudge was also successful at engendering organizational commitment by linking Kraft's business objectives to projects that would have a long-term impact in the communities the company served. Maxwell House partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build 100 houses for families across the country. Other programs linked Post Cereals to help fight hunger among children and build new facilities for the Boys & Girls Club.
Mrs. Fudge's civic involvement has also included working with organizations such as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the United Way. She is a past president of the Executive Leadership Council and an active member of the Harvard Business School African-American Alumni Association, serving as Honorary Chair of the 2001 Annual Conference. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of General Electric, Marriott International, Honeywell International, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In addition, Mrs. Fudge is a trustee of the Brookings Institution and a member of the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Club.
Ann and Rich Fudge, married for thirty years, have two sons and three grandchildren and enjoy traveling around the world.
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Pamela Thomas-Graham
President, CEO, CNBC
Pamela Thomas-Graham is responsible for all CNBC domestic operations, including programming, advertising sales, business development and the brand synergy across CNBC's TV and Internet platforms. CNBC provides business news programming and financial market coverage to more than 198 million homes worldwide, including more than 82 million households in the U.S. and Canada.
Prior to assuming this role, Thomas-Graham served as President and Chief Operating Officer of CNBC, where her responsibilities included the day-to-day operations of the network, managing aspects of editorial, production, marketing, communications and technology. Previously, Thomas-Graham served as president and Chief Executive Officer of CNBC.com, where she was responsible for the online activities of CNBC.
Before joining NBC in September 1999, Thomas-Graham was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, and one of the leaders of the Media and Entertainment practice. She joined the consulting firm in 1989 and became its first black woman partner in 1995.
Thomas-Graham has received numerous honors and awards including the National Urban League's 2001 leadership Award, the 2001 Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications for her contributions in the field of new media, and the "Woman of the Year" award from the Financial Women's Association.
She was selected as one of Glamour's "Women of the Year 2001," and was named Black Enterprise's "Corporate Executive of the Year for 2001." She has also been chosen as one of the "Top 20 Women in Finance" by Global Finance Magazine, and as one of the "Top 10 Consultants in America" by Consulting Magazine and included on the Crain's New York Business "Forty Under Forty" list of rising young business leaders. She has been profiled by Fortune and Time and is a frequent commentator on business and marketing issues in the U.S. and abroad.
In addition to her corporate work, Thomas-Graham is the best-selling author of the critically acclaimed Ivy League Mystery Series, which includes two novels published by Simon & Schuster: A Darker Shade of Crimson and Blue Blood. Thomas-Graham is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, where she served as editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Thomas-Graham serves on the boards of the New York City Opera, the American Red Cross of Greater New York, the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, and the Harvard Alumni Association.
She lives in Westchester County, New York, with her husband, attorney and author Lawrence Otis Graham, and their young son.
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