Women of Achievement 2021 honoree Kay Fernandez, Global DX Branding & Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta being interviewed on stage by GSNNJ Media Girl Scout, Kathryn Tucker
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. announced that Kay Fernandez, Global DX Branding and Senior Vice President, Marketing has been honoured by the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey (GSNNJ), as part of its 2021 Women of Achievement Event.
The 41st annual event, held on 6 June 2021 at Lake Rickabear Camp in Kinnelon, New Jersey, honoured four women from the region who have made a substantial impact on their communities and industries and serve as positive role models for girls.
Fernandez leads the creation of innovative marketing strategies for Konica Minolta as a member of the executive team. Through digital disruption, she works to improve the value Konica Minolta delivers to customers, partners and employees. A strong advocate of women in the workplace, Fernandez established the Step Forward Programme at Konica Minolta to inspire women in professional excellence. The programme is open to all employees, specifically helping women develop leadership skills and men to understand how they can impact change. Since its inception, the company has seen a 30% increase in female executive managers and a 14% increase in female mid-level managers.
Fernandez volunteered as a Girl Scout troop leader for all three of her daughters and encourages other women to become leaders and volunteers to be role models for girls in their communities. She serves as Board Chair for Books for Kids, a New York based non-profit promoting literacy among preschool-aged children in under-resourced communities. Fernandez also sits on the board of the YWCA of Northern New Jersey, working to eliminate racism and empower women, and is on the Ocean Council at Oceana, helping to save the oceans and feed the world.
“This is an amazing honour and I was so grateful to be included in this year’s event,” said Kay Fernandez, Global DX Branding and Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta. “It’s tremendously important to invest in our future leaders, and I am particularly proud to be part of an organisation that supports programs to encourage women to aspire to leadership roles.”
“Kay is an inspiration to everyone at Konica Minolta and we are proud to see her receive this well-deserved honour,” said Sam Errigo, COO, Konica Minolta. “As a key member of our executive leadership team, Kay continually strives to spark engagement from our employees through programmes that make an impact and inspire change within our company and community.”
For the past 41 years, GSNNJ has celebrated extraordinary local women leaders for their personal and professional accomplishments at the annual Women of Achievement gala. This year’s programme theme was “Invest in Girls. Change the World.”
“We are honoured to recognise Kay as one of our Women of Achievement recipients for 2021,” said Betty Garger, President and CEO of Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. “Kay’s dedication to such a wide variety of programmes, both inside and outside of Konica Minolta, that support women and other worthy causes demonstrate her commitment to advancing the lives of girls and women in our local community and beyond. She is a true role model in leadership for our Girl Scouts this year.”
