Harriet Greenberg Blog
It’s a great honour and privilege to be named President of DFK International. At DFK, we are people first and professionals second. During such challenging times as these, it is important to keep this understanding at the forefront of everything that we do.
Inclusion, growth, progress and change are a few words that sit closely in the front of my mind during these tumultuous times. I am proud to be part of an organization that is willing to promote and champion women within the association and profession.
DFK is near to my heart. Through this organization, I have travelled to Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe - meeting unique people and experiencing cultures first-hand. Perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences I had was visiting the firms in Barcelona where a lovely woman partner and her associate took me to a festival in the Catalonia region. Once a year, they celebrate the harvest of calçots, a type of green onion, with an event called Calçotada. It was an amazing experience and one that I would never have had without DFK. People go out of their way to show you their lives. The collective knowledge of very smart entrepreneurs helps us become better people who run better businesses simply by knowing each other.
Recognizing that DFK’s strength is grounded by diversity of person and thought, under my presidency DFK will continue to be a world-centric organization in which all the regions feel included.
DFK is anchored in the concept of promoting unity from afar. As such, I am not surprised by how quickly we adapted to the challenges created by COVID-19 by executing several enriching virtual meetings and webinars.
Of course, nothing replaces the power of in-person connection. I am personally disappointed that I won’t be seeing you in South America for our Annual International Conference in July. However, your safety comes first and therefore the conference will now be a virtual event.
We are here to support your unique needs during these challenging times. We deferred the first quarter membership fees and we have postponed or delayed conferences almost to the end of the year. We will continue to assess the situation on an ongoing basis to best support our members.
When Roland passed the presidential mantle onto me, I anticipated ironing out the typical wrinkles that anyone would during a transition, but I certainly didn’t expect to enter this role during these unprecedented times. However, he set an amazing example of what a president should be. He is a kind, wonderful person. He exudes trust, honesty and hard work. I would like to continue what he started, even though I understand it’s going to take some time given the circumstances we face. Despite the short-term challenges we may face, DFK is a resilient organization and fortunately, I’ve never met a challenge that I back down from. I look forward to continuing this journey of growth with you.