Newswise — Jeannie H. Diefenderfer has been named to Olin College’s Board of Trustees. During her 28-year career at Verizon Communications, Diefenderfer led both technical and operational organizations in a range of roles, including Senior Vice President of Global Engineering & Planning, Chief Procurement Officer and SVP of Enterprise Customer Care.
At Verizon, Diefenderfer also focused on the human side of business. She developed workplace cultures that empowered and engaged employees, formed strong business relationships and operationalized Verizon’s commitment to diversity. She also initiated a consortium of Fortune 100 companies to support procurement from women and minority suppliers, and served on several employee resource groups, including the Minority Multicultural Association of NYNEX, Women’s Association of Verizon Employees and the Asian Focus Group.
Her work won her recognition from business and industry groups, including Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business and Asian Women in Business Corporate Leadership Award. She was listed in the 1999 Crain’s New York Business “40 under 40” publication and was a member of the 1999 class of the David Rockefeller Fellows Program.
“We are delighted to have someone with Jeannie’s solid technical background and entrepreneurial experience join our board. It is clear from her exceptional achievements in leadership that she will bring high expectations and a commitment to excellence that will serve the College well,” says Olin College President Rick Miller.
Diefenderfer is currently an independent director on the board of Windstream Holdings, chair of the Accenture Network Advisory Council, an advisor to Sedona Systems, and vice chair and a trustee of Tufts University. She previously served on the boards of MRV Communications, Westell Technologies, Citizens Funds and the Ms. Foundation for Women.
A native of South Korea, Diefenderfer immigrated to the U.S. at age 13. She holds a BS in chemical engineering from Tufts University and an MBA from Babson College. She resides with her family in Chester, New Jersey.
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