Class 76 Grad Wins London Award
By Bal Yujuico
It was a star-studded evening in order to pay tribute to the
success of Asians in Britain at the Asian Women of Achievement
Awards 2005 ceremony, May 26th at Park Lane’s London Hilton.
Rhodora Palomar- Fresnedi, class 1976, and currently
Vice-President of Global Diversity Management at Unilever
looked radiant when she received her award as one of the four
finalists for the category Businesswoman of the Year-
Corporate Award.
The Prince of Wales was on hand to deliver a speech
celebrating the commitment, dedication and determination of
Asian women to their professional and personal achievements
within the commercial, professional, artistic and humanitarian
sectors.
Forty-two finalists were selected for the Businesswoman of the
Year- Corporate Award alone.
Cherie Booth Blair ,wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, was
behind these awards. She is known at the UK for recognizing
outstanding women in their respective fields. Baroness Helena
Kennedy QC, Nancy Dell’Olio- representative for the British
Red Cross, actress Meera Syal who hosted the evening and His
Excellency Kamalesh Sharma, High Commissioner of India were
also in attendance.
In an interview by Clare Alexander for Esher News & Mail,
Fresnedi was surprised by her nomination. “This is like being
a finalist for the Oscars. It recognises diversity in my work.
Unilever has always been a diverse company but I think I have
re-framed it so we can discuss things differently, which has
helped us make the big changes”, she said.
Palomar-Fresnedi joined Unilever ten years ago and was
assigned in London in 2000. Her work at Unilever plays a big
role in the achievement motivation factor for the diverse
employees.
Creating equitable workplace for diverse levels of workforce
in a supportive environment has been the success stories of
several multinational companies for recent years. “We are
passionate about diversity because it generates new ideas and
leads to business excellence, “ she continued.
Rhodora is currently Vice-President--Global Diversity and
Management Development of Unilever. In this role, she works
closely with the Executive committee in crafting the global
diversity leadership agenda, and with the Strategic Center
Human Resources group in defining future leadership and
organizational capabilities for Unilever.
Diversity is a feature reflected in her life and career. Her
educational background includes a degree in mass
communications , magna cum laude, complemented by graduate
courses in accounting, finance, linguistics, and
communications research, and a masters in management (with
distinction).
Her education has supported every step of her career. She had
been a teacher, accountant, human resource manager, financial
controller, independent consultant, director of finance and
operations or a training firm before she chose human resources
as a profession.
Her varied experience prepared her well for her role as HR
Director of Unilever Philippines and thereafter as Head of
London Office, East Asia Pacific and China Business Groups,
her last two positions immediately preceding her current
global role.
Rhodora is Unilever's global champion for work- life and
diversity matters. Her current external involvement includes
being a member of the Steering Committee of the Conference
Board's European Work-Life and Diversity Council and the
U.S.-based Hidden Brain Drain Task Force sponsored by by the
Center for Work-Life Policy.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Rhodora Palomar- Fresnedi (extreme right) garbed in an elegant
terno is shown with the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair,
Cherie Booth , center, wearing a lilac trouser suit, at a
champagne and dinner reception before the start of the AWA
2005 awards ceremony. Others in the photo include (L-R)
Ambassador Antonio Espiritu, Philippine envoy to the UK,
Aristeo Palomar, Rhodora's father, and Jojo Fresnedi,
Rhodora's husband.
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