Ilene H. Lang is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst, the leading research and advisory organization working to change workplaces and improve lives through advancing women into business leadership. She was appointed President in August 2003 and named Chief Executive Officer in September 2008.
Ms. Lang brings energy and corporate savvy to the advancement of women in every sector of the global marketplace, including corporate boards and governance, workforce demographic trends, the business case for closing gender gaps in leadership and pay, women’s career development, and work-life effectiveness. She frequently addresses groups of senior leaders in a variety of business, academic, and public policy venues and is regularly cited by global media outlets including The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Fortune, CNN, The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, BBC, CNBC, and NPR.
Having broken barriers in her own career, Ms. Lang is broadly recognized as a pioneering female high-tech/Internet executive. She was the founding CEO of AltaVista Internet Software Inc., a subsidiary of Digital Equipment Corporation. Prior to that position, Ms. Lang was Senior Vice President of the Desktop Business Group at Lotus Development Corporation, responsible for a $500 million global business. She has also advised CEOs and entrepreneurs as a board member, coach, and investor in women-led technology companies.
Ms. Lang was named to the Global Agenda Council on Women's Empowerment at the World Economic Forum, and she is a member of the National Board Development Committee of the Girl Scouts of the USA. She has served on numerous other corporate, private, and nonprofit boards.
Ms. Lang earned an AB degree in History and Literature from Radcliffe College and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. She is married and the mother of three adult children.