Marilyn Tam's Background
Marilyn Tam has had an extraordinarily diverse life, from her beginnings in a traditional Chinese family in Hong Kong to her meteoric rise through the executive ranks of the international business world to become an influential corporate leader, speaker, corporate consultant, author and respected humanitarian.
Her distinguished background includes executive roles at numerous world-class companies, including CEO of Aveda, President of Reebok Apparel & Retail Group and Vice President of Nike. She is also a successful entrepreneur, having developed and built four companies in fields as diverse as a corporate consulting & training company, a web portal company, a supply chain software company and an integrated health and wellness company.
Marilyn consults and speaks globally with Fortune 500 companies, governments and non-profit organizations and on leadership, diversity, change management and how to integrate social & environmental concerns into businesses profitably.
Marilyn is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Us Foundation www.usfoundation.org, whose mission is to facilitate global action plans and dialogue to address social, economic and environmental issues. Us Foundation is one of the partners for United Nations Habitat-II, and was nominated as a candidate for the “Best Practice Award” from the United Nations’ Habitat II.
She is a director on the national board of SCORE Association, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration. SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneurial education and the development, growth and success of small businesses nationwide.
She also served on the international board of The Reebok Human Rights Awards, along with former President Jimmy Carter; renowned musicians Peter Gabriel, and Sting, Rafer Johnson, Chairman of the Special Olympics and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center, and Paul Fireman, Chairman of Reebok International Ltd. She was also awarded The Reebok Human Rights Award for her humanitarian work. Whether she is directly improving the lot of workers in her contract factories around the world, or developing and conducting seminars to train other business leaders and entrepreneurs in business leadership programs internationally, Ms. Tam always gives back. She is committed to the belief that philanthropy is integral to and provides an essential balance and relevance to her work.
Marilyn’s work has also included numerous appearances on television, radio and Internet as well as in international conferences. She has developed and presented to a wide range of audiences in corporations, governmental and non-profit organizations.
She regularly serves as producer and Master of Ceremonies for events around the world, including acting as the spokesperson and keynote speaker for Universal Forum of Culture’s conference on the Role of the Corporation in the 21st Century in Barcelona, Spain, presenting at the United Nations Habitat-II Conference in Torino, Italy, as well as organizing the inaugural Season for Non-Violence Event commemorating M.K. Gandhi and M.L. King in 30 countries.
Marilyn was an advisor to the country of Bhutan, working with the Ministers and government officials to transition the country into the 21st Century while retaining their cultural and environmental heritage.
According to Brand Channel, she is one of the four most prominent names in brand ethics globally.
Marilyn was recognized as one of the Top 30 Female Entrepreneurs in the USA by Fempreneur magazine. Jack Canfield detailed her work in his book on the strategies for success, “The Success Principles”. She is featured as in the best selling book, “Fearless Women, midlife portraits” by Alspaugh, Kentz, and Halpin. Daryn Kagan, former CNN anchor spotlighted Marilyn as one who dared to dream that they can make a difference, in her book, “What’s Possible”.
She was honored with the Artemis Award for her business and humanitarian work by the Greek government and the Euro American Women’s Council in Athens, Greece, with her likeness on a Greek postage stamp. eWomenNetwork presented her with their Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marilyn is featured seven inspirational documentary movies including GLOW Project, The Compass, Vitality and The Gratitude Experiment, for her remarkable accomplishments and inner wisdom. Marilyn is a lifetime member of Who’s Who World Wide and is listed in Who’s Who in American Women.
She was honored with a Ph.D. in Humane Letters by Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA.
Because of her outstanding reputation and results, the following is a partial list of some of the keynote addresses and workshops Ms. Tam has been invited to give:
“Global New Partners Conference”, Ernst & Young
Commencement Address, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
“Diversity, Leadership and Your career” Credit Suisse
“Global Leadership in the 21st Century” Development Dimensions International, Inc. (DDI) Annual Conference
“Leadership, Heritage and Health” Pfizer Inc. Global Webcasted Conference
“The Role of Business in the 21st Century” Corenet Global’s Global Summit in Beijing, China
"Competitive Edge - Tools for 21st Century Success" US Small Business Administration’s SBA Expo
"Considering Humanity and the Community to Drive your Business Plan” Harley Davidson Dealer Operations Training Conference
“Leadership, Diversity and Career Development”, Sumitomo 3M
“Leading Growth, Leading Change” 3M International Technical Council Annual meeting
“How to Use What You’ve Got to Succeed in Your Career and Life” Merck & Co. Asian Pacific Leadership Conference Executive Workshop
“The Role of Business in the 21st Century” Universal Forum of Cultures, Barcelona conference, The Role of Corporations in the 21st Century
“Executive Training: How to Use What You’ve Got to Create, Lead and Manage a Sustainable and Successful Operation” Women In Technology International (WITI) National Conference
“Leadership, Role of the Executive - What is your role in IBM's Diversity Community” IBM Leadership Conference, ‘Driving Leadership, Ownership, and Career Development
“Diversity, How to Use it to Everybody’s Benefit” Walt Disney World and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts HR Executives Seminar
“Keeping the Job You Have or Finding a New One: Career Planning in Uncertain Times” California Governor’s Conference for Women
“How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want” Social Venture Network, National Conference
“How to Achieve and Balance Success in Your Professional and Personal Life,” Women’s Food Service Forum, Executive Summit
“Breakthrough Ideas: Championing Them Through the Marketplace” Kraft Foods Innovation Week
Topics and Workshops:
1. How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want
2. Diversity: How to Reap the Rich Harvest of Culture, Creativity and Community
3. Women in the Workplace and Marketplace
4. Life Balance: How to Juggle Work, Home, Personal and Spiritual Health
5. Leadership Excellence, How You Can Achieve It
6. The Role of Business in the 21st Century
7. Global Business today, the opportunities and challenges
8. Today’s Social and Environmental concerns and how to integrate them into a business profitably
9. Change Management: How to Increase Productivity and Morale in Rapid Change and Uncertainty
10. Mid Career Transitions, How to Reassess and Accomplish Your Dreams
11. Corporate Humanity: The Benefits of Community Service and a Values Driven Organization
