4  |  HBAdvantage LETTER FROM THE CEO Atimeforchange. It’sabouttime. As I look back at my December column in the last HBAdvantage, I marvel at how the #TimesUp move- ment has gained so much traction in so many areas of our professional and personal lives. Whether it’s in our industry, entertainment, academia or politics, the demand for diversity, fairness and gender parity has exploded. As we know, the HBA has been at the forefront advocating for women in business long before the #TimesUp movement went mainstream. For the HBA, gender parity has always been more than a slogan; it is our core mission and our reason for existence. In order to lead the campaign to further the advancement and impact of women in the business of healthcare, one thing has become crystal clear in this last 12 months—we have to do more than talk the talk—we have to walk the walk, deliberately and purposefully. To achieve organizational change for gender parity, we must act boldly and deliver measurable results. I’m proud to share that we have been doing just that and achieved our target milestones, incremen- tally and significantly. Here’s a short list of recent achievements: Hosted more than 2,200 people at the annual Woman of the Year event (and live streamed in 11 satellite locations) to honor the contributions of nearly 100 industry gender parity advocates. Realized a significant increase—143 percent— of mentions of the HBA in the news media and phenomenal growth in social media outreach with Twitter impressions jumping to 66 million last year. LAURIE COOKE President and CEO, HBA Grew HBA locations to 42 chapters and affiliates. Achieved a membership milestone by welcoming our 10,000th member. Launched the Gender Parity Collaborative with twelve founding members and a collaboration with research powerhouse McKinsey & Company. Debuted the “Voices of HBA” member video series featuring actual members talking about the value and impact of the HBA. Championed a successful 3BC “Building Better Business Connections” summit, hosting male and female executives from 35 healthcare and life sciences industry companies. I’m proud of what we have accomplished. And I’m aware of the challenges and hard work ahead. But most importantly, I’m energized by the ultimate rewards that will come with the achievement of true gender parity. Every day we are getting closer to a time when we will see parity in the C-suite and boardrooms, and women of color and all ethnicities sitting at that table. We should be proud that the HBA is a leader in making the change happen. It’s time.