Postcards

How the power players do it - by Fortune senior editor at large Patricia Sellers

Powerful Women: the final photo gallery

October 28, 2008: 3:05 PM ET

I've shared pictures and videos and stories of Warren Buffett in action at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit--his idea of "heaven," he told the 350 women who gathered in California in early October. But there was much ado beyond Buffett at our 10th Summit, which drew, despite the market mayhem, a lineup of leaders that reflected our theme, "Extraordinary Talent." Here are a few glimpses of the talent on the scene:

Pop Queen: Time Inc. CEO interviewed PepsiCo (PEP) CEO Indra Nooyi, who talked about rallying her people behind her mantra, "Performance with purpose." Nooyoi is No. 1 on Fortune's 2008 Most Powerful Women list.

The $100 Billion Woman: Melinda Gates, whom I profiled in a January cover story, told me and the MPWomen participants how she and Bill give away their billions--and Buffett's as well. Watching the interview, from the front row: the Berkshire-Hathaway (BRK.B) boss, flanked by his daughter Susie and daughter-in-law, Jennifer.

X Appeal: Anne Wojcicki, who co-founded personal genetics startup 23andMe, and Google (GOOG) VP Susan Wojcicki talked about growing up in Silicon Valley. I featured the remarkable Wojcicki sisters in my recent Fortune story, The New Valley Girls.

Internet Divas: Arianna Huffington and Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, shared their entrepreneurial knowhow in a breakout session on Building Digital Communities.

Wealth Warrior: Sallie Krawcheck, fresh off exiting her job as CEO of global wealth management at Citigroup (C), gave her take on the turmoil in the markets.

Media Mavens: Time Inc. Group Editor Martha Nelson, Lifetime CEO Andrea Wong, Gilt Groupe CEO Susan Lyne, Time Warner (TWX) EVP Pat Fili-Krushel, and NBC Universal (GE) cable president Bonnie Hammer.

Photos by Maryanne Russell Photography.

Award Winners: Goldman Sachs (GS) managing director Dina Powell (center) celebrates with Eva Muraya and Phyllis Mwangi, who won the first annual Goldman Sachs-Fortune Global Women Leaders Award. Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein was on hand to bestow the honors on these two Kenyan entrepreneurs, who participated in the Fortune-U.S. State Department Mentoring Partnership two years ago. Every May, the program brings enterprising businesswomen from developing countries to the U.S. to work with participants of the Summit. To see some of this year's mentoring matchups, read Jessica Shambora's recent story in Fortune.

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About This Author
Pattie Sellers
Patricia Sellers
Senior Editor at Large, Fortune
Executive Director of MPW/Live Content, Time Inc.

Fortune senior editor at large Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Marissa Mayer: Ready to Rumble at Yahoo," "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), and "Remodeling Martha" (Martha Stewart). She has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women in Business" package every year since its launch in 1998. Pattie is Executive Director of the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business and beyond. She oversees MPW programs that enable women leaders to extend their influence and empower the next generation—such as Fortune MPW Entrepreneurs and the Fortune-U.S. State Department Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership. Beyond her Fortune duties, she is also developing Live Content across Time Inc. Pattie grew up in Allentown, PA, graduated from the University of Virginia, and started at Fortune in 1984. Her blog, Postcards, is about how power players lead, manage others, and navigate their careers.

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MPWomen go Global

The Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership brings rising-star women from countries around the world to the U.S. for three-week mentorships with participants of the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit - among them Ursula Burns of Xerox, Laura Lang of Time Inc., Marissa Mayer of Yahoo, and Tory Burch.

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