The MPW Summit: The editors' picks

The women behind Fortune's annual power women powwow offer their
suggestions on what to watch.

By Nina Easton, Stephanie N. Mehta and Patricia Sellers

Nina (in green) and Pattie (in pink) with Arianna Huffington, Mary Fallin, Gloria Steinem, and Chelsea Handler at the 2011 MPW Summit. Photo: Asa Mathat

FORTUNE -- As the co-chairs of the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, which takes place Oct. 1-3 in Laguna Niguel, Calif., we are unabashedly biased: We helped develop the program, and we think everything -- every interview, panel and roundtable -- will be thought-provoking, enlightening and entertaining. We encourage everyone to tune into the proceedings via our "Virtual Summit," an online tool that lets anyone view the sessions in real-time or at your convenience, for free, simply by registering here.

The program is amazingly diverse. You'll hear from Fortune 500 CEOs such as DuPont's (DD) Ellen Kullman and Kraft's (KFT) Irene Rosenfeld, who are in the middle of major business transformations. You'll also glean leadership lessons from Laura Richardson, deputy commanding general in the U.S. Army, and Edna Adan, founder of the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Somaliland, whose story is featured in the documentary Half the Sky.

Here are some the sessions we recommend:

Nina

Never heard of "financial diplomacy?" You will now as you go behind the scenes of the financial crisis in Europe, America's competition with China, and the workings of the G-20 with Undersecretary of the Treasury Lael Brainard. She's at the center of delicate discussions on how to keep the global economy not only afloat, but moving forward. October 2, 11:50 am PT

At MPW, we famously don't like to let our entertainers get off the hook after a night of song. So don't miss Suzanne Vega's insights into her life and her eclectic brand of folk singing on Tuesday afternoon. October 2, 3:05 pm PT

Our Wednesday morning closer this year is especially exciting: Prominent PIMCO CEO Mohamed A. El-Erian will take us on a tour of what's around the corner for financial markets, what are the realistic prospects are for global growth, and what he means by living with the "New Normal." October 3, 11:10 am PT

Stephanie

I can't wait to see Sam's Club (WMT) CEO Rosalind Brewer and Michelle Gass, EMEA president at Starbucks (SBUX) interviewed by Fortune's Jennifer Reingold. Brewer and Gass are retail all-stars. They'll talk about--among other things--operating stand-alone businesses within a big corporation. (Sam's Club is owned by Wal-Mart; Gass used to run Seattle's Best for Starbucks.) October 2, 2:45 pm PT

Stephanie smiles with PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi at the 2011 MPW Summit. Photo: Asa Mathat

Ginni Rometty is making her first public appearance as IBM's (IBM) newly appointed Chairman at the MPW Summit, and she'll be interviewed by senior writer Jessi Hempel. Rometty,  No. 1 on this year's Fortune MPW list, has a real passion for IBM's technology, and I hope she'll explain to us how a Jeopardy-playing supercomputer can improve health care, education and more. October 2, 9:15 am PT

Lena Dunham, creator of the HBO series Girls, will be at the Summit, and I look forward to hearing her thoughts on women, power and Hollywood. October 2, 12:35 pm PT

Pattie

The world hasn't heard from Carol Bartz since the Yahoo (YHOO) board booted her from the CEO post last year. (Well, she spoke once, to Fortune, the night after her firing.) Having gained perspective since then Bartz -- who is also lead director at Cisco (CSCO) -- will take the Summit stage to share "Lessons from the Boardroom". October 2, 11:40 am PT

I can hardly wait for my Summit conversation with former Sara Lee (HSH) CEO Brenda Barnes and her daughter, Erin Barnes. Barnes had a career-ending stroke in 2010—but she recovered and rediscovered a better life. She shares her story in Fortune's MPW issue and talks with me on stage on Tuesday. October 2, 2:20 pm PT

Striving to build a mega-presence in social media? There is no bigger consumer good brand on Facebook (FB) than Coke (CCE). The woman who oversees Coca-Cola's social media strategy, SVP Wendy Clark, will deliver brand-building tips. October 2, 3:25 pm PT

For more updates on the Fortune Most Powerful Women community, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Posted in: Coca-Cola, fortune mpw, IBM, Most Powerful Women, Most Powerful Women Summit, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Yahoo

• Wal-Mart recruits a Googler, and it's a trend

  The news that Wal-Mart (WMT) has invited Google (GOOG) VP Marissa Mayer to join its board of directors signals a trend. Fortune 500 boards are looking hard to recruit social media experts. And their quest is bringing a lot of women to the directors' table.

  Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is on the Walt Disney (DIS) board.

  Clara Shih recently joined the board of Starbucks (SBUX). The founder-CEO of hot startup Hearsay Social replaced Sandberg, MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Apr 17, 2012 10:16 AM ET
  Posted in: boards, Google, Marissa Mayer, Wal-Mart

• Career advice from Most Powerful Women

  FORTUNE -- Last week's Fortune Most Powerful Women dinner in Manhattan convened established stars, like Martha Stewart and Barbara Walters, with rising stars, like Chelsea Clinton and Barbara Bush. Two daughters of political dynasties converging in the same orbit.

  And then there were 26 rising-star women from across the developing world--each a participant in the Fortune-U.S. State Department Global Women Leaders Mentoring program. These young women were in the U.S. shadowing MORE

  Patricia Sellers - May 31, 2011 12:09 PM ET
  Posted in: Barbara Walters, Chelsea Clinton, Entrepreneurs, FORTUNE MPWomen, Google, Marissa Mayer, Melissa Bean, Most Powerful Women, Postcards, Ursula Burns, Wal-Mart, Xerox

• Sol Price, in Sam Walton's memory

  "I guess I've stolen--I actually prefer the word 'borrowed'-- as many ideas from Sol Price as from anybody else in the business."

  --Wal-Mart (WMT) founder Sam Walton about Sol Price, who started Fed-Mart and Price Club and launched a whole new style of U.S. retailing--club stores. Price, who sold Price Club to Costco (COST) in 1993, died this week at age 93.

  Made in America, Sam Walton's memoir, sits here on my MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Dec 16, 2009 6:37 PM ET
  Posted in: Postcards, retail, Wal-Mart

• Black Friday 2009 thwarts shopping habits, and sleep too

  I've been reading Credit Suisse (CS) analyst Gary Balter's reports on hardline retailers since the mid-'90s, when I wrote about companies like Home Depot (HD) and Sears (SHLD). Balter is not only a savvy analyst. He's also a very good writer. This morning at 7:17, Balter emailed this note to clients about Black Friday shopping, which he titled "Bring Back the Good Old Days."  I'm on his email list, so MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Nov 25, 2009 12:28 PM ET
  Posted in: Best Buy, consumer goods, Gary Balter, Home Depot, Postcards, retail, Staples, Wal-Mart

• Paula Deen's remarkable rise

  by Patricia Sellers

  The best stories of personal success defy the odds and the career rulebooks.

  Paula Deen takes the cake.

  The silver-haired, Southern-cookin' star of the Food Network, has sold more than 8 million books. She's got licensing deals with Wal-Mart (WMT) and other major companies. She has a magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen. And at 62, she has more fans on Facebook than Bill Clinton. And more followers on MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Nov 12, 2009 1:29 PM ET
  Posted in: Entrepreneurs, FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit, FORTUNE MPWomen, media, Most Powerful Women, Paula Deen, Postcards, Wal-Mart

• Most valuable companies: Top 10

  by Jessica Shambora

  Yesterday we told you that Google (GOOG) tops the list of heavyweight stocks in terms of "market capitalization per employee." There's $8.6 million in stock-market value riding on every Googler who works for the company.

  It's an odd metric, yes. The post generated some amusing comments. David Emery in Reston, Virginia wrote, "This seems to be a good justification for Google's well-known investment in/pampering of their employees. Happy MORE

  Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Oct 23, 2009 3:20 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Exxon Mobil, gilead, Google, Microsoft, Postcards, stock market, Wal-Mart

• Xerox and Wal-Mart bosses: Career paths not taken

  There comes a fork in every career. Should I do this or do that?

  Charting a successful career was the topic on Tuesday at Wal-Mart (WMT), where the company's female officers staged a "Fortune Most Powerful Women" event and I interviewed two stars of the 2009 MPWomen rankings: Wal-Mart EVP of People Susan Chambers and Xerox (XRX) CEO Ursula Burns.

  Their bios tell the paths they chose. More inspiring and instructive, as MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Oct 15, 2009 2:40 PM ET
  Posted in: Anne Mulcahy, CEOs, Fortune Most Powerful Women, FORTUNE MPWomen, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, Postcards, retail, Susan Chambers, Ursula Burns, Wal-Mart, Xerox

• A visit to Wal-Mart's home

  by Patricia Sellers

  "Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage."

  That was said, simply enough, by Wal-Mart (WMT) founder Sam Walton. And though today it's widely known that Wal-Mart is the world's most efficient retailer, a little-known fact is that for 25 years--long before Wal-Mart became America's largest retailer--it ranked No. 1 in its industry for the lowest ratio of expenses to sales.

  Efficiency runs in the water here MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Oct 14, 2009 12:03 PM ET
  Posted in: Bentonville, berkshire hathaway, CEOs, Doug McMillon, efficiency, Jane Thompson, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, management, mike duke, Postcards, retail, Sam Walton, Susan Chambers, Ursula Burns, Wal-Mart

• 10 surprising stats from the Summit

  Last week's Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit was teeming with experts. They offered points and opinions on so many topics, with data to back it all up. Here, some of our favorite stats:

  1. The No. 1 quality that successful business leaders have in common is that they started a business at a young age. --Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) (Click for video of Summit interview with Buffett.)

  2. MORE

  Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Sep 25, 2009 1:01 PM ET
  Posted in: berkshire hathaway, eBay, ExxonMobil, Facebook, FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit, Ginni Rometty, Google, IBM, Karen Mills, Larry Summers, Laura Ziskin, Meg Whitman, Most Powerful Women, Postcards, Sheryl Sandberg, Stand Up To Cancer, Susan Chambers, Top 10, Wal-Mart, Warren Buffett