University Park, Pa. – Donna Kalajian Lagani, senior vice president and publishing director of Cosmopolitan magazine, is scheduled to speak at the Penn State Smeal College of Business on March 18 as part of the college's speaker series, Leadership in Focus: Executive Insights. Kalajian Lagani will join James B. Thomas, the John and Becky Surma Dean of Smeal, for an interactive on-stage conversation at 11:15 a.m. in 110 Business Building (Struthers Auditorium) on Penn State's University Park campus. The talk is free and open to the public.
Executive Insights, an initiative started in the 2006-07 academic year, is designed to complement the Smeal educational experience by bringing high-profile business leaders to the college to connect with students, faculty, and administrators to share some of their business expertise and experiences in leadership.
In addition to Kalajian Lagani, this semester Smeal will welcome Edward Montgomery, dean of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and former executive director of the White House Council for Auto Communities and Workers, on April 8.
Robert Dixon, senior vice president and general manager of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., was the college's guest on Jan. 21.
Other past Executive Insights guests include Karen Peetz, senior executive vice president of The Bank of New York Mellon; Barry Salzberg, chief executive officer of Deloitte LLP; and John Surma, chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel.
Kalajian Lagani joined Cosmopolitan in August 1995 and was elected senior vice president by the board of directors of the Hearst Corp. in September 1995. Under her leadership, Cosmopolitan has launched CosmoGIRL! and Cosmopolitan Style, and, most recently, she was a strong force in the creation of Cosmo Radio on Sirius Radio.
Prior to Cosmopolitan, Kalajian Lagani was vice president and publisher of Ladies' Home Journal since 1989, where she was the first female to serve as publisher in the magazine's 112-year history. Prior to that, she was the eastern advertising manager for Woman's Day.
In 1995, Kalajian Lagani was elected to the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Achievement and, in 1990, she was recognized by Crain's New York Business with a "40 Under 40" award.
She is on the board of the Fragrance Foundation and is a member of the Magazine Publishers of America’s marketing committee. In 2005, she was a cosmetic industry leader honoree at the prestigious DreamBall to support Look Good … Feel Better and the American Cancer Society. Most recently, in April 2010, she was honored at the USO's 44th Annual Woman of the Year event as a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award recognizing her for her active role in Cosmo Kisses for the Troops, a national campaign supporting U.S. troops and the USO.
Kalajian Lagani holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Smeal.
For more on Leadership in Focus: Executive Insights, visit www.smeal.psu.edu/execinsights.