Diane C. Creel
Chairman, President, and CEO, Ecovation
“Separating the Leaders from the Managers”

Diane C. Creel is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ecovation, Inc. Ecovation is a waste stream technology company using patented technologies, headquartered in Victor, New York. Ms Creel joined Ecovation in May of 2003 to lead the growth of the company. Prior to Ecovation, Ms Creel was chief executive officer and president of Earth Tech, a Tyco International Ltd. Company, headquartered in Long Beach, California. Earth Tech is an international consulting engineering firm that provides global water management, transportation, engineering technology and environmental services. Ms. Creel was the first woman to hold the chief executive position of a publicly held engineering firm in the United States. Since becoming CEO of Earth Tech in January 1993, the company’s revenues grew from $50M to $1.6 billion including 21 acquisitions. Ms. Creel led the IPO of Earth Tech, a management arranged buy out and the ultimate sale of Earth Tech to Tyco International, Ltd. in January of 1996.

Prior to joining Earth Tech, Ms. Creel was director of business development and communications for CH2M Hill in Seattle and Denver. During her time at CH2M Hill the company grew from $60M+ to $250M+ in revenues. Prior to joining CH2M Hill, she was manager of communications for Caudill Rowlett Scott (CRS) in Houston, and director of public relations for LBC&W, Architects-Engineers-Planners, based in Columbia, South Carolina.
Ms. Creel holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in journalism from the University of South Carolina. She was also a recipient of the Most Distinguished Alumna award from the College of Journalism, at the University of South Carolina. She has done post-graduate work at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.
Ms. Creel was a founding member and past national president of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) and was the first recipient of the national Zenith award for outstanding achievement in the field of marketing professional services. She received special recognition by Engineering News-Record magazine as one of “Those Who Made Marks” in the construction industry.

Ms. Creel also received the 2001 Excellence in Leadership Award from Leadership Long Beach, the 2001 Elizabeth Milbank Anderson Award for Contributions to the Arts, the 1999 Silver Achievement Award for Corporate Leadership from the Los Angeles YMCA, the 1999 Legacy of Leadership Award from the American Heart Association, the 1999 Long Beach Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She was also the recipient of the Inc. Magazine and Ernst and Young 1995 Los Angeles Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Ms. Creel currently serves on the Board of Directors of Allegheny Technologies Inc., Teledyne Technologies, the American Funds of Capital Research Management, Foster Wheeler Inc, and Goodrich Corporation.

Ms. Creel will be discussing separating the leaders from the managers and the extra effort required to be considered for leadership positions. Is there still a glass ceiling? If so, how do you get through it without killing yourself?! Diane Creel will speak from thirty-three years of experience in a male dominated profession including being the first woman CEO in the United States of a publicly held engineering firm.