FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 31, 2013 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; [email protected]
WHOOPI GOLDBERG and PAMELA THOMAS-GRAHAM ELECTED TO NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Two distinguished women have been elected as new members of the Board of Directors of the New York Philharmonic. Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Whoopi Goldberg was elected in January 2013, and Pamela Thomas-Graham — Head of Talent, Branding, and Communications at Credit Suisse, the Philharmonic’s Global Sponsor, and a member of the bank’s executive board — was elected in October 2012.
“These appointments mark the addition of two more strong and culturally sophisticated women to the New York Philharmonic’s Board of Directors,” said Chairman Gary W. Parr. “Whoopi Goldberg has been a friend of the Orchestra for many years and will bring an informed and distinctive voice to our planning, and Pamela Thomas-Graham will not only continue to represent the support and vision of Credit Suisse, but will enrich our discussions through her broad cultural knowledge.”
“This is one of the things as a kid I wanted to be part of and now I get the opportunity,” Whoopi Goldberg said. “I am so thankful.”
“It is a privilege to be joining the Board of Directors of the New York Philharmonic,” said Pamela Thomas-Graham. “As exclusive Global Sponsor of the Philharmonic, Credit Suisse has had the honor of supporting one of the world’s most renowned cultural institutions and one that shares our values and traditions. I look forward to working with the New York Philharmonic and the other members of the Board.”
Whoopi Goldberg is an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner. She is equally well known for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children and the homeless, in support of human rights and education, against substance abuse and AIDS, as well as efforts for other causes and charities. Among her many philanthropic activities, Ms. Goldberg is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Born and raised in New York City, she worked in theater and improvisation in San Diego and the Bay Area, where she created the characters that evolved into the eponymous hit Broadway show and Grammy Award–winning album, and the HBO special that helped launch her career, Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway.
Ms. Goldberg made her motion-picture debut in Steven Spielberg’s film version of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden (more)
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Globe Award. Her performance in Ghost earned her the Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. On television, Ms. Goldberg appeared for five seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation and hosted her own syndicated late-night talk show. In 2007 she was named moderator of ABC’s The View. She has appeared on many television series and specials, including eight Comic Relief telecasts with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams, and has hosted both the Academy Awards and Tony Awards telecasts. She has produced and appeared in several Broadway productions and made her debut as a radio host in 2006.
In addition to an Oscar, Grammy, and two Golden Globe Awards, Ms. Goldberg has been honored with multiple NAACP Image Awards, as well as various honors for her many humanitarian efforts. In 2009 she was named one of the World’s Most Influential People by TIME magazine.
Pamela Thomas-Graham is the chief talent, branding, and communications officer at Credit Suisse AG. She is also a member of the executive boards of Credit Suisse Group AG and Credit Suisse AG, and has global responsibility for human resources, corporate communications, corporate branding and advertising, corporate citizenship, and for the bank’s global off-shoring program. Ms. Thomas-Graham is the first woman to be appointed to the executive board in the bank’s history. She is also a director of Clorox Company. Prior to joining Credit Suisse AG, Ms. Thomas-Graham was a managing director in the private equity group of Angelo, Gordon & Co., and group president of Liz Claiborne Inc.’s wholesale apparel business; she also served as president, chief executive officer, and chairman of CNBC Television, a director of CNBC International, and president and chief executive officer of CNBC.com. She began her career at McKinsey & Company, where she became the first black woman partner in the firm’s history. Ms. Thomas-Graham graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in economics. She earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Harvard Law Review. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York; on the board of the Parsons School of Design; and a member of the business committee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She previously served on the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Transformational Diplomacy and on the Harvard University Alumni Association board, and is a former Board member of the New York City Opera. Ms. Thomas-Graham has been honored for her leadership by the National Urban League, Women in Communications (Matrix Award), and the Financial Women’s Association, and she has been named to top executive lists in Fortune, Black Enterprise, and Crain’s “40 Under 40.”
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