The Association of Women Entrepreneurs & Executives

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foto Elise Lelon
Founder of business & leadership strategic consulting firm, The You Business® & AWE.

Founder & Chief Inspiration Officer

Founder of leadership consulting firm, The You Business®, Elise Lelon advises C-suite executives, entrepreneurs and professionals during times of critical strategic transition in their careers and companies. Among her clients are Morgan Stanley, Cisco, Goldman Sachs, AMC, The International Securities Exchange, and Sotheby’s International. She has been a guest speaker at institutions like Harvard Business School, Columbia University and AVT Business School in Denmark. In addition to her corporate and individual consulting work, Elise launched AWE, The Association of Women Entrepreneurs & Executives, an organization committed to inspiring and supporting greatness in the businesses, leadership and lives of women. By year's end, AWE will have chapters in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Prior to founding The You Business®  and AWE, Elise served as Managing Director at Bernstein Investment Research and Management in New York City. She began her finance career as a sell-side equity research salesperson at Sanford C. Bernstein, advising large institutional clients in the U.K. and continental Europe. Previously, Elise worked in a variety of capacities at General Electric and NBC, where she was trained as a Black Belt in Six Sigma. Before entering the business world, she conducted both clinical and research work with patients suffering from severe psychology at Massachusetts General and McLean Hospitals,where she also managed a department of clinicians and researchers. Elise earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University, her Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard, and her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Elise is currently writing a book on entrepreneurship and writes for the The Huffington Post. She regularly appears on national television shows as a business expert on everything from CEO compensation to the unemployment crisis. Elise teaches a graduate course at New York University on the business and psychology of social entrepreneurship.

Our Members Are Saying...


Kip Hollister, CEO & Founder Hollister Inc.

Recent Events

  • AWE Awards & National Conference:
    November 7th, 2012, New York, NY
  • AWE D.C. Executive Circle Launch:
    October 10th, 2012, Washington, D.C.
  • AWE Boston C Suite Retreat:
    June 1st - 2nd 2012, Battery Wharf, Boston
  • AWE New York Executive Circle Retreat:
    March 2nd-3rd, 2012, East Hampton, NY
  • AWE SF Executive Circle Retreat:
    February 3rd-4th, 2012, San Francisco, CA

Testimonials

“ In AWE, I found a group of women who have no vested interests. They are candid, and are willing to ask the tough questions, challenge my thinking, and propose alternatives based on their own experiences. Elise provides structure to our conversations, and draws out the genius in each person as we tackle different themes, and discuss individual challenges... ”– Roberta Sydney, President, Sydney Associates, Inc.

“ Working with Elise is a comfort to me because I need someone who sees what my challenges are, understands them and becomes my partner. As the CEO, Founder and Owner, everyone who works for me in the US and Europe relies on me to have the answers. In Elise, I have someone with answers. She doesn’t just consult, she actually comes up with the solutions. ”– Jenny Ljungberg, Founder, CEO & Owner, Care of Hotels

“ Leading an early-stage company requires spending as much time assessing our direction as does the actual execution involved in achieving milestones. Until I was invited to join AWE, much of this thinking was done independently. Through Elise's excellent facilitation and the presence of women with relevant entrepreneurial experiences, I left the weekend with actionable advice on my most pressing business challenges. I was energized! I highly recommend AWE to others. ”– Sarah Biller, Principal, Capital Market Exchange