Claudia Flowers, EVP, Corporate Development, Questex

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"When I was starting out there weren't a lot of women in the financial role," says Questex's Claudia Flowers. "I had to make the effort." She notes that the b2b media industry has experienced a lot of turmoil and changes over the years, to which she reacted by reinventing herself and remaining current. Her flexibility has served her well in her various posts.

Questex recently purchased FierceMarkets, which was Flowers' first acquisition since landing her job as Questex's EVP of corporate development in August 2007. FierceMarkets is a b2b e-media company that facilitates business marketing through e-newsletters, Web sites and Webinars, among other services. "Having a plan and seeing it work" is what keeps Flowers excited about the industry, as with the FierceMarkets acquisition.

Flowers got her start in the media industry when she joined McGraw-Hill in its book division, and then transferred to its newsletter group. She eventually became VP of operations for McGraw-Hill's information technology and communications group. She has worked at the Jordan, Edmiston Group and Wolters Kluwer in M&A, Thompson, American Business Media and Advanstar in various senior level executive positions, many dealing in finance.

Flowers' advice to those hoping to rise in the industry: "Think outside the box, be flexible and willing to change quickly." Publishing is a large, entrepreneurial environment, she says. She gives the example of having had the opportunity to work at Byte magazine in New Hampshire--a much looser environment than corporate McGraw-Hill. She used the experience of adapting to a casual, creative office space to transition quickly and easily to JEGI, which is also entrepreneurial.

Flowers lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and enjoys "what the city has to offer." That means museums, the theater and cultural events. She is a runner and an avid reader of Vanity Fair and The Economist.

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