Press Release: Judee Von Seldeneck To Receive 2015 William Penn Award

October 29, 2015 Share this article:

Press Announcement: Judee Von Seldeneck – AltoPartners OCO Member and Founder and Chairman Diversified Search

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Diversified Search Founder and Chairman Judith M. von Seldeneck will receive the 2015 William Penn Award and will be honored at a gala on April 15, 2016 at the Hyatt at the Bellevue.

The William Penn Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a business executive in Greater Philadelphia. Awarded annually since 1949, recipients are chosen for their outstanding contributions toward the betterment of the region, their professional accomplishments, and their commitment to charity as well as to the community. The selection committee is comprised of past honorees.

Judith M. von Seldeneck is a prominent civic leader within the Greater Philadelphia business community. For forty years, she has been a pioneer in the search industry and a leader in placing senior level executive talent.

“I am honored to be selected as the 2015 recipient of the William Penn Award from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has meant so much to me, has done so much for our community, and has allowed our organization over the past 40 years to serve regional, national and international clients in their leadership challenges. I am both humbled and honored to join the ranks of the inspirational leaders who have received this Award in the past,” stated Ms. von Seldeneck.

“Judee von Seldeneck is a true champion of Philadelphia and the region,” said Rob Wonderling, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. “Her hard work and dedication on behalf of so many worthy causes has made a real difference in the lives of so many. It’s been a great honor to serve with her on the Chamber’s Board of Directors’ Executive Committee.”

Ms. von Seldeneck has received many industry and community awards and has been recognized by the executive search industry as setting the standard for retained executive search. She has been active for many years on numerous public, private, and not-for-profit Boards of Directors. She previously served on the Board of Directors of Citizens Financial Group, Tasty Baking Company, Teleflex, Inc., CoreStates Financial Group, Meridian Bancorp, and AAA MidAtlantic. She was recently named to the Comcast and NBC Universal Joint Diversity Council and is Chairperson of the Women’s Advisory Council.

Some of her not-for-profit Boards include the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (former Chair), Global Philadelphia Association, Moyer Foundation, Executive Committee of The Committee of Seventy, Committee of 200, Jefferson President’s Leadership Council and National Association of Corporate Directors, Phila. Chapter (Chair). Previous Boards include Hyde School (former Chair), Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) Chair, The Caron Foundation, CEO Council for Growth, WHYY, International Women’s Forum, Zoological Society, BLOCS, Urban Affairs Partnership, Glaucoma Foundation and Private Sector Outreach Board (Chair). She was a founder of the Forum of Executive Women, the largest association of women business leaders in the Philadelphia area. Prior to starting Diversified, Mrs. von Seldeneck served in Washington, DC as Executive Assistant to Vice President Walter F. Mondale.

Her professional activities and achievements include: the Hope Award, National MS Society, Greater Delaware Valley Woman of Distinction Civic Leadership Award; Hall of Fame Award, Junior Achievement; Paradigm Award Winner from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; Philadelphia Business Journal 30 MVPs Award Trailblazer Award Winner; Eleanor Raynolds Award for Excellence in Executive Search League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Business Hall of Fame Eagles Fly For Leukemia; Heart of Philadelphia Award, American Heart Association; BusinessWeek, Top 50 Most Influential Executive; Gardner W. Heidrick Award for Excellence in Executive Search Recruiters in the World; Women in Natural Sciences (WINS) Award; and the Academy Philadelphia Business Journal Most Admired CEO of Natural Sciences.

Past William Penn Award recipients include William Hankowsky, President, Liberty Property Trust; J. William Mills, III, regional president for Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, PNC Bank; David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation; former Independence Blue Cross President and CEO Joseph A. Frick; Tasty Baking Company President and CEO Charles Pizzi; cable TV pioneer and philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest; Constantine Papadakis, Ph.D., President, Drexel University; William R. Sasso, Esq., Chairman of Stradley Ronon LLP; Nick DeBenedictis, Chairman and President of Aqua America Inc.; Ed Snider, Chairman of Comcast-Spectacor; Judith Rodin, former President, University of Pennsylvania; G. Fred DiBona, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, Independence Blue Cross; Ronald Rubin, President, Pennsylvania Realty Investment Trust; Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg; and, Rev. Leon Sullivan, Founder of OIC


About Diversified Search

With more than 40 years in executive search, Diversified is the largest US woman-founded and owned firm in the industry. Diversified is recognized for delivering high quality corporate Board and senior-level executive searches across all industry sectors nationally and internationally. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Diversified Search also has US offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and worldwide in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and the Americas. Diversified is the exclusive U.S. partner of AltoPartners, the international alliance of independent search firms with offices in 31 countries worldwide. For more information, go to http://www.diversifiedsearch.com