Cathie Black, dubbed "The First Lady of American Magazines" and "one of the leading figures in American publishing over the past two decades" by the Financial Times, heads Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation and one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines. She manages the financial performance and development of some of the industry's best-known titles: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's BAZAAR, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Redbook, and Town & Country. She also oversees nearly 200 international editions of those magazines in more than 100 countries. Most recently, she oversaw the launch of Quick & Simple, Hearst's first weekly magazine in the U.S.

Black's book, "Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)," explains how she achieved "the 360-degree life," a blend of professional accomplishment and personal contentment, and how women can seize opportunity in the workplace.

"Basic Black" is both practical and motivational. Black offers riveting case studies, tips and invaluable lessons about ambition, self-confidence, and risk illustrated by candid, funny personal stories and with insights into media and business giants like Rupert Murdoch, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Francis Ford Coppola, Harvey Weinstein and Al Neuharth.

Black is widely credited for the success of USA Today, where for eight years starting in 1983, she was first president, then publisher, as well as a board member and executive vice president/marketing of Gannett, its parent company. In 1991 she became president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, the industry's largest trade group, where she served for five years before joining Hearst.

Black is among a handful of women that have appeared on Fortune Magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women in American Business" list each year since it debuted in 1998. She has also been included on Forbes Magazine's list of "The 100 Most Powerful Women" and Crain's list of New York City's "100 Most Influential Women in Business."

Sandra Yancey is the host of the popular eWomenNetwork Show on ABC radio and has interviewed over 2,000 successful entrepreneurs and business professionals. She is the author of "Relationship Networking: The Art of Turning Contacts into Connections" and the Founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork, North America's largest membership-based businesswomen's network.