By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com
Published Oct. 23, 2009

Anita Zucker received a standing ovation before she even said a word at Thursday’s event honoring women in business.

The CEO of The InterTech Group was the keynote speaker at the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s second Influential Women in Business luncheon held in Charleston.

More than 200 business and community leaders attended the event to honor local women who have demonstrated professional excellence and leadership in their careers and communities.

The spontaneous standing ovation seemed to take Zucker by surprise as she explained that the speech had been written for women who aspire to be in leadership positions or who find themselves in those roles, sometimes suddenly, as she did when her husband, philanthropist and entrepreneur Jerry Zucker, died last year.

“You need to be an extraordinary leader,” Zucker said, adding that women must be inspirational and bold and must effectively harness the resources around them. “The one thing women need to be prepared for is change.”

Zucker said that women are infused in the work force like never before, accounting for over half of all workers in the United States in 2008. She said that number is bound to go up as more women seek opportunity and strive to assert themselves over business and industry, and yet women are still paid less than men in comparable job roles.

By weaving quotes and ideas from thinkers and business leaders with parts of the Torah, Zucker revealed a faith-based approach to leadership that embodies a management style that honors giving, passion, profitability, innovation and opportunity.

“That’s the legacy that Jerry left with me and our family and our companies,” Zucker said. “We approach every opportunity with an entrepreneurial spirit. We succeed when our investments succeed.”

Zucker taught elementary school for 10 years and was appointed to the Trident Technical College Area Commission by the Charleston legislative delegation.

Calling a quality education “insurance for the future,” Zucker emphasized the role of K-12 education and schools in economic development.