Some familiar faces will be on hand to give Bermuda's business women advice on how to succeed in their careers at a top conference this week.

The 2008 Bermuda Business Women's Conference and the Inaugural Athena International Award, which will be held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on Saturday September 20, will feature everyone from Finance Minister Paula Cox and Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation general manager Michelle Khaldun to ZBM news presenter Sangita Iyer.

The event, which is being run by Keetha Lowe of Integrated Global Management and Mary Schnack from Communication Bridges in the US, will give delegates an insight into the working lives of some of the Island's leading business professionals who will help them with tips on overcoming challenges inside and outside of the workplace and getting ahead in their careers.

With the theme 'Navigating Business Success: The Complete Journey', the event will kick-off with an opening speech by Ms Cox on the advantages and disadvantages for women professionals or business owners in Bermuda with an overview of the direction the country is heading in.

Ms Lowe said it was a great result to get Ms Cox to talk at the conference and hoped she would be able to pass on some of her experiences to attendees.

"We certainly value her input and participation because she is literally the leading woman in Bermuda - she is certainly the individual who has never given up her own personal, professional and political goals to achieve success," she said.

"That is the message we would like to give to women who aspire to be successful and for the whole of that journey.

"She is an individual that we have all grown to respect and to like and I think she will be laudable to the audience that we aim to attract."

Next up will be Ms Iyer, who will speak about the balancing act of juggling personal life with career ambitions on a 24/7 basis.

"Sangita is both a local television personality and a senior broadcast journalist who we have all been well informed by over the course of the last several years," said Ms Lowe.

"Her background, her experience and her journey goes so far beyond what most of us have experienced on a daily basis.

"She will be speaking on the balancing act, life 24/7 both as a professional expert in her field and a mother - she has had to juggle it all literally from her son's birth to putting him through university as well as doing the day job.

"She has been transitioning herself through various cultures doing whatever it takes to generate acceptance, irrespective of cultural values, being Indian and having gone from Canada to Bermuda."

Following on from her speech, will be a panel session on navigating business success and going through the complete journey, which will be moderated by Ms Khaldun.

"We are really excited to have Michelle on board because she comes with a wealth of knowledge, personal and professional expertise," said Ms Lowe.

"Her background was in banking, she also has an education background and more recently has become a small business advocate.

"I think Michelle has been a valuable tool within this particular arena because the one vital component that she brings to it is that she is a mother as well as a business woman and she understands what it takes to be successful in all parts of your life."

The seminar will focus on such topics as 'The Power of You! Purpose, Passion, Potential', 'For The Health Of It: Is Your Career/Business Running You?', 'Raising The Bar: Employment and Commercial Law' and 'Minding Your Business: Banking, Finance, Retirement'.

Other speakers include Patricia Russell-McLoud, one of America's top 10 motivational speakers and keynote speaker on 'Leadership: The Real Thing' for the afternoon, and Martha Mertz, the founder of the Athena International Award, which has been presented to more than 5,000 across the world.

Meanwhile Lorna McGowan, founder and president of LEM Virtual Administration Services, a company that specialises in the arena of web-based business and administrative support, will be involved in Ms Mertz's World Cafe on Leadership, and Diane Gordon, executive vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, and Roxanne Christopher, owner of Bliss Hair & Nail Salon, will be among the panellists.

Ms Lowe said the reason behind the conference being held in Bermuda at this time was because the Island's business women could benefit from it when currently the community is experiencing some significant changes that have a direct impact on its population's social and economic well-being, including single parent families, a lack of child care, high rents and mortgages and increased cost of education to contend with while striving to further their careers.

Tickets costs $170 per person and include lunch.

To book your ticket for the event go to the registration table at Brown & Co. today or Wednesday between 12pm and 2.30pm or visit www.boxoffice.bm

Nominations for the Athena International Award which recognises exceptional individuals who have achieved excellence in their business or professions and have helped women reach their professional goals as well as possessing fine leadership skills can be made by picking up a nomination form at Brown & Co. or by going to www.womeninleadershipexchange.com/navigatingsuccess.