Moms In Business - Heather Murren

Heather Murren

by cyd

2008 Nevada Create Your Dreams Award Honoree

This award goes to a mom business owner who has achieved outstanding success

in creating her own business.

Heather H. Murren, CFA
Chairman of the Board, Nevada Cancer Institute

Heather Murren is cofounder and Chairman of the Board for Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI). NVCI is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and the official cancer institute of the state of Nevada as established by the State Legislature in 2003. Mother of two boys and wife of Jim Murren.

In 2000, Ms. Murren and other community leaders organized an effort to build a comprehensive cancer center as defined by the National Cancer Institute. So far, this effort has raised more than $175 million to build, equip and staff a 142,000-square-foot research and care center, including over $125 million in private donations plus a $50 million municipal bond offering backed by a letter of credit from a syndicate of banks as well as significant federal support. The research and care center at One Breakthrough Way opened on September 23, 2005, on six acres of land donated by The Rouse Corporation and The Howard Hughes Corporation. NVCI has recruited some of the nation's leading figures in cancer research to win the fight against cancer in a state with some of the highest mortality rates in the nation.

In April 2002, Ms. Murren retired as a managing director, Global Securities Research and Economics, of Merrill Lynch where she was Group Head for the Global Consumer Products Equity Research effort. In this position, she coordinated the efforts of Merrill Lynch's 16-member global consumer products team, encompassing analysts in Pacific Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. As a senior executive at Merrill Lynch, she was an active mentor of women at the firm.

Ms. Murren was a highly ranked analyst, recognized in all major financial industry surveys for the quality of her written work and timely market calls. She was chosen six consecutive years as a member of The Institutional Investor's All-American Research Team. Her multi-year inclusion in the Greenwich survey and repeated designations by the Wall Street Journal as an all-star analyst underscored her other notable achievements in the economic and financial services community. In addition, while at Merrill Lynch, she was profiled in Fortune magazine as one of Wall Street's all-star analysts.

In 2004, she was recognized as one of the Influential Businesswoman of the year by Las Vegas magazine of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She has received both Congressional recognition and commendation from the U.S. Senate for her work at Nevada Cancer Institute. In addition, she has received numerous awards for philanthropy including the Larry King Heart Award for 2004, the Jameson Philanthropic Award from the Nevada Community Foundation, and the Humanitas Award from the Nevada Epicurean Club in 2005. In 2006, she was cited as a Nevada Healthcare Hero by Nevada Business Journal.

She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Johns Hopkins University and sits on the committees for audits and insurance, academic affairs, and trusteeship, nominations and by-laws. She also is a member of the Johns Hopkins University Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Advisory Council and founder of the Jochebed Scholarship, which supports an undergraduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences with a demonstrated career interest in improving the health and medical care of underprivileged mothers and children. Fluent in Spanish and French, she has served, in the past, as a volunteer translator for the Nevada Health Centers, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare to the community of Nevada regardless of the patient's ability to pay. She also serves as a member of the Council for a Better Nevada, is a member of the Board of Directors for the Service 1st Bank of Nevada and holds a gubernatorial appointment to the Nevada Academy of Health.

Originally Posted: Mar 12, 2008 at 9:44 AM
Last Updated: Mar 12, 2008 at 9:44 AM

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