Speaker Biographies

Penelope Muse Abernathy

CBS '86, Vice President of Planning and Development, Dow Jones

Penelope Muse Abernathy is the vice president of planning and development for The Wall Street Journal. In this role, Ms. Abernathy leads efforts to refine and assist the implementation of business strategies at the Journal.

Ms. Abernathy has extensive publishing experience. Most recently before joining the Journal, Ms. Abernathy was group publisher and general manager of Harvard Business School Publishing Co., publisher of the Harvard Business Review. Prior to that, she spent 13 years at The New York Times Co., including stints as president of The New York Times News Services, senior vice president for strategic planning and human resources, and business manager of the news department. Earlier in her career, Ms. Abernathy worked as an editor at several other daily newspapers, including the Dallas Times Herald and the Charlotte Observer.

A native of North Carolina, Ms. Abernathy is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and holds an MS and an MBA from Columbia University.