First Lady Melania Trump Unites Female CEO’s Around Ownership from IMPERIA’s Inaugural Meeting at New York Stock Exchange

First Lady Melania Trump convened nearly 100 leading public and private companies at the New York Stock Exchange for the inaugural meeting of IMPERIA, a new female-led platform designed to expand economic opportunity, strengthen collaboration among women in business, and prepare the next generation of women to own, invest, and build.

“Women are not just a part of the marketplace, simple participants. We are its foundation and we are its infrastructure. The world’s biggest untapped economic force is not a new market, a breakthrough technology, or an undiscovered natural resource. It is women coming together as owners,” First Lady Melania Trump said.

The invitation-only inaugural meeting was hosted by the New York Stock Exchange in its historic Board Room and brought together leaders representing nearly 100 public and private companies across finance, technology, consumer products, healthcare, hospitality, and global capital markets. Participating companies included Bank of America, AT&T, Barclays, Citi, Colgate-Palmolive, Diageo, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, IBM, Danantara Investment, Intel, CVS Health, and Salesforce.

In her keynote address, the First Lady underscored the fundamental role women play across the global economy.

“Consider what happens without us. Remove women as consumers, investors, leaders, caregivers, innovators, and managers of household finances, and the modern economy would not work as it does today. It fractures,” The First Lady said.

First Lady Melania Trump formally launched IMPERIA by ringing the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange before delivering her keynote address. The program also featured panel discussions with Lisa Su, CEO of AMD; Caryn Seidman Becker CEO of Clear; and Christy Valentine Theard, CEO of Anthem. NYSE President Lynn Martin delivered remarks, and Fox Business anchor Liz Claman served as host.

The First Lady concluded with a call to move beyond traditional professional networking toward measurable economic participation and ownership.

“Now is our time to move beyond mentorship and toward ownership. Do not simply advise another woman. Invest in her. Do not merely open a door. Create a real opportunity. Turn networks into tangible value: capital, customers, contracts, knowledge, and access.”