Round, who has been with United Way since 2002, is executive vice president of brand leadership for the worldwide not-for-profit organization. Managing a staff of nearly two dozen, she’s responsible for United Way’s brand stewardship, marketing — advertising, public relations, corporate sponsorship — and field communications in 45 countries. Those who know her well aren’t surprised at Round’s success and the pioneering spirit of the former OSU Top 10 Freshman Woman. In the 1970s, she was among 30 women to have a brand management position at Procter and Gamble, where she worked for seven years. She was the first American woman to request and receive an overseas brand management assignment. “I was sent to Procter and Gamble Italia in Rome to launch Pampers in that market. No women had been sent abroad from P&G headquarters before 1980,” she says. Round, named Distinguished Alum in 1995, is a former senior partner and executive group director for Ogilvy & Mather Advertising. During her 15 years with O&M New York, she helped create, build and renovate domestic and global brands for clients that included General Foods, AT&T, Unilever, Maidenform, Pepperidge Farms, Kimberly Clark and U.S. Satellite Broadcasting. “I suppose back then I was breaking through barriers,” says Round, a member of Chi Omega Sorority who also can count being Outstanding Greek Woman among the accolades during her time in Stillwater. “Now it is all very normal. At the time, I was lucky. But I also think you create your own luck. When opportunity crosses your path, you have to be ready to jump on it. I believe you have to live expecting opportunities to come your way. “You also have to be willing to see the hidden opportunities in times of adversity,” she says, mentioning the way Americans pulled together after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “I love that today’s college kids are eager to spend their spring break helping rebuild homes in New Orleans,” Round says. “This generation of young people is very connected to their fellow human beings in need. It is exciting to be in a career that helps them act on that impulse.” Round, who is a firm believer in giving back, shares this philosophy with OSU students whose paths she crosses thanks to a program that brings 20 to 30 business majors to New York City each year for a visit to the Stock Exchange, Madison Avenue and other business meccas. The program is especially dear to Round’s heart because she believes the opportunity to travel and experience other people, ideas and cultures is an advantage no matter what one’s degree. “I love Oklahoma, and I’m proud to be an OSU grad,” she says. “My experience in Stillwater helped shape my outlook and gave me a healthy perspective.” Round has many. She commutes to Washington, D.C., weekly for work and travels internationally for her job. She also is a guest lecturer on global branding and advertising at campuses across the country and volunteers for the board of the Advertising Educational Foundation, the Ad Council’s Advisory Committee and God’s Love We Deliver. She is chair of the 2009 American Marketing Association Non-Profit conference in Chicago. “I’d say my OSU speech communications degree has served me well,” she says. Sylvia E. King-Cohen ’81 Creating Your Own Luck If you’re a math major, it’s a good bet you’ll spend the day in the company of numbers. If you’re studying veterinary medicine, you’ll probably get a chance to talk with the animals. It is doubtful when Cynthia Round graduated from OSU in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in speech that she envisioned herself traveling around the world. “It is the kind of degree where you are qualified for nothing or everything,” says Round, who can’t imagine living any place else but Manhattan, N.Y. Oklahoma State university 7 Cynthia L. Round Distinguished Alumna 1995 ’75 Speech Photo provided
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