The gathering was hosted by WIE Suite founder Dee Poku alongside members Stephanie Horton, Gregg Renfrew, Nyakio Grieco and Christina Lewis.

Other attendees included Katie Couric, Nancy Twine, Rebecca Minkoff, Michelle Grant, Casey Fremont, Moana Luu, Anu Duggal, Claire Stern, Diarrha Ndiaye, Elyce Arons, Lele Sadoughi, Estelle Bailey, Bonita Stewart and honorary male innovator David Yurman.

In her remarks Dee Poku talked about the significance of hosting in the home of Christina Lewis whose father blazed trails as a founder, becoming the US’s first black billionaire. She was also thrilled to be partnering with La Grande Dame Veuve Clicquot in particular because Madame Clicquot was a pioneering woman founder who in 1818 defied convention by blending her red wine with white wine. Criticized at first, she is now acknowledged as the inventor of the first known rosé champagne.

Catering was provided by Spoonbread, New York’s largest black owned catering company founded by the legendary model, author and tv personality Norma Jean Darden.