A Renaissance life.
CEO, certified employment consultant, inventor of the legal search industry, boardroom search executive, corporate directors, public servant, author, and public speaker, with a hobby that has made her a media magnet for decades.
Wendeen H. Eolis is an experienced CEO, entrepreneur, executive search specialist, an experience board specials as well as a boardroom advisor, career management and leadership coach. Also an experienced public official, and with responsibilities as a civilian commander of a post-9/11 task force. Wendeen's multi-faceted career constantly pushes forward in the realm of thought leadership as a professional journalist and public speaker, and her peerless connections in the gaming industry, including her distinction as a top-flight poker player has drawn attention from a curious media that has followed her perpetual pursuit of a Renaissance life.
The Pursuit of Success is a Walk in the Park - Well, Not Quite!
In Business. Boardrooms. And Beyond...
A graduate of New York University with honors, including the Chester H. Lane Prize in argumentation and debate, Wendeen holds certifications as an arbitrator, executive consultant, and professional coach. She abandoned PhD studies to open EOLIS as the first attorney search firm with funding from significant retainer-based assignments from the law firm of Cravath Swain and Moore and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, sealing her decision to exchange the life of a nerd for that of an entrepreneur. She also has served as an advisor and as a director with public and private companies, not-for-profits, and government agencies, and has served as a public official. Additionally, Wendeen has taken on leadership roles as chief executive officer of multiple trade associations. The media has never lost its curiosity as to how she makes her choices in business, politics, and poker rooms, but these days Wendeen is more focused on writing her own story - without a due date for publication!
CEO
Wendeen founded EOLIS and is the CEO of her legal and business consultancies, specializing in talent optimization at the highest level.
Boardroom Search Specialist
Innovator in boardroom career and senior leadership coaching with emphasis on advanced negotiation and decision strategies.
Negotiator
Experienced interviewer and deal-maker; founder of the 12-point people-reading system; student of negotiating DNA.
Public Servant
Commander (civilian), Hope's Champion Task Force. Prior advisor at City Hall and the Governor's Office, NY State.
Media Magnet
Profiles in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, ABC News, Court TV, GQ, A&E Biography, and others.
Gaming Grande Dame
Advisor to casinos and government agencies; blackjack counting expert; first woman to cash in the WSOP Main Event.
Motivational Speaker
Negotiation guru — advanced strategies for more success at work, at home, and on the road.
Journalist
Writer for legal, business, gaming, and poker publications — cover stories, deep investigations, special features.
From Gracie Mansion to the United Nations and at Ever-Changing Venues Where Compelling Characters Congregate
Over the years, Wendeen has achieved global reach by cultivating a wide range of connections — making friends as easily over diner coffee as at power lunches. Her dinner parties at home, visited by an eclectic group of guests, invariably promote the most interesting new business opportunities.
WHE & Gillian Sorenson at a UN women-leaders meeting
Excellent connections — the Four Seasons "Secret Party"
Wendeen and the Stanley Cup
Honing negotiating skills, one hand at a time.
In her spare time Wendeen participates as a celebrity poker player on Poker Night In America with players like Jennifer Tilly — when not cooking up a storm for family and friends, playing a Liszt Rhapsodie on the piano, slicing a ping-pong ball down the edge of the table, or surrendering control to her tango partners on the dance floor.
SEE THE GAMING OVERVIEW→The other résumé.
The pursuits Wendeen finds time for between the boardroom and the felt.
- 01Pianist — playing Liszt at Liszt House, Budapest
- 02Table-tennis — silver medal, Copenhagen
- 03Poker — winner, European Open, UK
- 04Cook — sauce-making in Lyon with Bocuse
- 05Salsa on 2 in Havana — Eddie Torres style
- 06Writer — going to the ends of the earth to find a nugget
- 07Charitable works — supporting causes that improve life
- 08Proud parent and great-grandparent
- 09Champion Power Napper — 15 minutes daily