The Columbia Women in Business conference was so popular this year that preregistration reached capacity within hours. The event is just one of many student-led conferences that take place on campus each year. The annual conferences provide a forum for students, alumni and distinguished guests to network and discuss issues specific to particular areas — such as women and business or India and the world economy.More than 600 people — including more than 250 alumnae — attended the 14th annual Columbia Women in Business Conference on February 23, which had as its theme “Leaving Your Footprint: From Ideas to Action.” The all-day event featured panels on negotiation skills, leadership qualities and work-life balance, among other issues of particular interest to businesswomen.Martha Stewart — whose Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia now develops homes in addition to award-winning magazines, TV shows, merchandise and a 24-hour satellite radio program — was a keynote speaker. “I didn’t know about glass ceilings,” Stewart told the sellout crowd. “I had that one quality entrepreneurs need to have: fearlessness.”Joyce Roché ’72, president and CEO of Girls, Inc., a national nonprofit that empowers and educates girls across the country, was presented with the11th annual Distinguished Alumna Award. “I decided to go beyond what was expected or considered acceptable,” said Roché, whose graduating class had only a handful of women and even fewer African-Americans.Other conferences this winter boasted equally impressive speaker and participant rosters. The 13th annual Columbia Business School Private Equity Conference on February 9 included keynote speaker Mark Gallogly ’86, managing partner of Centerbridge Partners. A week later, the Latin American Business Association welcomed Gustavo Cisneros — named “one of Latin America’s most powerful figures” by the New York Times — to its annual conference. He is chairman and CEO of the Cisneros Group of Companies, one of the largest privately held media, entertainment, technology and consumer products organizations in the world.And conference season is far from over. On March 30, the Health Care Industry Association will feature John Rowe, MD, former chairman and CEO of Aetna and president and CEO of Mt. Sinai NYU Health. On April 6, the South Asian Business Association will host its 3rd annual India Business Conference, which has as its theme “Indian Unleashed.” Speakers will include Sanjiv Ahuja, CEO of Orange, Ronen Sen, India’s ambassador to the United States, and Shashi Tharoor, former UN under-secretary-general for communications and public information.