Butler, Lewent and Rickard inducted into FEI's 6th Hall of Fame.

"This is a special evening for Financial Executives Research Foundation. Tonight we celebrate the induction of the sixth class into the FEI Hall of Fame," said Marie Hollein, president and CEO of Financial Executives International, welcoming the nearly 300 who were present at FEI's 6th Hall of Fame Gala at Gotham Hall in New York City on Nov. 14.

This year's fundraising event for FERF honored the lifetime achievements of three outstanding financial executives: Robert C. Butler, Judy C. Lewent and David B. Rickard.

Butler retired in 1998 as senior vice president and CFO of Celgene Corp. Lewent had a distinguished 27-year career with Merck & Co. Inc., most recently serving as executive vice president and CFO until her retirement in 2007. Rickard retired from CVS Caremark Corp. in 2009 as executive vice president, CFO and chief administrative officer.

Master of Ceremonies Tyler Mathisen, the CNBC Power Lunch co-anchor, said: "We face lots of challenges in our economy. These three have faced and overcome similar challenges. By honoring them, we honor the profession. They embody the spirit of the Hall of Fame."

He then introduced Frank Brod, corporate vice president, Finance and Administration, and chief accounting officer for Microsoft Corp., the Hall of Fame Premier Sponsor. "At Microsoft, we say that your potential is our passion," said Brod. "We honor people who are role models. Let's hear how they can inspire us."

Speaking for the FERF Board of Trustees, Chair Kim Gazzola, vice president for Finance and Administration at Cambridge College, thanked the inductees for their achievements.

Robert Butler was introduced by former FEI president P. Norman Roy. Butler described how technology had changed the finance profession over the past 60-plus years. For example, he reminisced about the start of his finance career with Sylvania Electric Corp. in 1955, when Sylvania was the first company to have a data center.

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He noted that the data center's Univac 1 (UNIVersal Automatic Computer 1) used tape instead of punch cards, which was the standard of that time.

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Judy Lewent was introduced by Kenneth C. Frazier, president and CEO of Merck & Co. Inc. Frazier described Lewent as both a friend and mentor. "In 1992, after serving as outside counsel to Merck for a number of years, I joined the company as vice president, Public Affairs, reporting directly to Judy. While Judy set a very high bar for me and for all the...