women in business

‘You can do anything you want in the world with a little business in your back pocket’

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 21:12:13 +0000

‘You can do anything you want in the world with a little business in your back pocket’ Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/23/2018 - 15:12

Ann Mashburn (Fin’83) landed her first job in fashion at Vogue in New York City. As assistant to a legendary fashion editor, she found herself surrounded by confident established women. “I became very acquainted with the feeling of not having it figured out yet,” recalls Mashburn. As a result, she quickly learned to observe and soak up all the wisdom she could.

Today, Mashburn is co-owner and chief creative officer of the Sid & Ann Mashburn fashion company. Lauded by the media as a lifestyle tastemaker, she retails her own line of clothing, footwear and accessories nationwide.

Attributing much of her success to a business degree from the Leeds School of Business, Mashburn points out that every “forward-facing thing” falls into the realm of business.

Ann Mashburn, Chief Creative Officer at Ann Mashburn[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83QRFS0-zpU&t]

Explore how Leeds promotes gender equity in business with End the Gap by 2020

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Summer Internship Spotlight: Nicole Esplin at Cisco

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 19:24:24 +0000

Summer Internship Spotlight: Nicole Esplin at Cisco Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/23/2018 - 13:24

Nicole Esplin

Cisco MBA Interns (Nicole second from right)
visiting the Golden Gate Bridge in
San Francisco, CA

In an interview with the prominent Indian publication YourStory, Cisco CMO Karen Walker said, “In work and life, learn how to delegate… And if someone offers help, sure as heck I’m going to take that help.”

The themes of Walker’s quote — leadership and collaboration — align with the behaviors and skills that are encouraged and learned during Cisco’s MBA Marketing Management Internship. As an MBA student focused in marketing and finance, I’ve enjoyed practicing these skills this summer, along with skills learned in the Leeds School of Business MBA classroom, including: strategic thinking, product branding, competitive positioning, market research, and market analysis.

Internship Project Structure

Cisco’s MBA Marketing internships are focused around several projects that are completed during the summer, culminating in a final read-out presentation for managers, directors, and VP’s. Marketing Interns complete 6 weeks in RTP, NC, spend a week in San Jose, CA, then finish the final 5 weeks back in RTP.

Throughout the course of the summer, I have created and presented a competitive analysis to determine how Cisco can stay relevant and competitive in its positioning towards consumers — from large enterprises to small businesses.

Cisco Marketing Interns enjoying the summer at HQ

My internship is specific to data center product and solution marketing, and I have studied market research reports to determine how Cisco customers view the company and its solutions. Many Cisco customers and potential customers see Cisco as expensive and complex. I am tasked with reducing the “noise” on the Cisco external Data Center webpage and help reconstruct the site in order to streamline and simplify the message.

Another project revolves around providing a strategy for the sales team to better utilize the materials that the data center marketing team produces. At a large business-to-business corporation like Cisco, the sales team is the direct user of much of the marketing collateral, since they make the ultimate decision about what materials to show potential clients.

Culture

Cisco promotes employee satisfaction and superior work-life balance. In addition to being an education trip and opportunity to meet with managers, the San Jose trip at the halfway point of the internship was filled with recreational activities like baseball games, dinners, and a tour of downtown San Francisco. Throughout the summer, I attended company-funded Durham Bulls games, an escape room, and volunteered at events. In RTP, the campus houses a gym, doctor’s/wellness office (with massages!), three gourmet cafeterias, and miles of running and mountain bike trails in the surrounding area. Health insurance is included during the internship, and it’s impossible to go hungry: the marketing floor hosts catered breakfast, lunch, or snack breaks at least twice per week. Needless to say, the benefits and perks of employee life at Cisco were very welcomed after a year of grad school dues and very little compensation in the form of outside employment!

Cisco volunteering at a food bank in North Carolina (Nicole pictured at bottom left)

Office culture is very collaborative, with open-floor seating that allows conversation to flow, and designated quiet and audio privacy rooms for concentration and private phone calls. I am currently interning with four other MBA interns who are working on different projects, and the office environment has allowed us to turn towards each other with questions and recommendations concerning our projects. Working closely with other interns has also provided the opportunity to compare core curriculum classes and create connections that will last throughout the next school year and beyond.

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Summer Internship Spotlight: Kristina Krone at East West Partners

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 14:15:01 +0000

Summer Internship Spotlight: Kristina Krone at East West Partners Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/18/2018 - 08:15

Kristina Krone

What are you specializing in for your MBA at ��Ƶ?

Real Estate

What are you doing this summer?

I am interning at East West Partners (EWP), a real estate development company with a focus on urban development in Denver, and resort development at various ski resorts, Kauai, and South Carolina. My internship is designed for me to visit most of EWP’s current and potential future projects, and report weekly with a written critical analysis (concerns/suggestions/etc.). Further, each project lead is responsible for giving me a mini-project to complete during my visit. My summer schedule takes me from Avon, to Snowmass, to Deer Valley, to Denver, to Charleston, and back to Avon. So far, my mini-projects have included:

Creating a spreadsheet to calculate individual owner costs for a hotel refresh on all furniture and fixtures
Writing the buyer Q&A packet for an upcoming project (building specifications, amenities, dues, etc.)
Strategizing how to better integrate technology into brokerage day-to-day processes
More to come in Denver and Charleston!

The new Limelight hotel in Snowmass going up in the back,
and ice skating rink and fountain in the foreground.

What are you getting out of your internship this summer?

This is just about the coolest internship ever created: I get to tour existing projects, debate future projects, shadow several different positions, and connect with almost everyone at the company. I have been pulled into partner meetings, construction updates, marketing and sales strategy meetings, interior design brainstorming sessions, etc.

Any exciting/fun/interesting perks, activities or stories from the internship so far?

My internal updates began as a partner-only email, but along the way, folks have said “I was forwarded your review. Can you add me to the list for next time? I’m loving reading about the other projects." Also, visiting/recreating in some amazing places is a pretty great perk! The photo below is taken from biking after work from Deer Valley to just above Park City proper.

Are you applying anything that you learned during your 1st year to your work this summer? If yes, how so or in what capacity?

One of the lobbies in the Deer Valley luxury condo project

Yes! In particular, my real estate principles class and some of my marketing and strategy classes. I am incredibly thankful for Professor Ferraro’s semester-long term lists (BPS, PUD, CAM, FIT, RevPar…what?) and for all the connections made so far through the real estate center.

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Inaugural case competition puts the focus on women leaders in business

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 19:20:31 +0000

Inaugural case competition puts the focus on women leaders in business Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/29/2018 - 13:20

The Office of Diversity Affairs hosted the Inaugural Women in Business Case Competition at the Leeds School of Business. The inaugural year featured 36 participants with the Office of Diversity Affairs intending to grow the program in the years to come. The participants are rising high school seniors and incoming Leeds freshmen who are all eager to gain new experiences and challenge themselves. This two-day event is designed to challenge students and help them develop critical thinking and case analytical skills.

During the competition, students competed in teams to tackle a business issue within the NFL with gender equity at its core. Students learned how to develop creative and thoughtful solutions to a business problem, work in teams, and develop a strong personal brand. The program culminated in each team presenting their solution to a panel of judges. The judge’s panel was composed of highly-regarded women leaders in the business industry: two Leeds Board members, Anne DuPont and Jane Miller and Key Equipment Finance Human Resource Business Partner, Pam Riley.

At the conclusion of the competition, more than $13,000 was awarded in scholarships to recipients from the top three placed teams. The scholarships will be awarded to each student upon acceptance and attendance to Leeds School of Business. Each student on the first place team received $1,000, second place received $750 and third place a $500 scholarship.

First Place: Team 2020 Consulting (Lasya Andaloori, Erin Legwold, Hattie Poole, Sofia Rodero, Piper Rundell,)

Second Place: Team Feminae Consulting (Breonna Cage, Angeline McCarty Lee, Emma Pearson, Nyah Schlagel, Sydney Stegeman, Madison Tran)
Third Place: Team EmpowHER Consulting (Taylor Alton, Tamia Ellison, Alanna Jackson, Bonnie Nicole Reading, Morgan Starner, Ashley Vazquez)

The Office of Diversity Affairs thanks Western Union and KPMG, whose support allowed us to provide this exciting opportunity to business-interested women. The Women in Business Case Competition introduces these women to the Leeds faculty, staff and undergraduate students while encouraging women to pursue business and become leaders in their field.

Read more about the Women in Business Case Competition here. /business/womencasecomp

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Women in Business Thursday Night Out

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 14:21:03 +0000

Women in Business Thursday Night Out Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/24/2018 - 08:21

Susanna Wright

Last Thursday, we held a joint networking event in combination with our normal "Thursday Night Out." The Women in Business club organized a networking event with The Women's Council, giving students an opportunity for one-on-one time with successful business leaders. The council women that attended committed to accepting two follow up meetings with students, a great way to connect on a more detailed level. Frequently referred to as informational interviews, these are a valuable tool available to MBA's.

Networking events like these are an important way to build and grow your network-these connections can lead to career opportunities, mentorships, friendships, and future business partnerships.

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Large donation supports the continued collaboration between Leeds and Engineering

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 17:45:48 +0000

Large donation supports the continued collaboration between Leeds and Engineering Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/17/2018 - 11:45

Dan Caruso, founder, chairman and CEO of Zayo Group along with his wife Cindy recently gave a $2 million donation to ��Ƶ Boulder through The Caruso Foundation. This donation is designed to help fund key initiatives and support for support innovation, entrepreneurship and diversity on campus. Their gift helps fund the collaboration between the Leeds School of Business and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Increasing funding for entrepreneurial activities at Leeds helps foster new business creation, diversity and inclusion. Read the full story on the collaboration efforts of Dean Sharon Matusik and Dean Bobby Braun as this gift supports key initiatives.

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Diversity and Inclusion lunch and learn

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 20:07:48 +0000

Diversity and Inclusion lunch and learn Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/04/2018 - 14:07

Susanna Wright

Our Global Business Club brought in speaker Cecil Sunder, Technology Solutions Strategist at Microsoft and Leeds MBA alumni, to discuss diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Microsoft has over 20 years of committed diversity and inclusion efforts. Microsoft defines diversity “not as a finite goal; it is a journey that requires constant self-assessment and recommitment.” In the end, a diverse and inclusive environment will result in better ideas, better products, and better outcomes for customers. How can you be diverse and inclusive at Microsoft? Their answer: Awareness, curiosity, and courage.

We started the conversation by defining diversity and inclusion and recognizing the differences between them.

Diversity is the full range of human and/or organizational differences and similarities.

Inclusion is the process of leveraging the power of differences and similarities to effectively integrate everyone into the culture of the organization to achieve a common objective.

Cecil made a great point—inclusion is not “we,” it is a lot of “I.” He posed the question, “What are YOU doing to be inclusive of others?” There is a gap between “we” and “I,” and the “I” needs to be a focus. Ask yourself, “Am I being inclusive to my own teammates?”

True diversity and inclusion is a culture; it has to be empowered from the top levels of the company. Diversity can enable inclusion, but it is not a recipe for it. When people try to identify within a sub-group and not celebrate others’ perspectives, there can be a real challenge. Cecil emphasized the importance of appreciating the differences in others, persistence, and integrity, and not just trying to fit in. My favorite quote from our lunch hour was “Don’t work too hard on fitting in; work too hard on learning things.” If you are authentic and honest, your team, leaders, and peers will accept you.

Cecil mentioned several statistics about diversity, inclusion, and profitability. The report he referenced is viewable here. I found this exhibit particularly useful in understanding how diversity positively impacts a company’s earnings:

Our conversation also addressed unconscious bias; what you don’t know can hurt others. I will end with a quote that Cecil shared: “Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized.” –Benjamin Haydon, Artist & Lecturer.

We are so grateful to Cecil for sharing his time, perspective, and insights with us!

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Lunch RoundTable with Sendgrid

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 19:56:30 +0000

Lunch RoundTable with Sendgrid Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/02/2018 - 13:56

Susanna Wright

Our Women in Business club recently hosted VP, Revenue Marketing Carly Brantz for a lunch roundtable discussion. Carly (also a ��Ƶ alum!) shared a variety of information with us, including marketing technologies used at Sendgrid, tips for managing a team, and what it is like to watch a company grow.

One comment that Carly made that really stood out was “management is a lot of psychology.” Carly told us a few stories about how she has had to customize her communication style to different direct reports; not everyone responds to the same motivations, cues, and messages.

Another key to Carly’s success has been cross-functional communication. She shared an example of how she has connected the marketing team with the compliance team to better understand why and how users can get banned from using the site. Spamming is a serious problem in the industry, but sometimes new customers are just uneducated with respect to the software’s uses and guidelines—however, this behavior can look suspiciously like spamming and they end up getting banned as well.

Sendgrid takes a lot of pride in their company culture and has a rigorous screening process for prospective employees. We learned about the “four H’s”—Happy, Humble, Hungry, and Honest. The company has four different interviewers each represent one of the “H’s” to evaluate the candidate’s fit with that specific characteristic.

Carly provided amazing insights into marketing, Sendgrid, and management strategies; we learned a lot and appreciate her time!

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The Socratic Seminar

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 13:25:43 +0000

The Socratic Seminar Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/22/2018 - 07:25

Susanna Wright

On March 15 the Women in Business club hosted a Socratic Seminar, led by alumni Julie Penner, Director of Techstars Boulder. Julie has a JD/MBA from the University of Colorado.

What is a Socratic Seminar? Socratic Seminars are named their embodiment of Socrates’ believe in the power of asking questions—they prioritize discussion over debate and acknowledge the social aspect of learning. The Socratic Seminar is a formal discussion based on anything—a book, a movie, even art. The leader asks open-ended questions and the students listen to comments from others, think critically, and articulate their own thoughts and responses to the text and each other. It’s not about a right or wrong answer; it’s about meeting and making something together.

Every Socratic Seminar has a shared text. Julie selected “Out of the Shadow, Into the Light” from Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer. It is a text discussing five “shadows” that affect leaders. This text initiated a lot of discussion about self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

Julie uses Socratic Seminars as a way to bring leadership topics to entrepreneurs. These discussions “take you on a journey to decide who you are as a leader.”

We enjoyed the exposure to a new type of group discussion and certainly will keep this method in mind for future team-building exercises. A big thank-you to Julie for walking us through our first Socratic Seminar!

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Reblog - The Doyenne Project

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 18:11:45 +0000

Reblog - The Doyenne Project Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/14/2018 - 12:11

Susanna Wright

MBA 2018 candidate Alicia Hines created her own blog called The Doyenne Project. She interviews powerhouse business women that she looks up to and shares this information with us—I highly recommend checking it out! What does “Doyenne” mean? A woman who is the most respected or prominent person in a particular field. With Alicia’s permission, we’re reposting one of our favorite posts so far—an interview with Katica Roy.

KATICA ROY
on gender equity, risk taking, and knowing your value

Katica Roy is an impressive individual.

As the daughter and sister of refugees, she fostered a deep reserve of grit, understanding the importance of always doing her best and never giving up. She leaned in throughout her career, choosing challenging roles, and rose to the position of Global VP in the Office of the CEO at a multinational enterprise software corporation. That’s a big position at a big company.

Then, she took a big leap.

She ventured out on her own to start a company to address gender inequity in the workplace. She makes a persuasive argument that we won’t achieve gender equity until we make it an economic issue. This is why she left her successful career and founded Pipeline, a company that makes software to increase financial performance of companies through operationalizing gender equity.

The data is strong that shows that diversity is good for business and that getting more women into all ranks of business improves financial outcomes. Essentially, Pipeline is software that connects to the company’s own human capital management system to “make recommendations that support improved financial performance for the organization, as well as growth for the individual”. It essentially ties gender diversity and inclusion directly to the economic outcomes for the companies that use it. A practical solution to a big problem.

(Told you she is impressive.)

Katica and I spent considerable time talking about the barriers that women face in achieving gender equity and also touched on a few other meaty topics. You’ll find my biggest takeaways below.

TAKEWAYS

1. GENDER EQUALITY REQUIRES STRUCTURAL SHIFTS

As a business woman still early in my career, the topic of gender equity is routinely on my mind. I have spent a lot of time researching the barriers that women face in business. Most of the articles and research I have read make a moral argument for gender equality, that it’s the right thing to push for. The trouble is, not everyone agrees (or cares), in fact, some people outright resist women’s advancement in business.

That’s why, when Katica shared her perspective that we won’t shift gender equity until we make it an economic issue, I felt the lightbulb go on. Gender equity is not just the right thing, it’s the smart thing.

And the data is strong that shows that diversity is good for business. Here are just a few tidbits to blow your mind:

There’s clearly a strong business case for increasing racial and gender diversity in our companies, but as Katica and the folks at Pipeline point out, we have to “fix the leaky pipeline”. It’s not enough to know that our businesses will benefit from diversity, we have make changes in how we hire, promote, and compensate women and minorities to reap their benefits. If we just stay our current course, It will take 168 years to reach gender equality in the US. :(

If you want to learn more about what’s getting in the way of gender equity, and some of the solutions that are bubbling up, check out the resources linked at the bottom of the page. There are a bunch of killer articles by Katica as well as the LeanIn.Org/McKinsey and World Economic Forum studies which are jam-packed with good info.

2. TAKE CAL��ƵLATED RISKS

Growing up in a single-parent household where the money was always tight, I developed a pretty strong aversion to risk. (It’s really hard to free-fall into uncertainty when there’s no safety net to catch you.)

I have worked for many years to get more comfortable with risk taking, but I am still blown away by people that believe in the power of their ideas and have enough fire in their bellies to go after their dreams.

Katica is one of those inspiring entrepreneurs. It took a lot of courage for her to leave her successful career at a global organization to invest time and money in creating, launching, and building Pipeline.

When I asked Katica about her thoughts on risk-taking, her responses were so good that I just started writing down everything she said, verbatim.

“Courage is a muscle — when exercised it gets stronger.” I love this! Not only does it help you muster courage in the moment, keeping this little refrain in mind gives hope that these moments will get easier in the future.
“Mindfulness matters. There is a difference between how we feel and how we behave. I can feel the way I feel, but I don’t have to act on it.” Ya’ll, we don’t have to act out of fear! This reminds me of the popular saying “Feel the fear. Do it anyway.”, but goes a step further to give you a tiny roadmap for how to do what scares you. You pause. Check in with yourself. Question the fear…and then move. This approach acknowledges that jumping from fearing to doing isn’t straightforward or easy.

She also recognizes that there is a practical, tactical approach to risk-taking. “Don’t be foolhardy. Do your homework. Minimize the downside, and then jump.”

A lot of work went into launching Pipeline. She didn’t blindly fall. If she had found that there wasn’t a market for Pipeline or that it couldn’t be done technologically, I’m sure she wouldn’t have pursued it.

Good news: you can remove a lot of the risk in risk-taking just by doing your homework.

3. SERVE A HIGHER PURPOSE

When I asked Katica how she manages the desire to be liked, her answer surprised me. She told me, “My value is that I’m a truth-teller. That’s not always popular, but it’s valuable.” Of course, she clarified that she is mindful to say things in such a way that the people she’s telling would be receptive. “It’s not about being nice, it’s about being effective”. It’s about identifying what the important goal is (the success of the project), and working toward that end.

She knows the value she provides in a team or an organization, which provides a higher purpose that is greater than her desire to be liked.

This reminded me of what Sarah Williamson had said to me just a few days before – that being respected is different than being liked. It’s about doing the right thing, even if it’s hard.

One final thing on this topic: I think it’s very powerful to find (and flex) the thing that provides value to your organization. But, don’t forget — you must use that power wisely.

Sure, it’s not about being nice, but being effective means that your approach needs to be appropriate for the situation. If you’re a truth-teller like Katica, then you need to make sure to read your audience and deliver your message in a way that they’ll be open to. If you’re decisive, you might need to bring others along in your decision-making process. If you’re good at predicting roadblocks, you may have to keep an open mind so that you’re not obstructionist.

You get the point.

HERE’S THAT BONUS MATERIAL I PROMISED:

From Katica:

LeanIn.Org/McKinsey & Company:

Women in the Workplace Study

World Economic Forum:

The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

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