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Women in Tech Changing the Game: Fairygodboss

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Georgene​ ​Huang​ ​is​ ​the​ ​CEO​ ​and​ ​Co-founder​ ​of​ ​Fairygodboss,​ the largest career community for women out there. She’s one of the women in tech changing the game for everyone. The Fairygodboss Story began when Georgene, a young executive about to become a mom, realized that none of the platforms available for free really helped her (and other women like her) with the necessary information or guidance to make well-informed professional choices and achieve her career goals.

Georgene Huang, CEO & Co-Founder, Fairygodboss, one of the most powerful women in tech changing the game for everyone is honored with the Hall of Fame.

Georgene Huang, CEO & Co-Founder, Fairygodboss, one of the most powerful women in tech changing the game for everyone is honored with the Hall of Fame.

The tech startup provides career resources and hundreds of leading global employers that are looking to attract, recruit, and retain more diverse talent among their ranks. Giving millions of women connections, advice, and hard-to-find intel on how companies treat women and other relevant information like salaries, allyship, and maternity leave policies. A ​Cornell and​ ​Stanford​ graduate, Georgene previously ran​ ​the​ ​enterprise​ ​business​ ​at​ ​Dow​ ​Jones​ ​and​ ​was​ ​a Managing​ ​Director​ ​at​ ​Bloomberg​ ​Ventures.

For leveling the playing field as one of the most visible women in tech changing the game; for creating a platform for women to thrive in their careers that millions already benefit from, we honor Georgene Huang with the 2022 Hall of Fame.

Other Red Shoe Movement Hall of Fame Honorees

The Fairygodboss Story and the Woman Behind It 

RED SHOE MOVEMENT – Tell us a little about how you came up with the idea for Fairygodboss? How has your personal experience prepared you?

GEORGENE HUANG – The idea for Fairygodboss came to me when I was a young, female, and pregnant executive. I was using these free career resources like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor and not seeing the information I needed to make the best decisions about what workplaces would be a good fit for my ambitions. We have a social mission as a company, but I pursued Fairygodboss as a business because I saw a large market opportunity and interest in both users and employers.

RSM – What would you say have been some of the biggest struggles Fairygodboss has faced on the road to becoming the largest career community for women?

GH – I think going from 0-1 for any business is difficult and many of our struggles are like those of other startups. My job has always been to hire the best people I can and help them to be better and deliver that every day.

Georgene Huang is one of the women in tech changing the game. Take a look at Fairygodboss!

Georgene Huang is one of the women in tech changing the game. Take a look at Fairygodboss!

Women in tech Changing the Game

RSM – You’ve raised millions of dollars in funding since you co-founded Fairygodboss, what are some of the most valuable lessons your experience has taught you about venture funding?

GH – Venture funding is not the only path to raising financing and it’s best suited to companies
that have or need high levels of growth, investment, and scale to capture the market opportunity adequately. As opposed to slower, steadier business opportunities that can self-finance or should pursue less dilutive forms of capital.

Bringing Untapped Talent into Tech

RSM – What strategies should companies adopt to ensure they’re recruiting the top female talents out there?

GH – They have to make the effort! Companies employ brilliant people and invest capital and resources to solve all kinds of tremendous business problems and therefore I believe companies and leadership teams can achieve whatever they set their sights on.

What Are Women Looking For?

RSM – According to your data, what are some of the areas that Fairygodboss users seem to need the most guidance in? And what are career-minded women looking for in the workplace?

GH – Many Fairygodboss users want advice about navigating career change and nuanced situations that come up at work with their managers and colleagues. There is also always a healthy number of people looking for advice around the job-search process.

Career-minded women are not a homogenous bunch and I try hard to avoid generalizing about such a large population. Some women want to be CEOs and others are just looking for a company culture where they feel they can thrive and achieve the income and work-life balance they want.

RSM – Would you mention other woman in tech changing the game?

GH – We just announced that TheMuse is acquiring Fairygodboss. TheMuse has been led for over a decade by Kathryn Minshew. She and her team have been working on next generation job search and employee recruiting for over a decade and she’s been a real trailblazer in this space.

Business Resilience & How to Achieve Big Dreams

Georgene Huang inspirational words

Georgene Huang inspirational words

Management and Our Own Role as Women Changing the Game

RSM – If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?

GH – There are no silver bullets nor quick, overnight fixes. Otherwise, there would already be more women represented in leadership and management roles today. Representation in leadership roles of diverse talent is a systemic (and social) problem that requires active investment in fair and equitable recruiting and hiring practices as well as a deep, hard look at company culture, practices, and policies. Ultimately, management must believe it’s important to focus on this and expect that as a multi-faceted problem, it will take time to implement change.

RSM – If you could suggest one action that women could take to accelerate their career growth, what would it be?

GH – Whether you’re a woman or a man, if you aspire to leadership you need to become comfortable with taking risks and operating outside your comfort zone. This means embracing the possibility and likely fact of failing and having the resilience to learn from mistakes and pick yourself up to move on. Take on the most challenging assignments and roles you can.

Walking in Women’s Shoes: 10-year Journey of an Overnight Success

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It’s true: In the time of Tik Tok and Instagram some people do become an overnight success literally overnight. Yet, most of the overnight successes out there have walked a long, arduous journey to get here. I should know. I’ve been walking in women’s shoes for a decade.

Today I can participate in #RedShoeTuesday with my red toe nails

Today I can participate in #RedShoeTuesday with my red toe nails

Today I can walk barefoot with only red toenails and still participate in the Red Shoe Movement’s 10-year-old #RedShoeTuesday campaign. But it all started with a pair of traditional stilettos.

That’s right. Moreover, if you would’ve told me back in 2012 that almost nobody would be wearing high heels by 2020, I would’ve laughed out loud. But that’s what happened when the pandemic hit and we all stayed home with no need to dress up, much less to put on real shoes. Sock, sleepers, and sneakers have become the name of the game!

But ten years ago, when my book Find Your Inner Red Shoes (Penguin) came out — an invitation for women to define success for themselves to better align their aspirations with their goals— it featured a pair of red stilettos on the cover. They represented power with femininity.

Find Your Inner Red Shoes Book Cover

Find Your Inner Red Shoes Book Cover

As a result of having to explain the cover to every single journalist who interviewed me during the book’s media tour, we launched #RedShoeTuesday, the day when we all wear red shoes and ties to go to work to keep up the conversation around gender equity. And about designing workplaces that foster inclusion. Yes, that’s how the initiative was born: My reaction on live TV to the umpteenth time someone asked me “What do the red stilettos on the cover mean?” And don’t think it escapes me how dated this last paragraph is with concepts like ties and TV!

Walking in women’s shoes started with two awesome partners

Partnering with Lola Ramona out of Denmark and with Faryl Robin out of New York was powerful.

Partnering with Lola Ramona out of Denmark and with Faryl Robin out of New York was powerful.

Of course, after the cat was out of the bag, we put a lot of thought behind the initiative and from the very beginning we encouraged women to wear whatever kind of shoes they preferred. To discover what felt like their metaphoric inner red shoe, what made them feel unique so they could reflect that in their careers and shoe choices. I respected my own whimsical style and partnered with Lola Ramona, a Danish designer who created shoes for women unafraid to make a statement. A little bit down the line, Faryl Robin, another of the very few woman shoe designers, joined the Red Shoe Movement as well.

 

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Walking in women's shoes started with red stilettos and quickly moved to fun shoes with red details

Very quickly, I went from those first stilettos in which I could barely stand, to stripes, dots, and bows which motivated me to stay creative with my clothes and my brand and to further encourage others to fully embrace their own unique styles.

Men joined us very early on as both the company and the #RedShoeTuesday campaign have always advocated for men and women to walk side by side, to learn from each other and support each other’s careers. First, they wore red ties to take a stand, and many of them even bought red shoes and sneakers. Lately, as we have mostly been meeting virtually, red shirts, blouses, accessories, and lipstick are definitely more common.

At the beginning men wore red ties to show their support. Lately, it's mostly been red shirts and socks!

At the beginning men wore red ties to show their support. Lately, it’s mostly been red shirts and socks!

Some of what we’ve done we planned from the beginning, like our 7 RSM Principles, our leadership development programs for women and our marketing communications campaigns to promote gender equity. But a lot of it we created as we walked in women’s shoes. As we noticed we needed more programming to promote a culture of inclusion and allyship in organizations if women were going to be accepted as leaders.

As society continued to evolve and issues of privilege became more salient, as the definition of gender moved away from the binary men-women, so did we evolve. Our awards platform is a good example. We began by recognizing traditional corporate C-Suite leaders l and we now recognize a wider scope of leaders who are moving the needle in various spaces. And we have also started to bring art into our communication initiatives to connect us all and bring more diverse voices to the table. Such has been the case with our “Ring the Bell on the 7 Seas” and our upcoming #WingsOfCourage.

Along the way, I fulfilled my dream of being a TEDx speaker (here’s one talk and here is the other) and I practically dropped my heels in exchange for much more comfortable boots, flats, and Converses.

Part of walking in women's shoes meant to record one of my TEDx from the kitchen: the new office!

Part of walking in women’s shoes meant to record one of my TEDx from the kitchen: the new office!

 

It’s been a long, humbling experience to walk in women’s shoes all these years. I met many young women who had no idea what they wanted to do when they grew up and saw them flourish into powerful professionals. I developed long-lasting friendships with executives who early on put their faith in our work and who continue to champion us no matter where their careers take them. I’ve seen many men advocate for our initiatives and push for change. And over this decade I’ve cultivated hundreds of mutual mentoring relationships with people around the globe.

It wasn’t all a bed of roses

Naturally, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve experienced a good dose of rejection, many moments of unpredictability, and even backstabbing along the way.  The fact that I don’t focus on them is an intentional choice.  Just like any other entrepreneur, the only reason I survived the bad times is because I had a core group of friends and colleagues who had my back. To them goes all my gratitude.

As I continue walking in women’s shoes, the next decade looks both promising and scary. Promising as the conversation expands beyond the limiting definitions of gender and our organizations become more inclusive of everyone. Scary because it’s often a mere performative act that has little authentic interest in understanding the experience of the different groups that have been trying for decades to make room for themselves at the top. Moving from performative actions to honest ones will be the real work we’ll all have to embark on over the next few years.

So, although I consider that the Red Shoe Movement and its iconic #RedShoeTuesday campaign have come a long way since we started ten years ago, I believe there’s still a long way to go until we reach equity at all levels of decision-making. I hope you join me in this ongoing journey whether you come along barefoot or wearing the red shoes of your choice.

Red Shoe Movement Signature Event at MetLife

Red Shoe Movement Signature Event at MetLife

 

 

The Art of Inclusion: Scherezade Garcia, visual artist

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Scherezade Garcia was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, into an artistic, socially and politically aware family. It’s easy to see that they inspired the art of inclusion she practices.

Her family nurtured her natural talents and encouraged her to experience a world full of diversity in race, languages, ideologies, and beliefs – all of which are connected by a rich and sometimes ignored history that becomes an integral part of her multi-layered art and the stories she tells.

The interdisciplinary artist is based in New York City. She sits on the Advisory Board of No Longer Empty, an organization dedicated to curating site-responsive pieces that encourage conversations within communities and create unique and inclusive platforms for upcoming New York artists. García also co-founded the Dominican York Proyecto Gráfica, a printmaking collective involving 12 artists of Dominican descent. In New York she’s represented by Praxis Art Gallery.

Scherezade Garcia has consistently strived to defy the norms and address the contradictions of a world that is full of them, as well as the many experiences we share. She approaches them through a lens that brings focus to history, religion, migration in search of “a new land” and a better life. Her pieces are intricate stories that layer medium, that aim to encourage dialogue and, more importantly, inspire action and resistance.

This year, the Red Shoe Movement commissioned her the limited-edition collection of 20/20 Bells that the company features in its Ring the Bell on the 7 Seas initiative.

Scherezade Garcia and the collection of bells commissioned for the Ring the Bell on the 7 Seas. A great example of the art of inclusion.

Scherezade Garcia and the collection of bells commissioned for the Ring the Bell on the 7 Seas. A great example of the art of inclusion.

Aline Cerdán – Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started as an artist? What was your family’s role in your journey to finding a multi-cultural voice?

Scherezade Garcia – I like to say that I come from my childhood, and indeed I do! I was born into a family where storytelling, music, visual art and political awareness were important. Many early memories are connected to our visits to exhibitions, to the theater, and to explore our country. We used to go on road trips to see the country and visit famous historical sites. The conversations about the natives (Tainos,) the Spaniards (Criollos,) the Africans, the French, and the English, our relationship to our sister nation Haiti, and the USA occupations were part of our conversations. It helped me shape my sense of the Caribbean. It unveiled to me the complexity of being from this side of the “Atlantico.”  I was always drawing, and my mother registered me in art classes, then my sister joined me. Many of my Dominican artists’ friends attended those classes as well.

I also had the opportunity of traveling to the USA and Europe at a young age, and those experiences fascinated me! Without realizing at the time, I was curious, outraged, and intrigued (all at once) by our world. It is that collective experience that we all share, the richness of different points of view, the fantastic possibility to experience new flavors, to understand that we are somehow all connected, helped to established in me the importance of family, and then a broader community.

For Scherezade Garcia de Atlantic has a special meaning

For Scherezade Garcia de Atlantic has a special meaning

Scherezade Garcia, book author

AC – Tell us a little about ’Scherezade García: From This Side of the Atlantic’ and what it was like to exhibit your work with your sister iliana emilia.

SG – The books “Scherezade Garcia: From This Side of the Atlantic” and “iliana emilia: The Reason, The Object, The Word,” both edited by Olga U. Herrera, accompany our mid-career survey exhibition “Visual Memory: Home + Place.” The books are about our artistic trajectory, and the chronologies, interviews, and essays portrait our creative lives from a young age to now. The title of my book conveys my fascination with the history of Las Americas. I am fascinated with the experience of Las Americas and the crossing of the Atlantic. My work intends to unveil the many ongoing cultural encounters that continually shape, reshape how we view, perceive, and color Las Americas.

 

My sister and I shared our family, our upbringing, and our values. We usually don’t collaborate, but since we were young, we were always a team. My mother always celebrated our differences, and that was very effective for the success of our sisterhood team!! We overlap in many interests, but the way we interpret, represent, and relate to our world is different. That’s our forte! It is a smooth sail to work with my sister because we complement each other, and we don’t even have to discuss it, it is an organic process. I usually note that she approaches her work from the inside, the personal, intimate; while I approach it through a collective lens.

AC –You’ve talked about a balance between old times and new, how often do you find history repeating itself while working on something new? Are we learning from our past?

SG –As an artist, I aspire to beauty and truth. Such search takes me to a territory “in-between”, searching for balance, and far away from “absolute truth.” I wish I could say with confidence that we learn from the past; the events of our current state of affairs scream about our lack of respect for the history that we all share.

AC – Your work is inclusive, multi-layered and often interdisciplinary, can you tell us how that’s a reflection of your personal history and why layers are important in your pieces?  

SG – As a Caribbean woman, I intrigued and enamored by the many colors residing in my skin, and the presence of many communities coming afloat in my language. It is a landscape of extremes, nothing speaks of balance in the multifarious outcome of this “new land,” the consequences of so many encounters. I see it as totally minimalist or baroque. I approach it in a neo-baroque voice. My neo-baroque view is that more is more, and everything goes. I can be super optimistic and super pessimistic at once. Faith and divinity are also part of the recipe.

Scherezade Garcia inspirational quote

Scherezade Garcia is a key contributor to the action inspired by the RSM 20/20 collection of bells she painted

The art of inclusion

AC – You’ve described the cinnamon shade as an “action of inclusion”, can you tell us about the use of this mix of colors and the importance of the art of inclusion?

SG –The cinnamon figure is a constant in my work since 1996. Mixing all the colors in a palette is an inclusive action, the outcome of such activity is cinnamon color. The new race represented by my ever-present cinnamon figure states the creation of a new aesthetic where “our/everybody’s” history is told. It is all about collective memory, a narrative of union!

AC –Pink has also been used in past pieces to defy color-gender norms and the concepts it has been associated with, what are some other ways in which gender inclusion is showcased in you work?

SG – I like to defy norms by creating visual narratives imbedded in contradiction, for example, I created my oversized pink life vests, challenging the given fragility/sweetness/ of no consequence/girlie of the color pink, to engage in a conversation of survival, migration, of people crossing the sea in search of a better life. What it seems, it is not what it is.

AC –Can you tell us a little about the work you’ve done with Red Shoe Movement for Ring the Bell on the 7 Seas? We know you were commissioned to turn this musical instrument into a work of art and you created a painting called Chromatic Current as part of your Liquid Highway Series.

SG – The sea is the liquid highway and the keeper of our ancestral memory. It carries our stories, our DNA, our memories, and our history. The sea is always in motion carrying every community’s roots. With this project, through painting the bells and dressing them up of sea, I aim to imply the universal connection, the community called by the sound of the bell, and the fluidity of our identities and lives.

AC –You seem determined to tear down barriers; blend lines between countries, race, ideologies, gender, religion, language, aesthetic planes and artistic styles. Do you think art has a responsibility to create conversations?

SG – If artists are the voices of our times, we have the responsibility to provoke thought, engage in conversation and inspire action. It is the most powerful and effective way of resistance.

AC –What was the inspiration behind your installation ‘Liquid Highway’? What it is about water that’s as vital as the land it surrounds?

SG – The Atlantic, this blue liquid road and profound obstacle provokes my imagination. The blue sea represents the way out and the frontier. It maps stories about freedom, slavery and survival; it carries our DNA and it’s an endless source of stories, evolving continuously, reminding us of the fluidity of our identity, our collective memory. Resistance through beauty and joy.

Scherezade Garcia created Chromatic Current as part of her Liquid Highway series

Scherezade Garcia created Chromatic Current as part of her Liquid Highway series

An example of how to leverage your personal traits in your job

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Katie Beirne Fallon went from working for President Obama to heading Corporate Affairs at Hilton Hotels. How did she do it? What traits did she bring with her? Here’s an example of how to leverage your personal traits in your job. Read on!

Katie Beirne Fallon is the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Affairs for Hilton. She has a peculiar background: She was Senior Advisor and Director of Legislative Affairs for President Obama. She was the President’s Chief Liaison with Congress. Before serving the Obama White House, Katie was the Staff Director of the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Center in the U.S. Congress. She also worked for Senator Chuck Schumer. How, I wondered, did she transitioned to her current role at Hilton? What were her personal traits that she carried from job to job?

Katie Fallon in red, is a perfect example of how to leverage your personal traits in your job. Here with Hilton's top executives at a 100th birthday celebration media event.

Katie Fallon in red, is a perfect example of how to leverage your personal traits in your job. Here with Hilton’s top executives at a 100th birthday celebration media event.

Mariela Dabbah— Which of your personal traits have helped you the most to navigate the major crises you confronted in your career in corporate affairs?

Katie Fallon— My old boss likes to say I’m very balanced.

MD— You mean, President Obama?

KF— Yes. (Laughter.) From growing up in a large family (I’m one of eight kids) and from having a growing family myself, I have the ability to ask what’s really important and to allow that perspective to keep me calm and build my patience. I allow it to give me clarity of vision on how to approach a problem without the anxiety of worrying about what would happen if I fail.

MD— Even when you are in the middle of the crisis you are able to tap into that peaceful place?

KF— Yes, and again, I credit the household I grew up in. (Laughter) Because I needed to be the mediator of the family, the person who injected a joke when things got tense… I took that with me. I think that’s one of the main reasons I entered politics. Because I liked negotiating among strong wills and different personalities.

MD— What number child are you?

KF— Second oldest. And my sister and I were born the same year, so we are only 11 months apart.

MD— Given that you are 6’1”, do you think your height has something to do with your ability to see things from above the fray? To always keep a perspective?

KF— I never thought about it that way. When I was a teenager I had a tough time being so tall. I was 5’8” at 13. I slouched and wore flats… But now I own it. In reflecting back, I recall many moments when being the tallest one in the group or on a team, people naturally turned to me to come up with a plan of action or to respond to their questions. So I think it helped me develop my leadership skills.

Katie Fallon learned to negotiate various points of view at home. She's one of 8 kids.

Katie Fallon learned to negotiate various points of view at home. She’s one of 8 kids.

MD— Your last job was working at the White House for President Obama. What skills did you develop there that have prepared you to lead corporate affairs at Hilton?

KF— When Hilton’s CEO, Chris Nassetta, offered me to leave public service to come to work for Hilton, he used an analogy that the hospitality industry —and Hilton in particular —replicates the structure of a political campaign. You have all these properties all over the world that function as local campaigns and the general managers of the properties are like campaign managers.  “Imagine the potential you could have if you could get all our Hilton hotels to advocate for the same thing. To implement the same changes. To drive social impact. To run global campaigns around corporate responsibility. It could be even more impactful than what you’re doing in politics,” he said. That’s what won me over.  I have to say the changes we have done in two and a half years have been larger than what I’ve made in a dozen years in politics.

I don’t think I’d be able to have this impact, however, if I hadn’t had the prior experience. Particularly because there was so much friction and tension in the legislative and advocacy world in the last decade that I had to learn how to navigate very different, polarizing perspectives to get things done. And in a different context, at Hilton we have a variety of stakeholders all aligned to different goals: Owners, suppliers, franchisees, different countries with different regulations… So to navigate all these various perspectives in service of our vision I use a lot of what I learned.

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MD— So what specific traits did you bring from politics?

KF— Putting myself in other people’s shoes so I understand their position, which is a skill I built in my time in politics. Going back to my family, I grew up in a very mixed household, with several very conservative members. I’m one of the few who had more progressive views. Having deep respect for my parents and my siblings’ different perspectives allowed for a civil discourse that ended in us understanding each other.

In the hospitality business we only succeed as a company if we treat each guest as the individual human being they are. That’s going to be our secret sauce in the future too. When you think about that as a massive scale, at Hilton we can catalyze not only our workforce, but also the 166 millions guests from last year alone. Each one of them can make those human connections when they travel.

Respecting each individual as a human being has always been at the core of Katie Fallon's attitude in her personal and professional life.

Respecting each individual as a human being has always been at the core of Katie Fallon’s attitude in her personal and professional life.

Discover your blind spots with this exercise, an alternative to the Johari Window!

MD— Do you think you developed a very thick skin by working in politics and that you apply that in your current job?

KF— Yes. Absolutely. In politics you wake up every morning expecting a crisis. And you had to steel yourself to be able to respond and be confident that your instincts will be sharp. And you are bound to get it wrong. If everyday you deal with a different issue you are bound to make mistakes. I came into politics as a perfectionists and it was hard to adjust to that reality. But you have to bounce right back. Because you have to put your game face back on the next day.

I had the benefit of having bosses who reinforced that in me because nobody understands better the challenges of being publicly scrutinized than elected politicians, so I had bosses who helped me develop that perspective. And over time I became easier on myself.

In my Hilton job, we have different things happening every day and sometimes I get it right and sometimes I get it wrong. Thankfully, I have a team of people around me who are not afraid to question me and I’m not afraid to take their feedback.

An example of how to leverage your personal traits in your job, Katie Fallon went from the White House to Hilton Hotels.

An example of how to leverage your personal traits in your job, Katie Fallon went from the White House to Hilton.

MD— Do you feel that in the last couple of years since you’ve been in this company you’ve seen a clear trajectory for women to the C-Suite and strategies in place for that to happen?

KF— Yes. I’m part of the executive committee that sets our goals every year in terms of women recruiting and women in leadership roles. We co-create the goals with our board which is 44% women. The executive committee is responsible for making sure their functions are tracking those goals. We have a deliberate focus to hold each other accountable to the goals we agreed to. To use myself as an example I may be one of the few women who gave birth while being on an executive committee.  I serve in several boards and in one of them they told me they think I’m the only board member who gave birth while serving on a public company board. The fact that they instituted a parental leave policy on the board because of me speaks volumes. When I told Chris (Hilton’s CEO) that I was pregnant he cried. I was worried about the conversation as we were heading into our 100thbirthday celebration, but he was emotionally happy for me. And you can tell from the way the team looks after me when we travel, and pass my baby around on the plane…

MD— So you could truly say, they walk the walk.

KF— They do. They walk the walk. But it’s more than that. I couldn’t do it without them. They are my family.

Powerful women lead in many ways: Adrienne Arsht proves it!

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Powerful women are not only the CEO’s of their organizations but also philanthropists and deal-makers who exercise their influence behind the scenes. Adrienne Arsht has led both from the front and from the back throughout her career, depending on what the situation called for. Discover how she became a great influencer!

The making of a powerful woman

Powerful women like Adrienne Arsht use their influence in local and national issues

Powerful women like Adrienne Arsht use their influence in local and national issues

Adrienne Arsht is the daughter of the Honorable Roxana Cannon Arsht, the first female judge in the State of Delaware, and Samuel Arsht, a prominent Wilmington attorney. Upon graduation from Villanova Law School in 1966, Arsht was the 11th woman admitted to the Delaware bar – her mother having been the 5th. She began her Delaware law career with Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnel.

In 1969, she moved to New York City and joined the legal department of Trans World Airlines (TWA). She then became the first woman in the company’s property, cargo and government relations departments.

She moved to Washington, DC in 1979 where she initially worked with a law firm, then started her own title company before moving to Miami in 1996 to run her family-owned bank, TotalBank. From 1996 to 2007, Adrienne served as Chairman of the Board of TotalBank. Under her leadership, the company grew from four locations to 14 with over $1.4 billion in assets. In November 2007, she sold the bank to Banco Popular Español and was named Chairman Emerita of TotalBank.

Powerful women take leading roles in civic and artistic organizations

But business has not been her only passion. As it’s often the case with powerful women (and men,) over the years she has taken a leading role promoting artistic, business and civic growth in the three cities she calls home: Washington, D.C., Miami and New York.

She is Founding Chairman of the Adrienne Arsht Center Foundation in Miami, Florida where her $30 million contribution to Miami’s Performing Arts Center in 2008 secured its financial footing and ensured quality cultural programming. In her honor, the Center was renamed the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.

Her support of the transformation of Lincoln Center’s facilities and public spaces was recognized with the dedication of the Adrienne Arsht Stage in Alice Tully Hall. Adrienne has recently spearhead the creation of the Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience at The Atlantic Council where she also endowed the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center in 2013 to focus on the role of South America in the trans-Atlantic world.

Over the years, Adrienne has generously donated funds and resources to numerous organizations. In 2008 she became the first, and still is, the only woman to join the Five Million Dollar Roundtable of United Way of Miami-Dade.

Adrienne Arsht, lawyer, businesswoman, philanthropist

Adrienne Arsht, lawyer, businesswoman, philanthropist

RSM: You’re a widely recognized patron of the arts. How did art enter your life and what makes it so important?

Adrienne Arsht: My passion for art comes from my parents. There was always music in the house. My mother played the piano.  I took piano and ballet lessons.  Every Saturday we would listen on the radio to the Texaco live broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera. I was fortunate to go to theater in Wilmington, Delaware and New York City to experience Broadway. I cannot imagine a world without the arts. When giving to the arts, you are preserving the essence of civilization for now and for hundreds of years to come. It is thrilling to know that a gift to the arts will be shared by people in a future we can’t even imagine. Art is part of who we are and helps define us. It has been treasured for centuries and will continue indefinitely.

RSM: Could you share the role philanthropy plays in your life?

AA: Philanthropy is not just about giving money – it is about giving one’s time as well. It is the footprint that we leave.

RSM: Many of your signature gifts have been to large performing arts complexes. Why have you chosen those as a focus of your philanthropy?

AA: A performing arts complex offers an extraordinary value to a city. It brings the arts in their many forms  to everyone of every generation and every interest. The Arsht Center has played a key role in the resurgence and transformation of the immediate area, the city of Miami and beyond.

Another powerful woman you should read about: Lisa Lutoff-Perlo!
Adrienne Arsht, one of the most powerful women in America, meets with Mexican president Peña Nieto in the context of her work with the Atlantic Council.

Adrienne Arsht, one of the most powerful women in America, meets with Mexican president Peña Nieto in the context of her work with the Atlantic Council.

RSM: You are very involved with causes in Latin America. What’s your motivation?

AA: In 1996, I moved to Miami to run TotalBank. After selling the bank in 2007, I moved back to Washington, DC. But, it became immediately clear to me that there was a need to find a way to integrate the interests of Latin America with Europe and the United States to shape the global future and create a broad community of common values. In 2013, this became a reality with the creation of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council. This Center is dedicated to forging an effective Latin America-US-Europe partnership of common values and shared interests.  I am thrilled to spearhead an initiative that will embrace Latin America as an integral part of the transatlantic world and give this vibrant region the recognition it deserves.

Two powerful women: Adrienne Arsht and Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

Two powerful women: Adrienne Arsht and Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

RSM: Negotiating is an art in itself. What were some of the key takeaways from negotiating the sale of TotalBank, your family owned-bank to Banco Popular Español in 2007?

AA: One Word – Patience!

RSM: How would you describe your leadership style?

AA:

Don’t whine.

Life is not fair.

Just deal with it.

Humor and laughter.

Raised voices and four letter words do not get you anywhere!

RSM: Would you share with us one of the worst mistakes you made in your career and what you learn from it?

AA: I decided to reinvent Casual Friday and make it more a Dressed Up Friday based on our wonderful holiday party where everyone looked simply glamorous and festive. The idea was good but I had not taken into consideration how the employees would be able to do this. Coming to work on subways and buses or dropping children off at school would not work in party clothes. So lesson learned: When wanting to implement a new idea make sure you get full buy in on the project before putting it out there!

RSM: How do you want to be remembered?

AA: I want to be remembered as a good friend and someone who had courage. Our time on earth is a gift. We pay rent for the time on earth and that rent is how we give back. Making the world a better place is the basis for all I do. I learned these values from both my parents.

My Mother was compared to Joan of Arc – someone willing to die for a cause. I hope that I would do the same.