On August 18, 2016, Darden was honored to sponsor and participate in Women Who Lead: Secrets of Success, a breakfast panel event hosted by the Washington Business Journal and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation which focused on women leaders in tech. Designed to bring together and support professional women in the D.C. Metro area, the event provided an open forum for women to connect through shared challenges, inspire and encourage each other and celebrate successes.
Panelists ranged from Millennial age to Baby Boomer, coming from large and small organizations, providing varied perspectives on what it means to be a female leader in business today.
- Jennie Blumenthal, Partner in Hospitality & Leisure, PwC
- Samantha Cicotello, VP of People Operations, Social Tables
- Allison Cryor DiNardo, President, King Street Wireless
- Ainsley V. MacLean, M.D. Regional Medical Director for Imaging Services, Kaiser Permanente
One of the panelists, Darden alumna Allison Cryor DiNardo (MBA ’88), shared her perspective on career hindsight, revealing that her accomplishments may be impressive looking back over the successful companies she’s started and sold; but at the time, she was just keeping her head down and working through what needed to be done from day to day. Success comes in small steps.
Other key insights and discussions centered around:
- Knowing the balance between doing the grunt work and knowing when you need to focus on your goals and show up as a leader
- Mentors vs. sponsors and being able to advocate for yourself and your vision without needing someone to validate you
- Thinking beyond gender and how to be inclusive across all groups
- Not assuming that men automatically have the inside track on relating effectively with other men, as issues may not always be as gender-focused as we imagine, but more individually relational
The sold-out event drew 150+ professional women of all ages from diverse backgrounds, career levels and industries, including healthcare, consulting, finance, nonprofit, energy, education and several others. The enthusiasm generated from the panel discussion provided an opportunity to continue the conversation with attendees and panelists afterward, as well as connect with current and potential Executive MBA students.
As part of Darden’s participation in the event, Executive Education provided a complimentary seat to The Women’s Leadership Program, which was awarded to Jenni Ferguson, Senior IT Project Management and PMO Consultant.
Plans are already in place to host another panel in 2017, which Darden will be pleased to support again.
Washington Business Journal – Part of the American City Business Journals, this is the Washington, D.C. area, media solutions platform featuring publications, websites and industry events specifically targeted to business decision makers.
Washington Area Women’s Foundation – Public foundation whose mission is to mobilize the community to ensure that economically vulnerable women and girls in the Washington region have the resources they need to thrive.
