(From left): Cara Renfroe, Siroui Mushegian, Bethany Bongiorno, Teuila Hanson and Katy Brown discussed leadership and empowerment at the sixth annual Better Together Leadership Summit at Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus.
Lori Wright says a conversation she had with her English teacher in 10th grade completely changed the trajectory of her life.
Until then, Lori had felt unattached and lost in the large public high school.
Then her English teacher, Mrs. Hamston, called Lori and told her she had the energy and drive to achieve more in life.
“She helped me realize that I was in charge of my own life,” Lori says. “I had to act on my own. No one was going to act for me.”
Lori currently serves as corporate vice president of Xbox at Microsoft and was a key executive in managing the company’s largest acquisition in its history, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Lori shared her story during a keynote address at the sixth annual Better Together event hosted by Bay Area Women at Microsoft on December 5 at Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus, which was attended by partners and customers from across the region.
Lori shared this powerful lesson, and other hard-won insights, as part of an “advice-packed love letter” to the 200-plus women leaders and their male allies in the audience.
“That’s my message today: You are at the helm,” she said. “People think of the world as very fixed, but the reality is that the world is incredibly fungible. If we can recognize how flexible the world is, we can accomplish amazing things.”
Her message of encouragement to other women in the tech industry aligned well with this year’s event’s theme, “Empower Her.” Katie Brown, corporate vice president at Microsoft and executive sponsor of employee resource group Bay Area Women at Microsoft, said events like this are important to pave the way for more women to enter the tech industry and advance to leadership positions.
“I’m really passionate about these events because they bring us together, build community, and drive meaningful change for women,” Katie says. “There’s a shared purpose across our partners, customers, and within Microsoft to create a space where women feel they can not only participate in the discussion, but lead.”
Katie moderated a panel where female leaders shared their own experiences of seeing opportunities and not being afraid to change course.
Teuila Hanson, Chief People Officer at LinkedIn, shared how she left a career in law after realizing it was fulfilling her father’s dreams, not her own, and pivoted to a more rewarding career path.
“I started a new profession as a diversity professional and then worked in human resources, where I found happiness and joy,” she said. “I’m so excited to work at LinkedIn and be able to impact people’s lives.”
Bethany Bongiorno, CEO and co-founder of Humane, said she was devastated when she wasn’t accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business at age 23. But she didn’t let the disappointment dampen her ambition: She got a job at Apple, where she worked on the iPhone team and was tasked with leading the iPad project.
“I treated Apple like a PhD program. I decided to stay and absorb and be like a sponge,” she said. “It was, hands down, the best thing that ever happened to me.”
(From left): Stephanie Mosticchio, Carla Renfroe, Siloui Musheghian, Katie Brown, Bethany Bongiorno and Teuira Hanson.
The conversation also focused on how to grow as a leader.
Kara Renfroe, senior vice president of operations at Blackhawk Network, said she encourages people to develop mentors and sponsors, especially people who think differently than they do.
“It’s a great way to broaden your horizons and learn something new,” she said.
Kara said it’s important to delegate and trust your team. She also suggested relying on mentors, friends and family to help you bounce back when you hit a low point. She and several other panelists recommended forgiving yourself when you stumble.
“We’re all human, we all make mistakes,” she said. “We learn most when we go through hard times.”
Siroui Mushegian, chief information officer at Barracuda Networks, talked about two things he does to achieve more without losing balance.
“I try to be as organized as possible. I have to write everything down,” she said, “but I also have to take time for myself.”
Ms. Siloi said her husband recently bought her a piano and that she loves to cook. All the panelists recommended making time for the things you love, whether that be yoga, art or horseback riding.
All the women who took to the stage stressed the importance of breaking negative thought patterns. One of the lessons Lori Wright shared was the power of an “upward spiral” rather than a “downward spiral.” She explained that her brain sometimes looks like a “squirrel running around.” She said that sometimes she gets fixated on a thought and it can send her into a “downward spiral very quickly.”
“When your brain starts to go in a negative direction, just catch yourself. Observe. Don’t go in that direction, think in a different way,” says Lori. “Stop, look up, and you’ll find that your life will be a lot happier and more fulfilling.”
Several women who attended the event said they appreciated the Spiral Up concept and plan to incorporate it into their lives.
“This really resonated with me,” said product marketing lead Elizabeth Reynolds. “It’s nice to see women helping other women, being honest and open about their own journeys, and maintaining a positive outlook.”
Sonia Weaver Johnson, a Microsoft account team unit director based in Southern California, was in the Bay Area for the Better Together event, which she said is an important forum for women leaders to come together on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
“We know that women are underrepresented in tech, and the higher up you go in a company, the fewer women there are, even in industries where women have equal representation in the workforce,” she said. “So women need to continue to share their stories and inspire each other.”
PwC generously sponsored this year’s Better Together event, and PwC’s Stephanie Mosticchio said both firms are committed to fostering dialogue and building an ecosystem that enables more women to succeed.
“PwC is incredibly proud to partner with Microsoft,” said Stephanie. “We believe that by continuing to share our stories and support each other, we can create the change we need for younger generations.”
Shairi Desai co-founded the Annual Better Together Leadership Summit six years ago with Sheri Devlin.
Shaili Desai, a Microsoft account executive, co-founded the annual Better Together Leadership Summit six years ago with Cheri Devlin, general manager of business applications for Microsoft’s Software and Digital Platforms business unit, to come together with customers and partners to talk about how to advance more women into leadership roles in the tech industry, they say.
“Our goal has always been to create a platform for women to help women because we know that we can do better when we work together to pave the way and give back so others can follow,” Shelley said.
“Success isn’t about climbing the ladder,” Shairi said, quoting former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, one of her favorite leaders. “Success is about how many women you bring with you.”
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