Career Advice Greatest Hits
View From the C-Suite: Women Leaders in Conversation
Summary
We’ve mixed you a tasty cocktail of career advice from some of the wisest women in the C-suite, including executives from Coca-Cola, Webex by Cisco, Pfizer, and Hyundai, on a wide variety of topics ranging from general career advice to why the current moment presents new opportunities in business for women of color.
Highlights
Get tips on:
• Channeling passion into career advancement
• Winning the war on imposter syndrome
• Understanding the vital role that mistakes play in your professional growth
About
We’ve mixed you a tasty cocktail of career advice from some of the wisest women in the C-suite, including executives from Coca-Cola, Webex by Cisco, Pfizer, and Hyundai, on a wide variety of topics ranging from general career advice to why the current moment presents new opportunities in business for women of color.
Panelists
Aruna Ravichandran
(She/Her)
Aruna Ravichandran is Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Cisco’s Webex Collaboration, responsible for promoting Cisco’s $6B Collaboration Technology business. A passionate advocate for customers with 20+ years of technology industry experience, Aruna also serves on the Advisory Board of the Graphic Communication Department at California Polytechnic State University. She has published two books on DevOps and is a contributing blogger for the Forbes Technology Council.
Angela Zepeda
(She/Her)
Angela Zepeda is the chief marketing officer for Hyundai Motor America and is responsible for all of Hyundai’s marketing and advertising activities in the U.S. Angela has built a career on consumer-centric campaigns that build brands and drive business results, and she is an expert in online and digital marketing. Angela was most recently SVP and Managing Director at Hyundai’s agency of record INNOCEAN USA.
Ronalee Zarate-Bayani
(She/Her)
Ronalee Zarate-Bayani is responsible for defining and cultivating the Rams brand, serving as a key member in shaping the experiences of the new 300-acre Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park and creating a modern L.A. entertainment experience for the next generation of fans. She is passionate about building brands, especially through modern digital experiences and holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Suma Nallapati
(She/Her)
Suma Nallapati is the Senior VP of DISH IT, with over 20 years of experience. Most recently, she was Colorado’s Secretary of Technology. She has been named one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity Council, one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado, and CIO of the Year. Suma lives in Colorado with her family.
Fumbi Chima
(She/Her)
Fumbi joined BECU in 2020 with more than 25 years of experience in both the retail and financial sectors. She leads BECU’s IT division, overseeing its technology strategy, information and operations. Before joining BECU, Fumbi was Chief Information and Digital Officer at adidas in Germany and held similar roles at Walmart Asia and American Express. She serves on the board of Africa Prudential, Women at Risk International Foundation, and The AZEK Company.
Bea Perez
(She/Her)
Beatriz “Bea” Perez leads an integrated team to support the company’s new growth model and purpose—to refresh the world and make a difference. Bea aligns a diverse portfolio of work against critical business objectives to support brands, communities, and partners worldwide. She is a strong advocate for community service, serving on various boards including The Coca-Cola Foundation, the company’s global philanthropic arm.
Diane Schwarz
(She/Her)
Diane manages IT investments while being responsible for leading a reliable, business-aligned IT organization. She develops and executes an enterprise-wide IT strategy to help Johnson Controls achieve its global growth objectives. The former Senior VP and Chief Digital & Information Officer for Hunt Consolidated, Diane has more than 20 years of experience in building and leading best-in-class IT teams. She previously served as CIO and Vice President of Textron, Inc.
Miya Gray
(She/Her)
Miya Gray brings 20 years of customer-focused leadership experience in healthcare and medical technology to her current role as the Vice President of Customer Experience and Engagement (CX&E) at Pfizer. Previously, Miya served in a variety of leadership positions at healthcare startups Apervita and BrainScope, as well as Surescripts, a nationwide health information network. Miya holds a Master of Science in Engineering Economic Systems & Operations Research from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Lisa Davis
(She/Her)
Lisa Davis is SVP and CIO at Blue Shield of California. She is driving Blue Shield toward a future state of healthcare, transforming the IT business model and leveraging digital technology, data, and analytics to accelerate the delivery of capabilities and improve the member and provider experience. Lisa has been an IT leader in high tech, academia, and the federal government. She holds a Master of Science from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University.
Michelle Froah
(She/Her)
Michelle leads the stewardship of MetLife’s global brand and identifies insights and strategies to better anticipate and deliver on customer needs, drive stronger relationships, while measuring impact through analytics. She has had senior roles that built brands and innovation end to end with P&G, Kimberly-Clark and Samsung, where she was instrumental in Samsung’s brand re-building efforts in the aftermath of the Note7 recall, helping to re-establish trust with consumers. Michelle holds an MBA from the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa as well as a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University.
Dee Mc Laughlin
(She/Her)
Dee has 22 years of industry experience and has been with Capital Group, home of American Funds, for four years. Prior to joining Capital, Dee worked as a vice president of global marketing at Forever 21 and a senior vice president, brand marketing & creative at MTV Networks. Before that, she was a vice president of marketing at Virgin Entertainment Group working under Richard Branson. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Loughborough University, England.