Last Thursday, a few TYP members and I were lucky enough to attend the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Women in Leadership’ dinner at the Doubletree Hotel.
To put it simply, the event was inspiring. As a female young professional, it can sometimes be tough to find women in powerful leadership roles to look up to. However, there was no shortage of such significant women at this dinner. Led by chamber CEO and President Pat Dando, the event focused on celebrating women leaders and developing those of tomorrow. Being present in a room filled with such enthusiasm and encouragement was inspiring.
Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO and candidate for governor of California, was the keynote speaker. After sharing a bit about her childhood, education and personal life, Meg spoke candidly about her time at eBay. She also shared her thoughts about the current state of California. In her opinion, the state is bankrupt and the system is broken. She intends to fix it by focusing on job creation, job retention and rejuvenating the education system.
It would be hard not to be inspired when listening to Meg speak. She looks at problems in a direct and unbiased way, proposing solutions that could actually make a difference. Fixing the education system in California is a huge goal for Meg, something we’ll be focusing on at our own Town Hall meeting on Tuesday.
During a question and answer portion of the event, Pat asked Meg what advice she would give to young professionals. She shared that – above all else – we need to do what we love. In her opinion, you’ll never become a successful business leader without loving your profession. Secondly, Meg shared that we should pick a great partner to share life with. They will be the one person you rely on indefinitely and you need to be with someone that will be an equal partner. Meg also shared the best piece of advice she’s ever received, “You never know what’s going to happen in life, but always give it your very best.”
The steps made by women leaders like Pat and Meg deserve to be recognized and celebrated by our TYP generation. As Pat pointed out many times on Thursday, it is up to us to carry on their work. We are the future leaders of the business world and our local communities. As such, we need to learn from their successes and mistakes in order to grow as leaders, something that is a major goal of TYP.
-Kate Sowell, TYP member and account executive at LEWIS PR
(from left to right) Bill Klein, Hopkins & Carley, Immediate Past Chair of Chamber Board of Directors; Chuck Reed, Mayor of San José; ack Wimberly, Chairman of Today’s Young Professionals (a SJSVCC group); Pat Dando, President & CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce
(from left to right) Kate Sowell, TYP member; Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay and candidate for Governor of Californa; Eliana Caceres, TYP member; Jack WImberly, Chair of TYP
(from left to right) Jack Wimberly, Chair of TYP; Fred Barnes, Executive Editor of The Weekly Standard, Fox News co-host and commentator
Filed under: Events
