Honorees

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Dr. Joanne Kamens, Executive Director of Addgene, a scientific non-profit to accelerate research and discovery.

1.  What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

12 years ago while working in pharma, I realized that I had been at meetings all week and not sat in one meeting with a single other woman. I spent my life being treated equitably by parents, teachers, mentors and bosses, but in one realization, I woke up to what was happening to Women in Science. The pipeline was not leaking, it was gushing. Since then I have dedicated time to working on diversity in science and in the workplace for all underrepresented groups.

2.  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I have had so many mentors I couldn’t name just one. I have a posse of mentors who offer advice, connections and sponsorship whenever I need them. Right now I would say I learn a lot on a daily basis from the founders and leaders at my nonprofit company, Addgene. They keep me on my toes.

3.  What is your biggest goal right now?

Addgene has a unique culture of respect, diversity, professionalism and initiative. Right now I am focused on helping Addgene grow without losing the cultural advantages we enjoy as a mission driven nonprofit.

4.  How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

Connections, connections. My grad school advisor had connections in biotech and pharma and helped me get a few interviews–one turned into an offer at a company at which I enjoyed working and learning for 15 years. The second job came to me via a colleague. While having lunch, I told him I might be ready to make a change. He suggested I join his new start-up as Director of Research. I started at the biotech 4 weeks later.

5.  What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I get up at 5:35 most mornings and head to the gym. I like to be at work before most people arrive to have a chance to spend a little time on a tough project and get organized before the day. Then I read my email—who doesn’t?

6.  How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time?

I felt great. I had just given birth to my second precious child. She was my best birthday present ever. I was working with a great group of scientists in pharma. We worked together to make sure we could all make progress at work and at home so I was enjoying success in both spheres.

7.  How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I am an observant, orthodox Jew so for my entire life, along with my family, I have kept the Jewish Sabbath for 25 hours each week. From Friday sundown to Saturday sundown each week, I do not use any telephones, computers, or travel any way except by foot. We enjoy leisurely meals, take walks, socialize with friends, play board games and read books. I don’t know how people who don’t take a day to unplug manage to resist smartphone addiction and spend quality time with their loved ones.

8.  What was the last business book you read?

I am reading The High-Velocity Edge by Steven Spear. I am thinking of doing some team building programs with my Management Team based on some of the principles in this book.

9.  What cause do you most want to advance?

I dedicate most of my free time to helping advance the cause of diversity and equal opportunity in science especially for women. A scientist has to be a scientist to be happy. We need to make the most of our talent and make sure all scientists can access diverse careers in which they will succeed and be able to contribute.

10.  What song can’t you get out of your head?

I keep listening to Ho Hey by the Lumineers in my car in the morning. It makes me happy and seems to complement my beautiful drive along the Charles River.

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our female disruptors and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This weeks Q & A is with Fran Hauser, partner at Rothenberg Ventures and former President of Digital at Time Inc.

 

 

 

1. What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

I’ve experienced two pivotal moments of reinvention in my career. The first was when I left my Director, Finance role at Coca-Cola Enterprises in 1998 to join Moviefone. Although I didn’t know it then, this marked the beginning of a 15-year career in digital media. My time at Moviefone gave me direct exposure to many functional areas beyond finance, including product, sales strategy, technology and business development. It was this exposure that enabled me to ultimately become the General Manager at Moviefone after it was acquired by AOL and also led to several other GM/President roles at AOL and then at Time Inc.

My second pivotal moment happened just this year when I left Time Inc. to become a Partner at Rothenberg Ventures. I’m excited to work with founder Mike Rothenberg on building the fund and the trailblazing companies in its portfolio. Working with entrepreneurs is infectious. These are people who challenge the status quo and forge new paths because they believe they can change the world. As part of this, I’m also committed to changing the under-representation of VC-backed female founders.

2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

Martha Nelson, former Editor-in-Chief at Time Inc., has been a champion and mentor of mine for the last eight years. She has, among other things, taught me the importance of using a human-centric approach when building consumer products, balancing strategy and execution, and maintaining a thick skin when it comes to office politics and “constructive” criticism!

3.  What is your biggest goal right now?

One of my mentors once asked me: If it were the end of my life, and there was only one question that God could ask me that I had to answer “yes” to, what would I want that question be? My response came to me quickly: “Did you have the greatest possible impact on those you love and on the world at large?” This is the mantra I live by.

4. What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I wake up at 6:30/7:00, have breakfast with my boys and try to get a workout in.

 5. How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I love yoga (which I do once a week) and I am pretty good about taking 15 minutes during my commute to listen to music or a podcast. I also love spending time with my girlfriends; I always leave feeling happier and lighter.

6. What cause do you most want to advance?

I’m a passionate advocate for women and kids around the world, across a variety of topics including investing in women, human rights and adoption/foster care.

 7. What song can’t you get out of your head?

“Let it Go” from Frozen. I love hearing my kids belt it out especially in the morning when they first wake up.

8. What is your secret indulgence?

Dark chocolate covered peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s!

You can read Fran’s full #40over40 profile here and follow her on twitter here:

 

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Erin McKean, founder of Reverb Technologies, featured by Apple as the Best New App in 37 countries, and Wordnik, the world’s largest online dictionary. 

1.  What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

Going from being editor-in-chief of American dictionaries at OUP to being the founder & CEO of a venture-backed technology startup was a huge shift. Suddenly my job wasn’t to “do things right” but to “do the right things” — a huge difference!

2.  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

Roger McNamee, who was our first investor at Wordnik/Reverb, and who is our chairman of the board, has always been the first to say “you can do this!” and the first to give me advice as to how.

3.  What is your biggest goal right now?

We just announced last week (at Pop!Tech in Camden, ME) that Wordnik.com is becoming a not-for-profit! It’s very exciting.  Wordnik has always been mission-driven, with the mission of making as much information as possible about as many words as possible available to as many people as possible. Now I will be able to make pursuing that mission my main focus.

Reverb, which developed out of the core Wordnik word graph technology, is continuing as a for-profit startup. (It’s due to Reverb’s success that we have the opportunity to devote resources to Wordnik.com as a non-profit!) We’ve found that Reverb’s recommendations — both through our app and on the web — really resonate with readers, and are very valuable to publishers! It’s very exciting to build something that both delights consumers and makes money for publishers.

4.  How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

I knew I wanted to work on dictionaries since I was eight years old, but I didn’t get my first dictionary job until my junior year of college at the University of Chicago. I needed a summer job, so I checked the directory of publishers in the library and found ScottForesman, an educational publisher in Glenview, IL, had a children’s dictionary program. So I called them up and asked if they needed interns! I worked there as an intern that summer, a freelancer during my senior year, and was hired full-time after I graduated. I ended up working there about eight years in total, and when I left I was the editorial manager of the department.

About the time the department’s copyright cycle finished (that is, all the dictionaries were updated and published) and it looked like I would start working on other textbooks, Oxford University Press called and asked if I’d be interested in working for them. So I joined OUP, where I worked for about seven years.

Wordnik is essentially the third job I’ve ever had.

5.  What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I usually wake up between 6 and 6:30. I do some stretching and planks, make breakfast (right now I’m obsessed with scrambled eggs & dal makhani, and cold-brew coffee mixed with seltzer), and try not to jump right into email. 🙂 Lately I’ve been trying to read technical explanations first thing in the morning, when I’m fresh. Twice a week I go to they gym before work. I really enjoy straight-up weightlifting (my max squat and deadlift are both 200lb).

6.  How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I’m not sure I ever really unplug … to get away from whatever the immediate focus is I like to take long city walks (“urban hiking” is great because you’re never too far from ice cream, especially in San Francisco). I also like to sew — I pretty much make all the dresses I wear now, and I blog about it (since 2005!) at dressaday.com. It’s surprising how manageable problems seem after ten miles of walking or four hours of sewing. I also try to take Saturday “off” from email if possible.

7. What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

Overall, I think I’m most proud of how doggedly the team at Wordnik/Reverb has pursued the idea that “knowing more about more words” would be valuable in so many ways. It’s fantastic seeing our hypothesis play out so well.

Personally, I’m most proud of having written a novel — it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. (And my fourteen year old son is pretty neat, too …)

8)  What cause do you most want to advance?

I’m a big believer that tech needs to be more inclusive, across the board. As our daily lives become more and more intermediated by technology, it’s important that the producers be at least as diverse as the users. Luckily I am in a position where I can help make a difference — both as a model and as someone who can hire.

9. What is your “keep me going” quote?

Whenever I feel overwhelmed or blocked, I try to remember this Robert Benchley quote: “Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” (It’s meant to be a joke, but I think like most jokes it’s secretly true.)

10. What is your secret indulgence?

I listen to a lot of hip-hop. A *lot*.

You can read Erin’s full #40over40 profile here:

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Liz Wiseman, author of Rookie Smarts, out now (October 2014), and Wall Street Journal bestseller Multipliers.

1.  What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

My big pivot came when I left the comfort of a great corporate job (I was the VP of Oracle University) to go out on my own as a consultant and executive advisor.

I had joined Oracle right out of business school and spent seventeen years in various management jobs.  Oracle was a company that was not only growing in size, but one with a true growth mindset – a belief that smart people could figure hard things out.  As a result, I faced a steady stream of stretch assignments.  I was 40 years old before I had a job that I was actually qualified for!  While I took some teasing from my bosses (who had to occasionally explain to others why they had given a big job to one so young and inexperienced), I found the work as thrilling as it was challenging.

At the end of those seventeen years, I realized that I was, at last, qualified for my job. I felt like I had come to a stand-still and began resenting my job.  Sure, my colleagues and work conditions were still fantastic, but I wasn’t being challenged and the exhilaration was gone.  But, I had to wonder, does the thrill ride have to end mid career?  Fortunately for me it didn’t.  I took a pivot step out of my comfort zone in corporate management and set out to research and write a book on leadership – honestly something I had little understanding of how to do. Fortunately I again found people willing to take a chance on a rookie (or perhaps my publisher just didn’t realize that I had never written anything longer than an email when he agreed to work with me on my first book, Multipliers).

Nine years ago my colleagues and friends couldn’t understand why I would choose to leave a great gig at a great company to work solo and in obscurity.  But, in venturing out, I’ve found greater impact and personal satisfaction.

2.  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I’ve been fortunate to have leaders who believed in me enough to both push me and support me.   Ray Lane, former president of Oracle gave me roles that were at least two sizes too big and then let me suffer a bit while I figured it out.  When I grew into role and delivered, he then sang my praises.  Another was Phil Wilson, a wonderful boss and mentor.  Because I was given big jobs at an early age, my responsibilities were often far ahead of my pay.  I will never forget the time Phil proactively advocated with the top execs for a sizeable raise for me.  It was initially rejected, as the percentage increase was far outside any reasonable range.  He felt so strongly that I should be paid at the level of my responsibility (regardless of my age) that he put his own job on the line.  It was approved.  I was deeply touched by this stunning display of sponsorship – the kind particularly needed to support women willing to stretch themselves and take risks.  Lastly, CK Prahalad, the late, acclaimed professor from University of Michigan, taught me to ask the hard questions and opened doors that allowed me to pursue my current work in research, writing, and teaching management.

3.  What is your biggest goal right now?

My biggest job right now is helping my children (three teens and one who is eleven) navigate the choppy waters of the teenage years.  But my next closest priority is launching my next “baby.”  I have a new book coming out October 2014 called Rookie Smarts:  Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work.   The book explores why we are so often at our best when we are doing something for the first time and why knowing nothing can be more valuable than knowing it all.  My hope for the book is that we begin to see the term “rookie” as a badge of honor and that more people will be willing to step out of their comfort zone and take a rookie assignment.  Those who do venture out, will likely find that in the process of learning new things and overcoming challenges, they engage their creative energies, perform brilliantly, and find their greatest satisfaction.

4.  How do you unplug – how often do you unplug?

My husband and I love to travel to new countries with our children.  We travel at every opportunity, but in particular, we take two to three weeks each July and go with our children somewhere in the developing world (My 11-year old son’s birthday is in July so he has never celebrated it in the United States!).  We don’t turn on our cell phones and typically have spotty Wi-Fi access.  It is a chance to meet interesting people and see lands full of challenge and promise.   I am a learning fanatic, so I love being dropped in a place where I know little and must make sense of things. It’s hardly relaxing, but it’s certainly fun.

5.  How did you feel on your 30th birthday?

I was pregnant with my first child on my 30th birthday, so I felt as if I was making a major life shift.  I had spent the first thirty years of my life focused on me (my education, my career, etc.).  I realized that I would now spend the next thirty years putting many of my needs and goals on hold while I put my family first.   It felt right.  But, ironically, in focusing on others in these last twenty years, I think I’ve learned more and achieved more professionally than in the first thirty.

6.  Cause to advance?

I am not-so-secretly trying to rid the world of bad bosses. I’ve spent years studying and writing about the effect that leaders have on the intelligence and capability levels of people around them and I’ve seen first hand the devastating effect bad bosses (many of them well meaning) have.  People come to work each day ready, if not desperately willing, to give 100% of their capability. But many face a cement wall of management where their ideas aren’t heard and their true capability isn’t seen.  We need to make our workplaces safe havens for people to truly contribute.  We face so many seemingly insurmountable challenges (in both the public and private sector), but I believe we have the collective intelligence to solve them.  My mission is to develop leaders who can take on the world’s toughest challenges by deeply using all the intelligence and human capability inside of those around them.

7.  What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

I suppose it would be writing a book as a novice and having it become a best seller.

8.  What is the latest business book you read?

I just finished A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger.   This book is a great tool for those seeking to lead through inquiry.  Berger helps us see that our natural state is one of curiosity and asking why.   I think the best leaders are able to see their world through this once-natural state.

9.  What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Bob Shaver, a VP at Oracle gave me some guidance that has shaped my career.  I was contemplating an internal transfer and was interviewing for a job in Bob’s division.  I described the kind of work I wanted to do and what I hoped to accomplish in the job.  Bob assured me that my intent was indeed worthy but that it would be far more helpful to him and the company if I figured out my boss’s biggest challenge and helped her solve it.  I reoriented my thinking away from what I wanted and toward what the business urgently needed.  While the initial work wasn’t my true passion, I dove in wholeheartedly.  I think I built a reputation as someone who understood the strategy and got the most important stuff done.  This, in turn, opened up many career opportunities to do work that I truly love.

10.  Secret indulgence?

Baths.   They are inefficient but thoroughly delightful.

You can read more about Liz here.