Harvard Undergraduate Women In Business Third Annual Career Exploratory Trip
San Francisco Trip
MacDonald shared with us her passion for accounting, and Fran Hamman inspired us with her journey from being a young model in South Africa to Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing.
The Third annual career exploratory trip by Caterina Yuan Our career exploratory trip to San Francisco was a blast. Twenty-eight girls had the amazing opportunity to visit ten companies in different industries, from technology to retail. We met many successful, inspiring businesswomen who shared with us their successes and their advice for our futures as young women in business. Along the way, we saw the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area and even picked up a few golf skills. Below is a summary of the companies we visited and some of the highlights from each of our stops.
Ross Stores, Inc. After leaving Restoration Hardware with special tote bags filled with mugs and catalogs, we arrived at Ross Stores, an off-price retailer specializing in discounted fashions. Ross has the flexibility to take advantage of imbalances in the supply chain and thus provide highquality bargains to its customers. “If you get bored easThursday, January 24th: ily, retail is a good place for you,” Mary Walter, SVP Retail of Ross Stores advised us. We met four other senior women executives, including Jane Marvin, SVP of Restoration Hardware Our first stop was Restoration Hardware, a company Human Resources; Katie Loughnot, VP Investor and that specializes in high-end home furnishings. We met Media Relations; Anke Schwantje, VP Store Planning; four amazing women, who each shared with us her ca- and Dawn Urbancic, VP and Controller of Store Opreer path and advice. “Don’t waste time doing some- erations. Each of the women highlighted Ross’s culture thing you don’t like,” Bonnie Orofino, Chief Merchan- of performance and its receptiveness to new ideas as dising Officer advised us. Elyse Robinson, Senior Vice See Page 4 for the Top 10 Highlights of President of Human Resources urged us to take control the San Francisco Exploratory Trip! of our own development. Corporate Controller Vivian
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Harvard Undergraduate Women In Business Third Annual Career Exploratory Trip
reasons why they continue to work at the company. Barclays Global Investors Our last Thursday stop was a dinner hosted by BarGap, Inc. clays Global Investors, one of the world’s largest fund managers. We were able to meet many powFor information on Gap’s Retail Manageerful women in the company, who shared with us their diverse experiences and roles in the company. ment Program Summer internship visit We had the opportunity to ask questions about their www.gapinc.com/careers work and about their personal work-life balance. Our third stop on the retail trek was to the San Francisco headquarters of Gap, Inc., one of the world’s largest specialty retailers that operates several well-known apparel brands, including Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. Jack Calhoun, President of Banana Republic, shared his path from engineering major at Purdue to brand president and his three keys for success: leadership ability, creativity, and analytic ability. Toby Lenk, President of Gap Inc. direct, Gap’s online store, described the infinite opportunities for online retailing. Eva Sage-Gavin, Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Communications described her rebelliousness as a young woman and urged us to take risks and find our true talents.
Friday, January 25th: Retail and Technology Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Our first stop of the morning was the beautiful San Francisco office of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., the parent company of Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, and West Elm. We were treated
Design Within Reach At Design Within Reach, a company that sells highend, modern furniture, we learned more about marketing. We met Director of Marketing Ilsooks Backs, PR Managerr Erin Brown, and Copy Manager Emily Fasten and learned how they planned their year-long marketing strategy and how they designed their advertisements in order to reach their desired customer.
“Key traits of successful women: personal ethics, strong leadership skills, managerial courage, and good judgement.” - Sharon McCollam
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to an appearance and speech by founder Chuck Williams, who later presented us signed copies of Williams-Sonoma cook books. Two inspiring women shared with us their experiences in the business world, and we met several others over breakfast. Sharon McCollam, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer, advised us to manage our careers with a clear vision and a strategic plan. She shared several key traits of successful
Harvard Undergraduate Women In Business Third Annual Career Exploratory Trip Our last day of the trip was spent on Stanford’s campus. We were given a presentation by Stanford’s Business School, which offers personalized education, innovative learning, global and social impact, and a collaborative culture. Three current students shared their experiences as business school students and praised the collaborative environment of the school. Stanford GSB also encourages student entrepreneurship.
See Page 5 for a partial list of speakers and some contact information!
women: personal ethics, strong leadership skills, managerial courage, and good judgment. McCollam emphasized several important skills, including prioritization, team building, and delegation. President Laura Alber encouraged us to have confidence in ourselves Jerome and Beth Andrews Golf and to pursue our passions. Jerome and Beth Andrews shared their experiences as entrepreneurs starting a golf busiGoogle, Inc. ness. Mrs. Andrews described the Google, Inc., the Internet search company, was our challenges in starting a women’s next stop. We were treated to a tour of Google’s ex- golf company and in building Jepansive campus and to unlimited food at the com- rome’s existing enterprise. We pany’s central (buffet) café. We had the opportu- learned the importance of just reachnity to meet Harvard alumnae at Google and to ing out to people and cold-calling learn more about what it’s like to work at Google. in order to get customers. Mr. Andrews, a top-ranked golf instrucApple, Inc. tor, brought all of us to the StanThe next technology company we visited was Apple, ford driving range and spent a few the maker of personal computers, iPods, and the iP- hours teaching us the basics of the swing. By the end, hone. We had the opportunity to hold the new Mac- we were well on our way to an outstanding golf career. book Air and learn about Apple’s business model. From San Francisco to Stanford, in a few short days, Facebook, Inc. we learned so many things and met many amazing peoFacebook, the social utility website founded by Mark ple who shared their experiences and insights with us. Zuckerberg, was our last stop. We met with two recent Harvard alumnae now working for Facebook. They each described what it was like to work for a small, growing company. Afterwards, we joined Facebook’s happy hour, where we were treated to food and conversation with current Facebook employees.
Saturday, January 26th: Entrepreneurship Stanford Graduate School of Business
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Harvard Undergraduate Women In Business Third Annual Career Exploratory Trip
Top 10 Highlights of the San Francisco Exploratory Trip by Alison Ryu
10. Flying on Jet Blue with yummy snacks and nonstop Project Runway reruns and American Idol on airplane TV!
4. Meeting Chuck Williams, the 92-year old founder of Williams Sonoma and receiving a surprise autographed cookbook!
9. Getting “Team Resto” tote bags and coffee mugs from Restoration Hardware - great new book bags!
3. Running wild at Google’s “playground” with free laundry, a gym, dozens of cafes, unlimited Naked Juice, bikes around “campus,” a shuttle to and from San Francisco, and a diverse spread of food and desserts at all times.
8. Sitting down to a 5-course meal with the representatives from Barclay’s Group Investments.
2. Getting to see the Macbook Air two weeks before its actual release date while sitting only four floors below Steve Jobs!
7. Chatting with the fabulous Mr. Jack Calhoun, President of Banana Republic. Enough said! 6. Mingling at the Facebook mixer surrounded by graffiti wallpaper, unlimited candy, and nobody over the age of 25. What an awesome company!
1. Hearing over and over from top executives that the key to success is all about finding your passion and pursuing what you love no matter how circuitous your path may be!
5. Golfing (or attempting to golf) at Stanford’s driving range with golf professional, Jerome Andrews.
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Harvard Undergraduate Women In Business Third Annual Career Exploratory Trip RESTORATION HARDWARE BONNIE OROFINO, Chief Merchandising Officer ELYSE DOUGLAS ROBINSON, Sr. Vice President, Human Resources FRAN HAMMAN, Sr. Vice President, Global Sourcing and International Compliance
STANFORD BUSINESS SCHOOL ERIN KELLERHALS, Assistant Director, MBA Admissions Office
ROSS JANE MARVIN, SVP Human Resources MARY WALTER, SVP Ross Stores KATIE LOUGHNOT, VP Investor & Media Relations (Finance)
BETH ANDREWS GOLF BETH ANDREWS
GAP TOBY LENK, President, Gap Inc Direct EVA SAGE-GAVIN, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications JACK CALHOUN, President, Banana Republic
Contact Information
DESIGN WITHIN REACH ILSOOK BACKS, Director of Marketing ERIN BROWN, PR Manager EMILY FASTEN, Copy Manager BARCLAYS KAREN MCKINLEY, Global Head of Graduate Recruitment & Development Human Resources ANNE-MARIE CANTER, Graduate Recruitment & Development Human Resources AMY BENNETT, Director, Direct Marketing Communications Strategy, Principal WILLIAMS-SONOMA LAURA J. ALBER, President Sharon McCollam, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer GOOGLE LELA ALEXIS BRODSKY, Online Operations Associate JENNIFER CHANG, AdWords Account Associate JULIE ZHOU, Associate Product Marketing Manager ALEXA BUSH, People Operations Associate APPLE SCOTT GILFOIL, University Relations, Manager FACEBOOK MEAGAN MARKS, Monetization team, Manager AMY VORA, Platform product Marketing team, Manager
JEROME ANDREWS GOLF JEROME ANDREWS
Ross Director, Talent Development Denise Anderson (925) 965-4192 denise.anderson@ros.com Restoration Hardware Senior Vice President, Global Sourcing and International Compliance Fran Hamman 415-945-3586 FHamman@RestorationHardware.com Restoration Hardware Senior Vice President, Human Resources Elyse Douglas 415-945-4651 EDouglas@RestorationHardware.com Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Director, Business Sales Jill E. John 415-616-8648 jejohn@wsgc.com Jerome Andrews 407-497-2089 jrometeach@aol.com www.jeromeandrewsgolf.com
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