World's Greatest Women

Today’s woman grew up in a middle class home with two working parents.  From an early age she was very responsible and often showed up as a leader. As she grew into a young woman, the bible verse “to whom much is given, much is required” guided her path. She worked with others to develop high performance leaders and teams. And her impact grew as she served as a global executive in a variety of top companies. Today she has turned her talents and wealth of knowledge to the boardroom where she sits on two public and two private boards. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Lynn Utter.

Today’s woman grew up in a lower class area of China. But as she grew, her status changed due to her father’s success. Even though her father became successful with much hard work, he lacked a real education – something he insisted his daughter receive.  So, at age 17 she left China and came to America as an exchange student. Here in new home, she felt very alone but she focused on making good grades and learning all she could. Her US host family helped her find her direction into accounting and finance. As her career unfolded, she became an executive in several industries. Today she serves as a top leader in one of the largest ground handling & aviation services companies in North America. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Ying Mcpherson.

Today’s episode takes a little different twist as we look at business partnerships among powerful women and how they work or don’t. The two women showcased today are well educated and are innovators in the skincare field. One of these women already had a skincare product line that could be found in major department stores but she believed its consumer reach could be even greater. This is where the other woman came in.  She had different skills and business acumen that the skincare company founder didn’t have. So, they joined forces to expand the skincare company by forming a 50/50 partnership. But being business partners, though extremely beneficial, can be a tough business arrangement to manage much less thrive.  But these two women are making it happen. They are working together toward a common goal and have much to teach us about the power and pitfalls of partnerships. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Aliett Buttelman and Nina Labruna.

Today’s woman has taken a very unusual career path. She grew up in Washington DC, attended Catholic schools and went onto to major in college in financial management. But after a short time in this career, she realized she wasn’t cut out for such a sedentary role.  So she became a DC police officer. She was a bit of a political junky so being a police officer got her into the middle of things happening in the capital city. She went onto to specialize in homeland security.  Along the way she discovered the game of golf. She loved it so much she started a side hustle featuring gold events around the country aimed particularly at involving minorities.  Today she runs a successful event company while serving the public as a Washington DC police officer. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Desiree Walker.

Today’s woman grew up participating in more activities than most young people.  She was curious and loved to be a part of things. In her family unit, conversations usually centered around how to leave the world a better place - a burning desire that developed in her as she grew into an adult. The area she began to influence was aerospace and her determination and talent landed her a senior executive spot in the US Space Program. As a Deputy Administrator of NASA, she knew she could bring so much good to the world as she set out to reform the agency. But aerospace was not a place where women were welcomed and being in such a powerful role of influence was not easy. She was sexually harassed and verbally abused but she pushed on. Now others can learn from the wisdom of her journey from her recently released book “Escaping Gravity, My Quest To Transform NASA and Launch A New Space Age.” The story reveals how she defied the status quo as a woman working in a male-dominated field. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Lori Garver.

Those that watched this woman grow up knew she was destined to be a leader. She was at the forefront of all activities in school.  But as she grew into an adult, she at times felt so overwhelmed and decided all she had to do was survive. But even in surviving, losing was never an option. In college, she pursued a business degree and realized believing in herself was paramount to her success. Her focus was always to move forward and never whine. As her career unfolded, she became an C-Suite executive in human resources for large corporations. Today she serves on several corporate boards and operates a human capital consulting company. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Mara Swan.

This woman grew up on a farm. Even though there wasn’t much money, she was around an affluent crowd and saw clearly how those with money lived. As she grew into a young woman, she became well-grounded and confident.  And as she moved through high school and college, she found herself constantly showing up in leadership roles. After college, she remained involved in the education arena. But after 10 years, she realized she could have an even bigger impact on developing leaders if she took the leap to start her own company.  This began a life long journey as a highly regarded and sought-after leadership consultant. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Sarah Albritton.

Today’s woman was born to a black father and a white mother. Both her parents were well educated and they in turn had high expectations for her. She went to college and earned a degree in applied mathematics. But as her career took shape, she felt she didn’t quite fit in anywhere. So after a year, she left the career her college degree had prepared her for and decided to pursue the arts. Jazz singing was where things felt right and she knew her voice and intelligence would lead the way. She joined a band and wrote her own songs. She won awards and became known in the music world for helping women choose more for themselves through music. Today, she performs, coaches and shows women leaders of all colors and ages how to choose more for themselves. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Monique DeBose.

This woman grew up being exposed to many different cultures.  She was curious about others and wanted to know more. In college she studied journalism but quickly realized this field of study paid little. So she ventured abroad to Paris to learn more about communications and media. As her career unfolded, she appeared to have it all – money, career, the perfect man - but she knew something was missing. She began to explore deeper to find out what this was.  She moved to Italy and explored the music and theater scene, started a film production company and wrote best-selling books. Today she is walking her path to greatness as a world renown connection and communication expert who is using her skills to bridge the gap across all things. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Kass Thomas.

Today’s woman grew up in a liberal family and was the oldest of three children. As a child she took acting lessons and all thought she would be a professional actress.  However, in college she realized she would be a better director than actress.  So, she moved to New York City and broke into the opera scene.  Eventually she worked her way up to the stage director level at Metropolitan Opera, one of the largest classical music organizations in North America. As time passed, the director level wasn’t enough. She wanted to run an opera company but no one would give her the job.  So, she started her own company. Today, after 30 years in the opera industry, she has taken her lifetime of perfecting the art of presenting and is using it to help leaders become concise and compelling presenters. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Elizabeth Bachman.