{"id":704,"date":"2016-10-19T06:41:59","date_gmt":"2016-10-19T10:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/?p=704"},"modified":"2018-09-18T15:25:04","modified_gmt":"2018-09-18T19:25:04","slug":"power-panel-of-entrepreneurs-execs-shares-advice-about-rising-to-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/2016\/10\/19\/power-panel-of-entrepreneurs-execs-shares-advice-about-rising-to-the-top\/","title":{"rendered":"“Power panel” of entrepreneurs, execs shares advice about rising to the top"},"content":{"rendered":"

A panel of entrepreneurs and executives shared stories about their rise to the top during the kickoff event for the third annual Women Entrepreneurship Week<\/a> at Montclair State on Oct. 18.<\/p>\n

The five women told more than 200 attendees about how they built a business\u2014whether it was a venture they started from scratch, or a division they grew inside the walls of a large company.<\/p>\n

The panel for \u201cPower Play: What Makes Women Great Leaders\u201d included:<\/p>\n

Barbara Agoglia<\/a>, VP of Global Brand and Communications for the Commercial Payments Business, American Express<\/a>
\nAdenah Bayoh<\/a>, founder and CEO, Adenah Bayoh and Companies<\/a>
\nRuthi Byrne<\/a>, founder, Zinn, Graves & Field Inc.
\nGail Mandel<\/a>, president and CEO, Wyndham Destination Network
\nDebra Vizzi<\/a>, president and CEO, Community FoodBank of New Jersey<\/a>
\nModerator:\u00a0Linda Lacina<\/a>, managing editor, Entrepreneur.com<\/a><\/p>\n

View photos from the event.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

View recap video of the event.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Read American Express OPEN Forum story.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The panelists shared advice that was particularly relevant to the Montclair State students and other young people in the audience.<\/p>\n

Agoglia recommended having a good sense of who you are. She noted the path forward is never clear long term\u2014it will become clear at one time, and then unclear again. For leading staff, Agoglia advised listening with empathy to create a space of trust. She also emphasized the importance of making clear what an organization\u2019s mission is, saying no one wants to be a brick builder but everyone wants to build cathedrals.<\/p>\n

Mandel said the recipe for being a successful leader is to be confident of maneuvering through uncertainty, ready to tackle curveballs thrown your way. Mandel, the first woman CEO at Wyndham, said she reached that high position because male bosses gave her flexibility to do previous jobs when she had young children.<\/p>\n

Bayoh, who escaped civil war in Liberia to build a life and business in the U.S., echoed that, saying, \u201cRemember the universe always throw things at you.\u201d She advised always having your antennae up of where you can fill gaps, and not being afraid to ask for help.<\/p>\n

Byrne, who started a PR firm after a stint volunteering in politics, recommended knowing when to cut your losses\u2014sometimes you need to cut loose a client. The witty Byrne drew laughs from the audience with her asides, like her candid comment \u201cI love making money,\u201d about why she transitioned from volunteer gigs to entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

Vizzi said she surrounds herself with strong talent. \u201cThe best picks you make around you will make you shine,\u201d she said. After growing up in foster care, Vizzi was inspired by social workers she met as a child and chose helping others as her profession. Vizzi said male bosses taught her to use her voice. \u201cI was forced to use my voice for good,\u201d she said. Vizzi also recommended that young people\u2014anyone, really\u2014take initiative in the workplace, sharing a story about how she wrote a grant application at a previous nonprofit even though she worked in a different division. The grant was funded, and that launched Vizzi\u2019s move into fundraising.<\/p>\n

A common theme among the five panelists was supporting other women during their rise through the ranks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see more of us at the table making room at the table (for women). \u2026 If I see a woman being torn down, I\u2019ll speak up. And I don\u2019t care what I\u2019m called,\u201d said Bayoh to applause.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A panel of entrepreneurs and executives shared stories about their rise to the top during the kickoff event for the third annual Women Entrepreneurship Week at Montclair State on Oct. 18. The five women told more than 200 attendees about how they built a business\u2014whether it was a venture they started from scratch, or a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[64,170,171],"class_list":["post-704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-women-entrepreneurs","tag-feliciano-center-for-entrepreneurship","tag-women-entrepreneurs","tag-women-entrepreneurship-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207428,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions\/207428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}