Inspiring Advice From Exceptional Women

Long before anyone knew who Sheryl Sandberg was and even longer before anyone knew what it means to “lean in,” Mary Ann Byrnes jokingly quips that when she started her career she leaned in so far she broke her nose.

Byrnes, who graduated from Harvard Business School in 1984, managed hundreds of people at a major wireless carrier, served as CEO of several tech companies, worked in venture capital, and more recently ran a social enterprise in San Francisco.

“As I look back,” she says, “I wish that I had a few people who reminded me that I did not need to have all of the answers. There is no such thing as work/life balance—there is only life. You don’t have to be the last one at the office every night, and you don’t have to change every diaper. Make the choices you believe in your heart are right, and make no apologies.”

Byrnes is among 114 exceptional HBS alumnae in the Bay Area who will be honored Monday night (Jan. 27) at a gala in San Francisco for the impact they have made in their professions, their communities, and their family lives. The honorees were chosen from more than 1,200 female graduates of Harvard Business School who reside and work in Northern California. The recognition is part of a celebration that began last year of the school’s 50th anniversary of women being admitted into its MBA program.

To commemorate the event and to honor the women, the school’s Northern California alumni club has put together a compelling book of profiles on the alumnae. They were asked to provide insights into their careers, to look back on their lives introspectively, to reflect on the happy times and tough times, their proudest moments, and their often long and winding “road to HBS.”

Their accomplishments span six decades—from the late 1950s to the near present. Their stories reflect the exuberance and the disappointments of life. There are stories of success and failure, love and betrayal, the importance of overcoming one’s fears and unexpected disasters. As one might expect, many of the women are generous with the lessons they have learned in life and the advice they offer to a new generation of women.

After all, they have played important roles as senior leaders in big brand name companies and startups. They are entrepreneurs, consultants, venture capitalists, and moms. And many of them can lay claim to having been the first woman to obtain a meaningful role in organizations that had long been dominated by men. There is the first woman to manage client work at McKinsey & Co., and a consultant who literally was laughed at when she told people she planned to apply to Harvard Business School in the late 1970s.

In their own way, each “leaned in” long before the idea became a phrase adorning a bestseller. Cathy Benko, a 1989 alumnae who grew up the middle of five daughters in a single-parent household. Now vice chairman and managing principal of Deloitte LLP, she began leaning before she even got into Harvard. “The most poignant moment was when I walked into my mother’s house late for Christmas dinner,” recalls Benko. “As she stood at the stove stirring the gravy, she looked up at me and said sternly, ‘you’re late.’ When I explained that I was finishing up my HBS application, she put down the spoon and just stared at me. ‘People like us don’t go to schools like that,’ she said. ‘That’s not for our kind.’ That had never occurred to me. If my application wasn’t just about complete, I would have just given up on the goal.”

Many of the women being honored will tell you how life turned out in ways they never could have imagined. Alison Berkley Wagonfeld, a 1996 MBA who is an operating partner for Emergence Capital Partners, said that during her second year at HBS she had mentally mapped out her entire career. “First I would go to a bigger company, next I would go work at a start up, then I would start my own company, and perhaps ultimately I would become a venture capitalist,” wrote Wagonfeld.

“I have since realized that life is not so linear and predictable. There are many factors that can alter one’s career trajectory at any point –some of which are exciting (marriage! kids!), and some of which are difficult (health issues).”

To read more of their stories, insights and advice, check out PoetsandQuants.com:

Life Lessons from the Exceptional Women of the Bay

Olga Blinova

I am very excited about my progress

10y

Women in Sochi are so brave and beautiful!!!

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adrien aurelien

En poste (secteur : Commerce de détail)

10y

salut vs ette une très belle femme !!

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Shahla Amiri

Associate in Walmart

10y

I so happy that visit you

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Ms Talent Mundy-Castle

MS at Wa-Zo_Bia Tropical Food Uk

10y

Well done Sheryl and congratulation! You are a woman of my heart. The lady of substance as I see myself. I am inspired by you. we are learning and growing everyday. Thanks for sharing.

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Thank You for always remembering we are all in this together. Very emotional and inspiring.

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