Outsell Women’s Conference: Breaking Ground
One essential consideration in improving gender diversity in our industry’s leadership is paying attention to the generations that went before us and those who broke ground. The choices we have today are not the ones others had before us, and it’s essential to understand how others broke the glass ceiling and to heed their words of wisdom and advice. We not only have a lot to learn — we have a lot to be thankful for. Following in last year’s footsteps, this year we’ve chosen to begin the Outsell Women’s Conference with a keynote on breaking ground. And there was no better leader to ask to join us than Cathie Black.
I’m honored to know Cathie personally and professionally; she’s one of the most spirited, dynamic leaders I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. She is a well-known media executive, having been president and publisher of Hearst Magazines, a huge global publisher of numerous famous magazines. Earlier, she was the publisher of USA Today during its launch years. She is also a New York Times bestselling author with “Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life).”
Today, Cathie is an angel investor, advisor, or board member for several entrepreneurial companies with female founders. With a bestselling book drawing on her four decades in the media business, Ms. Black — dubbed “The First Lady of American Magazines” and “one of the leading figures in American publishing over the past two decades” by the Financial Times — headed Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines. She has managed the financial performance and development of some of the industry’s best-known titles: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Redbook, and Town & Country — 14 magazines in all. She oversaw nearly 200 international editions of those magazines in more than 100 countries.
Her book, “Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)” (www.cathieblack.com) explains how she achieved “the 360° life” — a blend of professional accomplishment and personal contentment — and how women can seize opportunity in the workplace. The book, now in its eighth printing (166,000 copies), reached #1 on the Wall Street Journal Business Books list (Nov. 6, 2007) and Business Week bestseller list (Jan. 3, 2008), and #3 on the New York Times Business Books List (Nov. 11, 2007). The book has been licensed for translated editions in 12 countries, including China, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Korea, Poland, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Romania, and Croatia.
Cathie knew how to lean in before it was fashionable and how to work in a man’s world before it was common. She is an amazingly talented woman who for nearly two decades was a member of the board of directors for both Coca Cola and IBM. She has lessons for us about ambition, self-confidence, and risk, and she is candid and real. Cathie is accomplished — deemed an “all-star” on Fortune magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” list. She was one of only three women that appeared on the list numerous times since it debuted in 1998. In 2006, she was included on Forbes magazine’s list of “The 100 Most Powerful Women” and Crain’s list of New York City’s “100 Most Influential Women in Business.” Ms. Black is a graduate of Trinity College, Washington, DC, and she holds nine honorary degrees.
So, join me as we kick off year two of the Outsell Women’s Conference, breaking ground — and breaking the glass. You’ll love the lessons Cathie imparts and the tone she’ll set for the day.