Women Coporate Director’s Dinner and VivaWomen! breakfast by Renee Wilson
It’s been a while since I blogged here as I have been in the process of transitioning into my new role. However after this last week, I was inspired to pull the iPad out again and get typing. I had the pleasure of recently attending the Women Corporate Director’s dinner that honored Maurice Levy, the CEO of Publicis Groupe Holding Company, for his leadership and vision. I always knew that I worked for a top firm but I was glad to hear more about all that Maurice personally had done for women at our Groupe, and what Publicis Groupe has done to support women overall.
This event was followed by a meeting of the female leaders from numerous Publicis Groupe subsidiaries at a VivaWomen! breakfast gathering in NY, to celebrate the fact that Maurice was in town. As you may or may not know, VivaWomen! is a voluntary interest group that women across the US who work at subsidiaries within the Publicis Holding Company Groupe may choose to belong to. The group looks at ways to support women of all backgrounds and levels in their careers and their career progression. The group is in its infancy, but I’d say we are a feisty bunch with lots of great ideas for the future. In the US, I am joined by another founding member from MSLGROUP Americas, Rita Masini, Chief Talent Officer. Every one of this group of women is a force to be reckoned with in her own right as they are paving ways for their agencies in new areas.
At the WCD dinner Tuesday evening, Maurice reminded the pre-dominantly female audience that Publicis Groupe’s most senior role – chairperson of the supervisory board – is held by a woman, the renowned French philosopher and feminist Elizabeth Badinter, who stepped into the role in 1996. He went on to state that he believes each employee should be treated equally and pointed out that seven out of the 14 members of the Supervisory Board are women today.
At the VivaWomen! breakfast the next morning, as part of the program, Maurice introduced Laura Desmond, the CEO of Starcom Mediavest Group, member of Maurice’s P12 board, and highest ranking woman on the operational side within our holding company. Laura shared her thoughts about being a female leader. She really feels that there are few organizations that ‘walk the walk and talk the talk’ when it comes to supporting females in the workforce and Publicis Groupe is one of them. Laura explained that at the heart of our Groupe’s philosophy is ‘celebrating the difference’ and listening and embracing different viewpoints, colors, creeds, etc. is something we do.
I asked Laura during the Q&A, what was her career path that led to her success. Here are some of the things Laura explained led her to where she is today:
-she did the right thing for both the company and herself at all times
-she took advantage of pivotal positions that became available to her as the business evolved
-she embraced a risk opportunity and moved to Europe for a long-term assignment
-she failed and learned from her failures
-she became very involved in global business like P&G and Coke
The conversation then went back to hearing Maurice’s point of view and he talked a lot about his mentor Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet. Bleustein-Blanchet helped Maurice understand that you must always choose the right person for the right job and that’s all that really matters. With that Maurice ensures that at Publicis Groupe they offer:
-the possibility to achieve all you can
-the possibility of full and rewarding careers
-the possibility that everyone is offered opportunities
Other questions for Maurice at the breakfast included the following.
Q. What would you advise men within the company about women in the workforce?
A. He expects respect at every level of the organization. And, he demands that men look for the talents across all employees.
Q. What areas would you say we can improve as a company?
A. Maurice answered that detecting talent early and helping women get on a career path early on was paramount. He also said that we need to continue to offer women continuity of service throughout various life stages.
When asked about other advice he had for the group that morning, Maurice explained that it’s very important to “be true to who you are.” You cannot be who you truly aren’t and be happy. He also advised “if you have a weakness, work to turn it into a strength.” He added, “don’t negotiate with your personality, embrace who you are.” And, lastly he said, “make sure everyone at your company has a chance to bloom.”
At MSLGROUP, I personally have been given incredible experiences throughout my career here, and I have worked with awesome leaders – both male and female. Have I failed at times? Sure – who hasn’t at one time? However MSLGROUP has always thrown me more challenges and allowed me to incorporate my changing personal life stages into my career path. Today, I have a dream job and I’m so thrilled to embrace my new role as Chief Client Officer, working with our agency’s best and brightest teams and clients around the globe.
Congratulations to Maurice on his award. And congratulations to my fellow MSLGROUP females for having chosen to work for a company that supports women in their careers.
Progress in 2011 by Renee Wilson
I entered this year’s conference wanting to learn “what are truly the barriers” to women’s advancement in business/society and was very happy to learn that although the problem isn’t solved yet, it is being addressed around the world. There are obviously still some areas like Egypt and the Arab regions where work needs to be done, but I’ve left the conference with a renewed sense of urgency to figure out what I can do to help in my own way.
This year’s Women’s Forum provided the following points on this problem:
• There were several sessions about the importance of getting more women onto corporate boards. Speakers discussed how boards consist of white males who are aging into retirement, and how women can be considered for placement. The overwhelming feeling of wanting to help one another was inspiring.
• Many multi-national companies promoted new leadership models that take into consideration female high potentials, and work-life balance programs that will help both men and women
• Two major global management consultancies shared new research verifying that the skill sets that women bring to the table are what business needs to get back on track (e.g., empathy, lateral leadership, consensus building, etc.). In fact, McKinsey’s “Women Matter” research study clearly states “…companies with a higher proportion of women on their executive committees have better financial performances…”
Something that sticks with me from the Women’s Forum is the need for more female mentors to pass on wisdom. I talked to a lot of women at this conference, and discussed mentoring quite a bit. I think I’ve found a solution for myself AND I have ideas to help others. If you don’t have a mentor, get one. It will make all the difference in the world. If I can help you find one, let me know.
What I’m Looking Forward to the Most at the 2011 Women’s Forum by Renee Wilson
To kick it off my second year at the Women’s Forum, here’s my top ten list of what I’m most excited to see:
10. Hearing what Moira Forbes has to say about “what if we had to do even more to advance women in corporations.” She’s going to be asking “what should committed corporate leaders do to make a real difference?”
9. Seeing Patricia Szarvas of CNBC Europe interview Muhtar Kent, Coke CEO, about the corporate key drivers of today, ie, HR, digital, sustainability, e-reputation, etc.
8. Interacting with the panel of GenY ladies who will share perspectives on social values and career hopes.
7. Learning more about the “Stand Up For African Mothers Campaign Launch” and how I can help.
6. Looking for global trends as to how some of the global company participants are tackling their biggest challenges of the day.
5. Having the chance to pick up some work-life balance tips from other working moms doing the juggle struggle.
4. Admiring the global working women fashions that will be donned throughout the streets of Deauville, France during the meeting (Sorry – I have to be honest with you, my readers. I do observe the trends.)
3. Spending time with my fellow colleagues from MSLGroup: several great ladies and gentlemen and thinking of ways to bring more great MSLGroup women into leadership positions.
2. Hearing more about “what women’s empowerment will mean for men.” I’ve read a lot about this subject and will report back on the latest thinking in this area. For example, what if women’s empowerment has intensely positive ramifications for men that are not yet widely understood or discussed?
1. As always, making sure that I do something positive to advance the subject/cause/conversation for women coming up the ranks – especially for a special four year old of mine, Olivia, who will one day blaze a path of her own to do good. I’m sure of that.
What If? by Renee Wilson
I’m back for the second year at the “Women’s Forum. Only this year, I’m back with a mission: understand what the real barriers to women achieving equality in the workplace are – and I mean equality across the board, at all levels of an organization.
A male colleague once told me that women had already achieved equality in the workplace, and asked me what I was “going on” about. That is part of the problem. Some today feel that the workforce is normal, because it is all they have known. Some don’t recognize that women still make on average 85 cents for every dollar of men. And now as women collect 60 percent of the graduate degrees in the US, we are still under-represented in top echelons of senior management, specifically on corporate boards. I’m still confident that there will be a greater level of equality between men and women across all spectrums of work and family life. And together we’re on a collective journey to that state.
It’s a hard topic, and no one sex is solely to blame. We really are evolving, only statistics show that we’re evolving slower now than we did 10 years ago. Why is that?? That’s why I’m so excited to be at the Women’s Forum this year: I want to know more about the barriers that exist in 2011, and I want to work with other women on shaping what the future could look like.
After all, 2011 is proving itself to be the year of the impossible becoming reality. From the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt to the earthquake in Japan and, of course, the economy. The world we took for granted has been rocked off its axis, to land in an unanticipated configuration.
The Women’s Forum chose to draw inspiration from the 2011’s remarkable global events and theme the meeting: “What If?” The focus is on what the future could bring politically, socially, economically and technologically. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this year’s conversations and to dream with other women what the future could look like for all.
2011 Cannes Lions Judging Complete! by Renee Wilson
Correction: Strategy/Research – 30%; Execution – 20%; Creativity/Originality -20% & Results – 30%