san francisco 2008
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HUWIB Outreach TripTRANSCRIPT
San FranciSco TripThe Third annual career exploraTory Trip by Caterina yuan
Our career exploratory trip to San Francisco was a blast. twenty-eight girls had the amazing opportuni-ty to visit ten companies in different industries, from technology to retail. We met many successful, inspir-ing businesswomen who shared with us their success-es and their advice for our futures as young women in business. along the way, we saw the beautiful San Francisco bay area and even picked up a few golf skills. below is a summary of the companies we vis-ited and some of the highlights from each of our stops.
Thursday, January 24Th: reTail restoration hardwareOur first stop was Restoration Hardware, a company that specializes in high-end home furnishings. We met four amazing women, who each shared with us her ca-reer path and advice. “Don’t waste time doing some-thing you don’t like,” Bonnie Orofino, Chief Merchan-dising Officer advised us. Elyse Robinson, Senior Vice President of Human Resources urged us to take control of our own development. Corporate Controller Vivian
MacDonald shared with us her passion for accounting, and Fran Hamman inspired us with her journey from being a young model in South Africa to Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing.
ross stores, inc.After leaving Restoration Hardware with special tote bags filled with mugs and catalogs, we arrived at Ross Stores, an off-price retailer specializing in discounted fashions. Ross has the flexibility to take advantage of imbalances in the supply chain and thus provide high-quality bargains to its customers. “if you get bored eas-ily, retail is a good place for you,” Mary Walter, SVP of ross Stores advised us. We met four other senior women executives, including Jane Marvin, SVP of Human Resources; Katie Loughnot, VP Investor and Media Relations; Anke Schwantje, VP Store Planning; and Dawn Urbancic, VP and Controller of Store Op-erations. each of the women highlighted ross’s culture of performance and its receptiveness to new ideas as
Harvard Undergraduate Women In BusinessThird Annual Career Exploratory Trip
See Page 4 for the Top 10 Highlights of the San Francisco Exploratory Trip!
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reasons why they continue to work at the company.
Gap, inc.
Our third stop on the retail trek was to the San Francisco headquarters of Gap, inc., one of the world’s largest spe-cialty retailers that operates several well-known apparel brands, including Gap, Old navy, and banana republic. Jack Calhoun, President of banana republic, shared hispath from engineering major at Purdue to brand president and his three keys for success: leadership ability, creativity, and analytic ability. Toby Lenk, President of Gap Inc. direct, Gap’s online store, described the infinite opportunities for online retailing. Eva Sage-Gavin, Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Communica-tions described her rebelliousness as a young woman and urged us to take risks and find our true talents.
design Within reachat Design Within reach, a company that sells high-end, modern furniture, we learned more about mar-keting. We met Director of Marketing Ilsooks Backs, PR Managerr Erin Brown, and Copy Manager Emily Fasten and learned how they planned their year-long marketing strategy and how they designed their adver-tisements in order to reach their desired customer.
Barclays Global investorsOur last thursday stop was a dinner hosted by bar-clays Global investors, one of the world’s largest fund managers. We were able to meet many pow-erful women in the company, who shared with us their diverse experiences and roles in the company. We had the opportunity to ask questions about their work and about their personal work-life balance.
Friday, January 25Th: reTail and TechnoloGy
Williams-sonoma, inc.Our first stop of the morning was the beautiful San Francisco office of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., the par-ent company of Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, and West Elm. We were treated
to an appearance and speech by founder Chuck Wil-liams, who later presented us signed copies of Wil-liams-Sonoma cook books. two inspiring women shared with us their experiences in the business world, and we met several others over breakfast. Sharon Mc-Collam, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer, advised us to manage our careers with a clear vision and a strategic plan.
She shared several key traits of successful
Harvard Undergraduate Women In BusinessThird Annual Career Exploratory Trip
“Key traits of successful women: person-al ethics, strong leadership skills, mana-gerial courage, and good judgement.” - Sharon McCollam
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For information on Gap’s Retail Manage-ment Program Summer internship visit www.gapinc.com/careers
women: personal ethics, strong leadership skills, mana-gerial courage, and good judgment. McCollam em-phasized several important skills, including prioritiza-tion, team building, and delegation. President Laura Alber encouraged us to have confidence in ourselves and to pursue our passions.
Google, inc.Google, inc., the internet search company, was our next stop. We were treated to a tour of Google’s ex-pansive campus and to unlimited food at the com-pany’s central (buffet) café. We had the opportu-nity to meet Harvard alumnae at Google and to learn more about what it’s like to work at Google.
apple, inc.the next technology company we visited was apple, the maker of personal computers, iPods, and the iP-hone. We had the opportunity to hold the new Mac-book air and learn about apple’s business model.
Facebook, inc.Facebook, the social utility website founded by Mark Zuckerberg, was our last stop. We met with two re-cent Harvard alumnae now working for Facebook. they each described what it was like to work for a small, growing company. Afterwards, we joined Fa-cebook’s happy hour, where we were treated to food and conversation with current Facebook employees.
saTurday, January 26Th: enTrepreneurship
stanford Graduate school of Business
Our last day of the trip was spent on Stanford’s campus. We were given a presentation by Stanford’s business School, which offers personalized education, innova-tive learning, global and social impact, and a collab-orative culture. three current students shared their experiences as business school students and praised the collaborative environment of the school. Stan-ford GSb also encourages student entrepreneurship.
Jerome and Beth andrews GolfJerome and beth andrews shared their experiences as entrepreneurs starting a golf busi-ness. Mrs. Andrews described the challenges in starting a women’s golf company and in building Je-rome’s existing enterprise. We learned the importance of just reach-ing out to people and cold-calling in order to get customers. Mr. An-drews, a top-ranked golf instruc-tor, brought all of us to the Stan-ford driving range and spent a few hours teaching us the basics of the swing. by the end, we were well on our way to an outstanding golf career.
From San Francisco to Stanford, in a few short days, we learned so many things and met many amazing peo-ple who shared their experiences and insights with us.
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See Page 5 for a partial list of speakers and some contact information!
10. Flying on Jet Blue with yummy snacks and nonstop Project Runway re-runs and American Idol on airplane TV!
9. Getting “Team Resto” tote bags and cof-fee mugs from Restoration Hard-ware - great new book bags!
8. Sitting down to a 5-course meal with the representatives from Bar-clay’s Group Investments.
7. Chatting with the fabulous Mr. Jack Calhoun, President of Ba-nana Republic. Enough said! 6. Mingling at the Facebook mixer surrounded by graf-fiti wallpaper, unlimited candy, and nobody over the age of 25. What an awesome company!
5. Golfing (or at-tempting to golf) at Stanford’s driving range with golf pro-fessional, Je-rome Andrews.
4. Meeting Chuck Williams, the 92-year old founder of Williams Sonoma and receiving a surprise autographed cookbook!
3. Running wild at Google’s “playground” with free laundry, a gym, dozens of cafes, un-
limited Naked Juice, bikes around “campus,” a shuttle to and from San Francisco, and a diverse spread of food and desserts at all times.
2. Getting to see the Macbook Air two weeks before its actual release date while sitting only four floors below Steve Jobs!
1. Hearing over and over from top executives that
the key to success is all about finding your pas-sion and pursuing what you love no mat-
ter how circuitous your path may be!
Top 10 Highlights of the San Francisco Exploratory Tripby Alison Ryu
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resToraTion hardWareBONNIE OROFINO, Chief Merchandising OfficerELYSE DOUGLAS ROBINSON, Sr. Vice President, Human resourcesFRAN HAMMAN, Sr. Vice President, Global Sourcing and international Compliance
rossJANE MARVIN, SVP Human ResourcesMARY WALTER, SVP Ross StoresKATIE LOUGHNOT, VP Investor & Media Relations (Finance)
GapTOBY LENK, President, Gap Inc DirectEVA SAGE-GAVIN, Executive Vice President, Human Resourc-es and Corporate CommunicationsJACK CALHOUN, President, Banana Republic
desiGn WiThin reachILSOOK BACKS, Director of MarketingERIN BROWN, PR ManagerEMILY FASTEN, Copy Manager
BarclaysKAREN MCKINLEY, Global Head of Graduate Recruitment & Development Human ResourcesANNE-MARIE CANTER, Graduate Recruitment & Develop-ment Human ResourcesAMY BENNETT, Director, Direct Marketing Communications Strategy, Principal
WilliaMs-sonoMaLAURA J. ALBER, PresidentSHARON MCCOLLAM, Executive Vice President, Chief Oper-ating and Chief Financial Officer
GooGleLELA ALEXIS BRODSKY, Online Operations AssociateJENNIFER CHANG, AdWords Account AssociateJULIE ZHOU, Associate Product Marketing ManagerALEXA BUSH, People Operations Associate
appleSCOTT GILFOIL, University Relations, Manager
FaceBooKMEAGAN MARKS, Monetization team, ManagerAMY VORA, Platform product Marketing team, Manager
sTanFord Business schoolERIN KELLERHALS, Assistant Director, MBA Admissions Office
JeroMe andreWs GolFJEROME ANDREWS
BeTh andreWs GolFBETH ANDREWS
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ContaCt InformatIon ross DIreCtor, talent Development
DenIse anDerson
(925) [email protected]
restoratIon HarDware
senIor vICe presIDent, Global sourCInG anD InternatIon-al ComplIanCe
fran Hamman
restoratIon HarDware
senIor vICe presIDent, Human resourCes
elyse DouGlas
wIllIams-sonoma, InC.DIreCtor, busIness sales
JIll e. JoHn
Jerome anDrews
www.JeromeanDrewsGolf.Com