Leadership Conversations

Ever wonder where the mythical career ladder is leading you, or how you could apply your current experience and skills to a different career? Want to learn how to prepare mentally and financially to take the “risks” of transitioning into a different career? Please join us for a panel discussion and learn from an outstanding group of Ross MBA leaders about switching tracks mid-career. Host: Priya Ramamurthi, CEO Ramamurthi Consulting Panelists: Rachel Levy Lesser: Author at She Writes Press, On Air Host at A Mighty Blaze Tamasin Ford: Founder & Lead Instructor, Power Up Tech Academy Lyle Underkoffler: Head of Digital Marketing and eCommerce, Personal Health North America, Philips Jake House: CEO, Smart Start of Mecklenburg County

Host: Priya Ramamurthi, CEO Ramamurthi Consulting Panelists: Janelle Anderson, Officer of Global Marketing and Digital @ American Airlines Keerthi Thiruvazhi, VP Product, Design & Program Starbucks Joy Ghanekar: SVP and Head of Product at US Bank Steve Spaulding: VP Marketing at Smead Manufacturing

2020 has been a year like no other – the Covid pandemic, mass lay-offs, working from home, parents who had their support systems ripped, anxiety regarding taking care of the older generation, racial inequity and discrimination and topped with a fraught political climate in the US. As leaders, we have struggled with these problems in our personal lives, while also having to motivate teams everyday to get the job done. While many of these challenges did not occur in 2020, the business climate has changed where these topics can no longer be ignored. The delineation between ‘work’ and ‘personal’ were blurred and crossed. The idea of always having your ‘game face on’ is not OK anymore. What we may have learned in the past needs to be unlearned and our leaders on today’s panel have done that in their own way navigating the politics in their organizations. In these Leadership Conversations, we will focus on how they did it, what challenges they faced and get into the nitty gritty. This is not meant to be a 30,000 foot view of a story with a romantic ending. It’s about facing the practical challenges NOT idealistic situations.