What ensues when you combine dynamic, diverse female CEOs, creative professionals, helicopter rides to the Hamptons and a power lunch held at a private estate. . . . simply put, magic. It may shock you, but the magic wasn’t actually in the material things (although, let’s be real, I truly appreciated being treated like a queen for a day.) The magic was in the knowledge I gained during the #BossLadyBrunch hosted by Tinder in partnership with The Female Quotient and Cosmopolitan. They brought together leaders from various industries who shared advice and spoke candidly about their experiences successfully navigating and thriving in the workplace.
Before we got down to business and listened to the panelist over lunch, it really was about letting us hardworking ladies relax to the fullest; and oh how we enjoyed it! As if taking a helicopter to New York’s playground for the oh so fabulous (aka, the Hamptons), only to then arrive at an estate with a private pool (which also had the beach as the backdrop) wasn’t enough of a treat, the surprises kept coming. We selected earrings from BaubleBar, had our pick of Havaiana flip flops and took full advantage of a beautiful photo op flower wall.
While indulging in a day of goodies was phenomenal, the gift which will last a lifetime was the advice given and discussions had during the #BossLadyBrunch panel moderated by my friend, Laura Brounstein, who is the director of editorial and business development for Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines. Laura is a true leader a woman’s woman, so there couldn’t have been a better person to set the tone for the conversation. *Note, all panelists are listed towards the end of this post. Also, shoutout to Mike Sorgenfrei, the only man in attendance who was brave enough to face us women (kidding — we were nice to him 🙂
As we flew back to NYC, I felt like a boss. I mean, I was in a Blade helicopter, so who wouldn’t feel on top of the world (literally) with that as their ride. I’ve run my own company for some time now, but rarely take time to recharge and reflect on what it means to be at the helm of a growing business. I was inspired and reinvigorated from being surrounded by fellow CEOs and women from various fields who are all at different levels in their careers.
All of us may have different career paths, but the commonalities seemed to be focus, drive, belief in helping others in the workplace (and beyond) and philanthropy. I made instant connections with several women (hello spirit animal Tiffany Dufu), but really clicked with two in particular: Sandra Lopez, Vice President/GM of Intel and Angela Ledgerwood, Journalist, Host of the podcast, “Lit Up,” and Events Programmer at Fast Con.
I’ll share some of the advice the panelists gave (see the list of participants below) in an upcoming “Like a Boss,” post. Trust me, it will be worth the read because these changemakers kept it real and no questions were off limits.
LIST OF PANELISTS:
Rosette Pambakian, Head of Marketing and Communications at Tinder
Laura Brounstein, Director of Editorial and Business Development at “Cosmopolitan” and “Seventeen” magazines
Tiffany Dufu, Chief Leadership Officer, Levo and Author, “Drop the Ball”
Liz Gray, President and Chief Storyteller at TFQ
Amy O’Dell, Editor at Cosmopolitan.com and Author, “Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider’s View from Inside the Fashion Industry”
Mike Sorgenfrei, Founder at AdMass, Inc