The Journey to the C-Suite: Expectations vs. Reality

In celebration of Women’s Equality Day, Namely and SpeakHer Mind are excited to highlight the importance of female leadership by exploring the journey to the C-Suite through the eyes of a woman.

While gender disparity in the C-Suite is nothing new, research shows that firms with more women in senior positions have better business outcomes and more positive change. They are more profitable, more socially responsible, and provide safer, higher-quality customer experiences, along with many other benefits.

Still, only 6% of CEOs in Fortune 1000 companies are women. Why is it that women continue to be underrepresented in the C-Suite? What does it really take to reach the C-Suite as a woman? It might not look like you imagine.

Join Gabrielle Toledano, Chief Operating Officer at Keystone Strategy, for an exclusive conversation with Elisa Steele, Namely’s Chair of the Board of Directors to explore:

Why businesses should prioritize hiring women leaders
The workplace dynamics influencing women’s path to the C-Suite
Overcoming complexities in a male dominated environment
How organizational leaders can improve upward mobility for women

Elisa Steele – Speaker
Chair, Board of Directors, Namely

A business leader in the tech sector for 30 years, Elisa is an experienced executive in Silicon Valley.

Elisa currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) and Namely, where she was previously CEO. She also serves on the boards of Splunk (SPLK), Bumble, Procore Technologies and JFrog (FROG). Elisa is an advisor to Tile and people.ai. Prior to CEO at Namely, she served as CEO at Jive (JIVE). Prior to Jive, Elisa was Corporate Vice President & CMO of consumer apps and services at Microsoft, including brands such as Bing, Internet Explorer, Lync, MSN, Outlook.com and Skype, among others.

Elisa hosts the speaker series, SpeakHer Mind that seeks to amplify voices and share practical, positive steps that can deliberately build workplace environments that empower women to achieve their potential.

Elisa holds a M.B.A. from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire.

Gabrielle Toledano – Moderator

COO, Keystone Strategy

Gaby is an experienced board director, advisor and operating executive with over 30 years experience in technology, gaming and digital transformation within Fortune 500 companies such as Tesla, Electronic Arts, Microsoft and Oracle. Gaby has specialized in all aspects of talent strategy and management with vast experience and depth in executive compensation, CEO coaching, executive and board recruiting, M&A and the breadth of C-level Human Resources experience as a Section 16 Public Officer.

Gaby is currently Keystone Strategy’s Chief Operating Officer overseeing Finance, Human Resources, IT/Labs, Marketing and Communications and Facilities/Office Management. For the one year prior to Keystone, Gaby served as an Executive in Residence for Comcast Ventures and its portfolio companies. Prior to Comcast, she served as the Chief People Officer leading Human Resources, EHS and Facilities at Tesla and before that was the Executive Vice President and Chief Talent Officer for more than 10 years at Electronic Arts.

Gaby, who is bilingual, received her undergraduate and advanced degrees from Stanford University, followed by a Rotary Scholarship post in Santiago, Chile.

SpeakHer Mind Presents