The Campaign for Sustained Leadership

Five alumnae share their stories — and some advice — about the path to success.

Mindy Herman once took a 50 percent pay cut to get her foot in the door.

Herman, W'82, president and CEO of cable network E! Entertainment Television, always knew she wanted to work in the entertainment industry. A TV and movie junkie as a child and young adult, she moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles to get her MBA and law degree, thinking she would find a way to break into the business. But four years later, she'd settled somewhat comfortably into life as a young corporate attorney focusing largely on M&A work.

The turning point came when she called home to Philadelphia to share what she thought was great news with her parents: she'd scraped up enough money to buy a home in Malibu.

"I call my parents; I'm all excited to be a homeowner. And my mother, who is a very mild-mannered lady, tore into me on the telephone," recalls Herman, 39. "She basically told me that I could be a corporate lawyer in Philly or New York, but I'd now bought a house — which meant I wouldn't be coming home — and that I hadn't done anything to attain my supposed dream of working in the entertainment industry. I said, 'Whoa, this is not the call I was expecting.' And so I did what any mature, seasoned lawyer would do when confronted by their mom. I hung up on her."

But that Monday, Herman called a headhunter. And three weeks later, she had an entry-level legal job at Fox. At that time, in 1990, Fox was a young, vibrant company about to take off. "For someone who likes start-ups and loves deals, it was a great place to be. It was a Wharton case study a day and a great training ground — a place to really learn every aspect of the business. But it was touch and go to pay my mortgage — it took my whole first check and three quarters of my second check to pay it at the beginning."

In the pages that follow, we talk about five such beginnings, continuing Mindy Herman's story and introducing a handful of other remarkable women — Wharton alums all. They are a vastly different lot, which goes to show that you can't predict success based on personality or background. Herman and Traci Lerner, founder of one of the nation's most successful hedge funds, share intense personalities and a passionate love affair with their respective fields. M. Joy Drass, M.D., president of Georgetown University Hospital, is focused and logical, with a scientist's mind. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, the baby of the group at age 26, is driven by a need to help her native Nigeria, a nation battered by corruption and poverty. And William Penn Foundation president Kathy Engebretson is a turn-around artist who finds nearly everything interesting.

Few would argue that women have made professional inroads as their presence in American organizations has become the norm over the past three decades. A survey by Catalyst Women, the New York-based nonprofit that studies women's professional progress, found that the number of U.S. Fortune 500 firms with a female top earner increased by 54 percent from 1995 to 2000, from 29 women to 83, while companies with more than 25 percent female corporate officers rose 25 percent. But despite these increases, women still represent just 4.1 percent of top earners among Fortune 500 companies. Men hold an overwhelming 92.7 percent of "line officer" positions — those with profit-and-loss or direct client responsibility. And there are just five female CEOs in the Fortune 500 and nine in the Fortune 1000.

What kind of woman is able to buck the trend and rise to the top, or create something powerful from nothing? Some answers follow.

Mindy Herman, W'82

President and CEO of E! Entertainment Television

Kathryn Engebretson, WG'83, PhD'96

President, The William Penn Foundation

Traci Lerner,W'81

Founding Partner, Chesapeake Partners L.P.

Joy Drass, M.D.,WEMBA'91

President, Georgetown University Hospital

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, W'95

Founding Executive Director, The FATE Foundation