Daring Women Profiles
Daring Women: Seattle Chocolate Owner and CEO Jean Thompson Says Leadership Is a Team Sport
The former Microsoft executive believes leaders are made stronger when good employees are empowered
Jean Thompson was among the original investors in Seattle Chocolate, a confections company launched in 1991 that sells locally made, small-batch chocolate bars and truffles. The former Microsoft communications executive went from being a quiet investor to the owner and chief executive officer of the Tukwila-based company shortly after Seattle Chocolates original factory in Pioneer…
Daring Women: Evia Events CEO Hilary Laney Believes Leaders Must Focus on the Greater Good
She says leadership isnt about the leader, but rather understanding the needs of others
Evia Events was founded in 1993 as Tri-Digital by three entrepreneurs who recognized the growing demand for digital-media content in presentations and documents. Back then, the internet was still in its infancy and CD-ROMS were the digital-storage medium of choice. In the years since its launch, Tri-Digital changed its name to Evia and evolved into…
Daring Women: Former Starbucks Exec Susannah Dhamdhere Says Leaders Must See the Big Picture
Now a small-business owner, she also believes a key ingredient for any successful venture is believing in yourself
Former Starbucks executive Susannah Dhamdhere recently unveiled her own entrepreneurial endeavor, a coffee shop and cafe in the 25-story Ascent South Lake Union apartment tower located adjacent to Amazons headquarters. The shop, called Lassi & Spice Cafe, opened for business in January of this year and offers smoothies with locally sourced yogurt, called lassis, as…
Daring Women: Logic20/20 Executive Juliana Su Values Courage in Leadership
Su says collaboration is important, but so is the fortitude to lead the charge
Business and technology consulting firm Logic20/20 earlier this year hired Juliana Su as the companys managing director of consulting. She has more than 20 years of experience in international consulting services. Su has broad experience managing people, products and projects across multiple countries and disciplines, including software development and customer-care solutions. She served previously as…
Daring Women: The Riveters Amy Nelson Seeks to Change the Future of Work
She says motherhood has been a source of 'enormous strength' in building her company
A little over two years ago, Amy Nelson left her career as a corporate attorney behind to launch a company, the Riveter, a woman-focused co-working startup that that has to date raised more than $20 million in venture capital. At the time she started the Seattle-based company, her oldest child was two years old, her…
Daring Women: Clark Constructions Katie Twomey Excels at Taking the Initiative
Veteran executive believes opportunity should be based on passion for the work and ability to perform not on gender
Katie Twomey has a big job as senior vice president at Seattle-based Clark Construction and a track record of success, including her role as project director for the $1.7 billion expansion of the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. The project is slated for completion in 2021. Twomey has three decades of experience in…
Daring Women: Pushpays Clare Gould Values Empathy and Transparency in Leadership
Marketing executive also advises that we all need to take our careers into our own hands
Over the course of her career, Clare Gould, director of product marketing at Redmond-based Pushpay, has developed expertise in building brands for technology companies. At Pushpay, she oversees both product and customer marketing teams and is focused on executing the companys marketing strategy. The software-as-a-service company provides nonprofits and church groups with donation, engagement and…
Daring Women: Kris Hermanns Says Leaders Must Learn to Make Good Decisions in an Ambiguous World
The Seattle Foundation executive believes its important to recognize that individuals and groups may have different truths
Kris Hermanns is a relatively new face at the long-established Seattle Foundation, which manages more than $1 billion in philanthropic investments, but she is a veteran of the nonprofit world who has earned a national reputation as a champion of equity and a community foundation leader. This past January, Hermanns took on the role of…
Daring Women: Megan Evert Is an Executive Whose Job Requires Her to Solve Puzzles
Evert believes a company performs best when it empowers teamwork
As vice president of operations for Flexe Inc., Megan Everts job is to understand space and logistics. The Seattle company connects warehouse operators with businesses in need of storage. Everts job is to manage and advance continual improvement of Flexes operations, according to Flexes website. Dubbed in some media reports as the AirBnB of warehousing,…
Daring Women: Sharon Lynch, Managing Director at Slalom Build, Believes Leaders Need to Walk the Talk
Lynch sees authenticity, confidence and fearlessness as key traits of great leaders
Sharon Lynch is managing director of solution ownership and quality engineering at Slalom Build, which provides clients with custom-built software solutions and technology products. Slalom Build is part of Seattle-based Slalom LLC, a business consulting company with some 6,000 employees in 27 cities in the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada. Lynch previously worked in management…
Daring Women: Megan Ferland Is Unleashing G.I.R.L. Power Across the Land
As a CEO, Ferland strives to be a Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker and Leader in the best spirit of the Girl Scouts
Megan Ferland has a long history of working to advance the hopes and dreams of children, particularly girls, through her leadership. She has served as the chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of Western Washington since 2012. Prior to her move to Washington, Ferland served as CEO of the Girl Scouts of Colorado. She…
Daring Women: Rocale Timmons, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development at SECO Development
Real estate executive advises women launching their careers to know you are at the table for a reason
Since joining SECO Development Inc. nearly three years ago, Rocale Timmons has played a key role in helping the company pursue its real estate development objectives as a senior executive in charge of planning and development. Renton, Washington-based SECO, founded in 1989, specializes in urban infill and high-end mixed-use projects. Prior to joining SECO, Timmons…
Daring Women: Jennifer Ceran, Chief Financial Officer at Smartsheet
"Both men and women in positions of influence should speak up and show that it is important to them personally to resolve inequities."
The latest Daring Women interview is with Jennifer Ceran, chief financial officer of Bellevue, Washington-based Smartsheet, a leading software as a service provider that specializes in managing collaborative work and automating work processes. Ceran, who earned an MBA degree from the University of Chicagos Booth School of Business, was named chief financial officer of Smartsheet…