Today, Mary Beth Loesch joins the show to talk about how she knew she wanted to be a CEO when she grew up, how she hit the fast track when she was in her 20s, and how her experience in sales, operations, and finance prepared her for the CEO chair. We can’t wait to see what Mary Beth accomplishes when she grows up!
ABOUT OUR GUEST
CEO, Board member, and current Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Advisor Mary Beth Loesch started presenting in front of the US West Board before she was 30 years old and opened up operations in the Philippines and Central America. She has extensive M&A experience, is a CEO, Board Member, and Advisor and recently, she took up golf. Mary Beth graduated from Creighton University with both an undergrad and an MBA; her board experience has ranged from Women on Boards to Regis University and many in between.
GET IN TOUCH WITH MARY BETH LOESCH ON LINKEDIN
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
[1:52] Michael introduces Mary Beth and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — before she became pregnant 21 years ago, she used to ride motorcycles!
She explains what her firm CGE Strategic Consulting does.
A CEO AT 5 YEARS OLD [4:02] Mary Beth shares how her father’s entrepreneurship influenced what she aspired to be as a child. She explains what skills she picked up on her way to the C-suite starting with being fearless when it comes to the roles you take on in your early career.
[7:25] Because Mary Beth was so fearless jumping from one role to the next, she gets a wide array to pick a favorite from.
FROM CONSULTANT TO CEO [7:46] Mary Beth touches on the interesting experience of coming in as a consultant and exiting as the CEO for Medical Simulation Corporation.
OPERATIONS OVERSEAS [10:38] Travelling to India, the Philippines, and Central America was an enriching experience.
THE US WEST DAYS [12:06] Mary Beth shares a few pivotal stories — including one fearless flight for her career — from her US West days, starting as the Supervisor, Payroll Accounting and leaving as Division President.
TURNAROUND SITUATIONS [20:00] Turning situations around is one of Mary Beth’s great career loves; she shares a story from her days at Activant Solutions, from doubling the $220 million a year to a $900 million exit in two years.
BEST CEO PREPARATION [23:04] Mary Beth lists the breadth of varied experiences she attributes to helping her succeed as a CEO.
ADVICE FOR ASPIRING CEOS [25:02] Mary Beth shares the most important thing she believes people should be doing who aspire to the CEO position: seize opportunities to pick up new skill sets.
MANAGEMENT STYLE [25:41] Mary Beth’s management style.
B.E.N. [26:12] What is the Blackstone Entrepreneurial Network and why does Mary Beth donate her time?
AHA MOMENTS AND ADVICE [27:20] Mary Beth touches on a big aha moment she had while doing M&A. Leave it better than you found it is a piece of advice that Mary Beth still uses today. She shares the advice she gives to young up-and-comers.
BEST WORST JOB MARY BETH EVER HAD [33:47] All roads lead to US West!
FINAL THOUGHTS AND READING RECOMMENDATIONS [35:09] Mary Beth shares her final thoughts and invites listeners to read the Wall Street Journal.
[36:35] Michael thanks Mary Beth for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.
We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
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