Today Jamey Seely joins the show to talk about being a Chief Legal Officer — which most people refer to as being your own counsel — the two usual legal career paths, being an executive and LGBTQ in blue-collar industries and working in nuclear.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Jamey was named by Denver Business Journal as one of 2020’s Top 25 Most Powerful and Influential Women in Business; she is a Trailblazer in Business honoree by Aspioneer for 2019, an Outstanding Women in Business Award winner in 2017 and a 2018 Out and Proud Corporate Counsel Award winner by the national LGBTQ bar association — and that’s just since she’s arrived in Denver.
GET IN TOUCH WITH JAMEY ON LINKEDIN
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
[1:52] Michael introduces Jamey and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — marathoning and cycling worldwide as well as racing cars are just one of the few things this adrenaline junkie likes to do!
[4:44] Jamey explains what Gates is and what they do — they’re everywhere and they have vulcanizers!
CLO OR GENERAL COUNSEL [8:17] What does a CLO do in terms of helping a company be healthy? And Jamey shares the really awesome thing about being on the legal side of a corporation.
BECOMING GC/CLO [13:00] Jamey knew from high school that she wanted to be a CLO — even not fully knowing what that meant. She also speaks to paying her dues and the importance of mentorship.
[17:14] GC used to require corporate securities and M&A, if not, you could be a number two. Jamey touches on the trends today.
[19:19] Jamey speaks to the most common reasons people aim for that role, as well as what makes a good GC.
PEER AND BOARD INTERACTIONS [20:54] A GC serves multiple roles; Jamey shares a professional story that explains the breadth of interactions a GC needs to maintain. She touches on how a board should behave.
WHY JAMEY GOT THE JOB [25:22] She explains why she joined Gates and what her job was from the get-go — make the company public. She talks about how she did it, as well as getting to the big day and ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
LGBTQ [30:52] Jamey touches on being LGBTQ in business. She shares some advice and talks about how she got a feeling for the culture of diversity at Gates — and how you can get a good feeling for this in any company. Ask if they have a diversity and inclusion initiative both internally and externally!
NUCLEAR [40:28] Jamey talks about working with the brightest minds and running huge fun projects from a legal perspective. She shares her experience of Fukushima which happens right as she had landed an enormous nuclear project.
ADVICE FOR ASPIRING GC/CLO [45:01] Be prepared for the breadth and for being the trusted advisor for the C suite. Jamey breaks down some key experience you should work at getting. Also, keep an open mind!
WHEN JAMEY SET HER SIGHTS [47:54] Jamey speaks to when she decided she was going for the C suite in earnest — after having left law, which became a career asset.
BEST WORST JOB JAMEY EVER HAD [49:46] Litigation was never a match for Jamey — also, waiting tables, it’s brutal. Michael shares his own horrible job!
[53:29] Michael thanks Jamey for coming on the podcast to share his 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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