Meesh Pierce – advisor, board member, podcaster

meesh pierce MENTOR dna podcast host

Welp, here it is. An episode where I get interviewed on my own show. Weird. Uncomfortable. Awkward. Yes, all of those things!

BUT, I was able to convince Wharton Professor Pete Fader to interview me! We chat about how I landed my first internship in the music industry, my transition into tech, and the crazy and bold things I’ve said to colleagues and bosses.

Leadership podcasts allow seasoned execs to share their stories and I hope you enjoy my journey. 

About Meesh Pierce

Meesh Pierce is a former tech executive who started her career in entertainment during the heyday of grunge rock. Her early days at Disney and Sony Music introduced her to the corporate world and importance of connectedness.

She worked long hours answering phones, faxing Winnie the Pooh and Lion King toy concepts to China, and sneaking into hole-in-the-wall concerts until the wee hours. During the early internet days, Meesh bet that tech was going to materially change the entertainment world, so she headed back to Philly for her 2nd stint at Wharton.

As a freshly-minted business school grad, she stepped into product management gigs for the likes of NBC, Sony Digital Entertainment, and Ticketmaster.

A risk taker, Meesh started an early dot com custom merch company, snacki, in the late 90s. A few years later, she took an opportunity to learn commercial and residential real estate development from a seasoned investor.

She spent 15 years as a hired gun consultant  stepping into difficult 1-2 year projects; those that needed someone adept at strategy, product and marketing, and comfortable navigating across divisions and up to the c-suite and board. As an independent consultant, she’s worked with Epson, Mercedes (AutoGravity), Fandango (NBC), and Amor Boutique Hotel amongst others.

Meesh now serves on boards, as advisor to several organizations, and mentor to many. She loves using her experience to make connections between people and ideas.

Meesh is equally left and right-brained. She drives an F-150 to support her furniture painting habits as there’s rarely an abandoned roadside furniture piece she doesn’t stop to investigate. She started documenting her furniture painting techniques at imeeshu.com and learned a great deal about SEO through her personal journey as a blogger.

She’s also an avid gardener and has built her own hydroponics greenhouse with a fully-functioning set-up for tomato and lettuce farming.

Meesh loves people and mentoring. She has many mentees stretching across all walks of life; from Broadway stars, to growth-minded entrepreneurs, to people in career or life transitions.   

Thanks for tuning in!

meesh pierce MENTOR dna podcast host15

MENTOR dna is a few years in the making. As Head of Product at  AutoGravity, a Mercedes fintech startup, I was inspired by my team and colleagues. However, my husband really pushed me to be introspective and look at our situation from the outside in. 

I was working long hours with 2 young kids at home. We had 4 nannies. I was juggling managing the home, the nannies, the kids, their sports schedules. My life had become an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. 

But I kept telling myself that I wasn’t done. I had so much more work life left in me. 

When I left AutoGravity, I’d already been serving on non-profit boards, including that of my kids’ school. I had a really difficult transition into “retirement” mode thinking “is this all I’m gonna do?!” 

Then God started laughing and made it abundantly clear that He needed me on that school board. We were in the midst of a large capital campaign in support of a multi-year construction project when a governance issue reared its ugly head. 

I spent the next 2 years “working” 50-60 hours a week through a very politically-charged environment. I learned more about people, governance, leadership, and the importance of having solid mentors than in the 25 years prior in my career. 

Simultaneously, my alma mater, University of Pennsylvania, tapped me to lead the tech committee for an all-women’s conference called Momentum 2020. I built a team of fantastic social media Penn girlfriends and we launched a podcast that showcased Penn alumnae from around the world. I produced and edited and received really positive feedback from the Penn community at large. 

Through my network, I’m blessed to know some really incredible leaders; people I turn to regularly for advice, collaborating on new business ideas, and investment opportunities. MENTOR dna is a passion project and will bring these people front and center to you!

As a board member, advisor, and mentor, I love what I do. As I speak to my friends on MENTOR dna, I hope that you have the chance to learn valuable lessons that these incredibly dynamic leaders share through their stories. 

Thank you!