Women on Boards – MENTOR dna

January 11, 2022February 2, 2022

Meesh Pierce – advisor, board member, podcaster

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.

October 19, 2021October 25, 2021

Susan Natland, Sr. Partner Knobbe Martens

Susan and I met each other through our husbands. We played a round of golf way back when and have since connected around social settings and discussions about our businesses and careers.

What’s interesting to me is that I didn’t realize what a powerhouse she was in the world of IP law until about 10 years ago. She’s confident and humble, but it was her husband who told me about the roles she had landed as “side hustles.” You know…teaching at UCLA Law School, serving our country on the USPTO Trademark Trademark Public Advisory Committee as Vice Chair. NOT small potatoes kind of gigs!

Another common thread that I’ve gleaned from my leadership podcast guests is that many of them include a solid workout in their daily routines. I often see Susan at yoga and pilates and she’s energized and ready to start her day!

On this episode of MENTOR dna, we discuss the importance of being true to yourself and advocating for what you feel you deserve. She also tells a story about her first Chinese factory raid to shut down illegal hand bag manufacturing. Fascinating!

About Susan Natland

Susan Natland is a senior partner in the Orange County office of Knobbe Martens and has been practicing IP law for over 20 years. As Co-Chair of the firm’s Brand Protection Group and Chair of the firm’s Data Privacy and Security Group, Susan had led a career advising start-ups to Fortune 100 companies on all aspects of domestic and international brand protection, advertising law, copyright law, and data privacy and security matters. Her passion is mentoring others and building strong teams who share her business approach to the law in providing clear, concise and practical advice and success in achieving results for her clients. Her clients view her as a true trusted business partner and have honoured her for many years with the “Client Choice” award. Susan has also taught advanced Trademark Law at her alma mater UCLA Law, and was seconded as trademark counsel for one of the biggest technology and e-commerce companies in the world for several years, helping guide business decisions and policy. Susan has served on her firm’s Executive Committee and Diversity Committee and was recently appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to serve as Vice-Chair of the USPTO Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC).

October 13, 2021October 14, 2021

Whitney Gomez

Whitney and I were in the same class in business school and reconnected when she and her husband moved within 3 miles of us fifteen years ago. Coincidentally, I went to college with her husband and our families have since spent much time together through sports and family fun.

Whitney has a deep passion for current affairs and international business. She’s a voracious reader and has successfully parlayed her experience at Morgan Stanley and PAAMCO into every project she touches. She’s very intentional about the projects she takes on, always stretching herself and learning something new.

She’s an inspiration to me and I really treasure her sense of confidence in everything she does. She shares her philosophy that you can have it all, just not at the same time. It’s taken me years to finally come to grips with this after a lifetime of hearing “You can be anything and have it all!!” Pragmatic thinking and careful planning have led Whitney to the successes she’s experienced in the corporate and non-profit worlds. I know that you’ll love this episode!

About Whitney Gomez

Whitney Kane Gomez has twenty years experience in investment research and fund marketing, and currently serves in both working and advisory capacities on a number of non-profit boards in education and healthcare.

Whitney was a Director in PAAMCO Prisma’s Investment Strategies Group from 2008 – 2019. As a member of the leadership team, she was involved in client service, marketing and regulatory compliance. Whitney also oversaw the firm’s analyst program, media relations and external publications efforts.

Prior to joining PAAMCO in 2008, Whitney was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley and spent ten years as an emerging markets strategist in the Fixed Income Department in New York. She covered a number of Latin American countries and was responsible for global strategy as the head of Morgan Stanley’s Fixed Income Emerging Markets Strategy team. Whitney’s research was recognized by Institutional Investor, Euromoney and LatinFinance magazines, and has been broadly quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.

Whitney started her career at the US Department of State in the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center and later in the Office of Newly Independent States. She undertook short-term assignments for the State Department at the American embassies in Kiev, Ukraine; Chişinău, Moldova; and Yerevan, Armenia. Whitney received the U.S. Department of State Superior Honor Award for her service.

Whitney graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Richmond with a BA in Global Studies with a concentration in International Economics. She received an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Whitney resides in Newport Beach with her husband and three children. She enjoys off-the-beaten-trail travel, reading non-fiction, and the family’s Australian Shepherd.

September 27, 2021October 12, 2021

Coco Brown, CEO & Founder, Athena Alliance

This episode is in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Momentum Conference, an all-women’s event Oct. 1-3, 2021.

As I’ve entered what I consider the prime years of my career, I’ve been connecting with my girlfriends and colleagues about their aspirations. I spent 25 years in the corporate world and 21 of those had a parallel track spent serving on non-profit boards.

While I eased off the corporate track 3 years ago, I still find that I have much experience and energy to offer. Some of my friends suggested connecting with Coco Brown, CEO & Founder of the Athena Alliance. Coco, too, is a Penn alumna, and she’s built an incredible network of women seeking latter career moves. Many are interested in board service, while others want to start their own companies, and still others are very passionate about venture, private equity or angel investing.

Athena is a fantastic way for women to continue to learn about these various avenues and connect with one another and companies seeking their expertise.

About Coco Brown

Coco is a CEO and board member, actively leading Silicon Valley based professional services and tech companies since 1997. From 2002 to 2012 Coco was President and COO of Taos, a Gartner top 20 global IT professional and managed services company servicing hundreds of F1000 and top tier private growth companies nationally. She was also on the board of Taos for 12 years, leading the company through massive economic cycles and business model evolution and growth. Coco led the company to $54m in revenue, and the company has subsequently been sold to IBM.

In 2016 Coco founded Athena Alliance, a digital platform for learning and agency for top business women striving for the c-suite and the boardroom. Athena has seen 2.8x growth in membership in the last 12 months since launching as a true subscription model and hosts over 1,000 women leaders today. Coco is a well-published expert and speaker on The Modern Boardroom. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Coco serves on the commercial boards of Athena Alliance, Inc and Archerpoint (an ESOP), as well as the non-profit board of Athena Rising Foundation.