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My guest is Sean Tomasello, who I had the pleasure of working with when she became the first female National Director of Hematology for Retuxent, Genentech's$1.7 billion revenue therapy to treat non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
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What impressed me most about Sean was her leadership style and her ability to learn the business and landscape very quickly.
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I admired her for her can-do attitude, her ability to spot and develop talent, and partner with others to enable her franchise to thrive.
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Her sense of humor and her genuine commitment to doing the right thing made her someone I trusted and relied on for advice.
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Since leaving Genentech, Sean went on to become president and then chief commercial officer and was instrumental in two successful biotech acquisitions.
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She took a stab at retiring in 2015 and was wooed back into a new commercial organization with a mission to cure cancer.
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Sean successfully led that commercial organization and continues to be active in the industry.
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I'm thrilled to have Sean join the podcast today to share her phenomenal journey and her many next chapters.
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Welcome to the podcast, Sean.
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Thank you for being with us today.
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Let's start with you telling us about yourself.
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Thank you for having me, and I'm really honored to be connected with you again.
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We had really good juju when we worked together at Genentech, and we got a lot of great stuff done.
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Yeah.
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And so yeah, so my name is Sean Tomasello, and I have spent my entire professional career in first pharma and then biotech.
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So I was lucky enough right out of college to get a job with Pfizer Laboratories as a field representative.
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And then in the mid to late 80s, when biotech was, I would say, not necessarily born, but became a thing, I had just finished my MBA and my last big project was on the birth of biotech.
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And it focused on Genentech and Amgen.
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So I was very happy with the role that I had in Pharma, had a great boss, loved my customers, loved my job.
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And a recruiter called about Genentech, and I gave them my, hey, I'm really happy with everything about my job, my boss, my blah, blah, blah.
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The only thing I would think about doing is an opportunity in biotech, and that's probably not going to come to me in Paducah, Kentucky.
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And he said, Well, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but it's Genentech.
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I'm
Load full transcript
like, where do I go?
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So I had a great interview and I'll never forget it.
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And the short version of the story was I got the role.
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I was so happy to be getting into biotech.
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Genentech was very different than the environment that I had been raised in.
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My first job was in Pfizer.
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Before that, I worked at Procter and Gamble.
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So I was in very buttoned-up, rules-oriented organizations.
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And Genentech was, you know, innovative, free thinking, get the job done.
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We don't have a whole lot of SOPs if we had any.
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And it was like I found the perfect landing spot for me.
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So I was there for 17 years and did a lot of different roles at Genentech.
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I'll always be incredibly grateful for that experience.
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But as the company grew, I realized that I'm not a big company gal.
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And I just got this, had this great experience with a woman named Lindsay Luke who was at Selgene.
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And it was out in California in Sonoma at a hematology update for executives.
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And we just really clicked and had a great conversations about oncology and hematology.
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And two weeks later, somebody from Selgene called me about coming there and helping them build their company.
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And honestly, if I hadn't met Lindsay Luke, I wouldn't know anything about Selgene.
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But I was so impressed with her professionalism and the relationship she had.
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I said, Look, I'm not leaving.
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I'm not looking to leave.
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I haven't interviewed in 16 years, but I'm coming to the East Coast in two weeks for a meeting.
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And I can come over in the late afternoon.
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But I need to be honest with you, I'm not looking to make a change.
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And they said, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Just come and come and check us out.
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I'm like, all right, fine.
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So so then I left Genentech, never thinking I would ever leave, and went to help build Selgene.
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I think I was there nearly 10 years.
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It was a great experience.
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It was a very small company when I got there.
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And that is where I thrive.
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I like to know the people, I like to know who I'm working with.
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I like to build a tribe.
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And that gets harder and harder to do when you're talking about thousands and thousands of people, right?
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You can do it, but it's much more difficult.
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Yeah.
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So I was the the president of the Americas, and a company called Pharmacyclics called, and they were looking for a chief commercial officer.
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And that would have been like my next role, possibly at Cell Gene.
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And I thought, you know what?
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Might be time for me to go to a smaller company again.
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So I I went there and you know, a lot of the people that were at Pharmacyclics worked for me at either Genentech or Selgene.
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Yes.
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So it's kind of like going home again.
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And 11 months later, we transacted the company to AB.
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So I was out of a job, and it was a beautiful experience.
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The people, the the teams were amazing.
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I had folks that I'd worked with before that I really trusted.
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And it was financially a really, really positive thing for my family.
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Yeah.
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Which I was congratulating, congratulations, because that's not easy when you take risks on startups and small companies.
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Yeah, you don't know where they're going to go, right?
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And you put your whole heart and soul and you bring people that you've worked with and you you do the right things and you work really hard.
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And sometimes it doesn't always work out.
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But when it doesn't science doesn't work out, and you can't do anything about that.
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You can't.
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Yeah.
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So I retired.
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I retired the first time.
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And I'll just put to the punchline.
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I'm a retirement failure.
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Oh no, there's no failure.
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It's your life.
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You get to decide.
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No, don't say that you're a failure.
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You're not.
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But retirement is really not, it just wasn't for me.
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Maybe I just wasn't ready at that point in time, but I thought I was.
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And so I went about my business, you know, playing more tennis and reading more books and keeping myself busy, spending a lot more time with my husband, who had been unbelievably supportive for, you know, we've been married 31 years,
going on 31 years.
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And, you know, there was never an opportunity that came our way from my career perspective where he was like, Oh, I don't know.
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He was always, yeah, say yes, you can do it.
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Let's go do it.
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I remember meeting him a couple of times and actually meeting him at your house in Half Moon Bay.
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And you and I drove out there, and what a wonderful man.
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And he is larger than life, larger than life, a big soul.
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But he lit up when you walked into the room.
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Like the love he always did.
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The love and the partnership that the two of you had and have, I'm sure, I admired.
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So um, thank you.
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I feel very blessed to have received that kind of love.
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I think some people go their whole life and don't really find that.
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A lot of people do, but I'm very, very grateful and incredibly in the moment about it.
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I realize how how special it is, really.
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So but anyhow, he and I were, you know, just hanging out.
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And so I got a call from Saul Bearer, who was one of my CEOs, and he's one of the founders of of Selgene.
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And he said, I gave your name to this guy named Ari Beldegren, and he might call you.
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He's looking for a chief commercial officer, and he asked me who to call, who was the best that I knew.
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And I said, You need to call Sean Tomasello, but she's gonna tell you no.
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And uh I'm I'm saying a theme here.
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Yeah, so he yeah, he called and I said, you know, I'm really I'm retired.
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Um, I looked at your company.
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This is Kite Pharma, and I love what you're doing.
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I would love to meet you and I can help you build a team.
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And he he's like, Well, okay.
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So, you know, we were supposed to meet for a few just a few minutes and we ended up spending a good amount of time together.
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And um, so I said, Look, I'm never gonna work for somebody again, but I would love to consult with you and help you build just a world-class team and watch this thing just skyrocket because it's amazing.
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This is gonna make history.
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I want to be part of history one more time.
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Yeah.
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So I tell my husband, I'm going out to Santa Monica, but not for very long.
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It was once I got under the hood and I met his executive team and the scientists, and it was like catnip.
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I was like, oh no, I have to do this.
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This is definitely gonna change people's lives in a way that is even bigger than what I've been honored to do in the past.
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Yeah.
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So, long story short, I started building my team.
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One of our analysts that covered the company, he described me as Mary Poppins.
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She just keeps pulling stuff out of the bag.
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You know, here's this person, here's that person, not just people, but highly, highly accomplished professionals because it was so special what we had to do, which was build a completely different business model that never existed before.
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So it was really hard.
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And the days were long, the nights were long, and all the things, experiences we had in the past, a lot of them didn't apply for the future.
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So you had to figure out what the future was going to look like.
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And you're never totally sure you're right until you test it, right?
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Right, right.
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So, hey, we we got it, we got it out there, and patients are living today because of it with the cell therapy being successful.
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And so that was almost three years though that I was out in Santa Monica and going.
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Did you relocate?
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Did no no?
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I am I am a professional commuter.
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Okay, but you know, I had an apartment, yeah.
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Um, you know, these biotechs, you you you go and you your intention is to build it to last, yeah, but people come along and want to buy it sometimes, right?
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Yeah, and they do, you know, my kids were at a point where I'm like, no, we're not doing that anymore.
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We did that a lot, but we're not doing that anymore.
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Yeah.
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So anyhow, um So what was your can I can I ask you a question?
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What was your schedule?
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Were you gone Monday through Friday?
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Were you gone Monday through Thursday?
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Like how did you how did you make it work for it?
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I didn't come home.
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I didn't come home every weekend, especially with kite.
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You know, when at kite, I didn't have small children at home anymore.
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Yeah, um, so I would stay, you know, sometimes two months and then come
home.
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And then my husband, of course, could come out there.
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It was easier for him to come out there too.
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So um, we just, you know, we just made it work.
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And it was very intense.
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And, you know, my my executive team that that was out there working with me, we had all worked together before, minus one, which was my head of Europe, and he fit right in.
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Yeah.
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And, you know, it was all hands on deck.
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Um, and thank goodness, you know, we were all in it together.
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Nobody crawled out of the foxhole when things got tight.
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And um, it was tense though.
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It it but it was worth every second of it.
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It was an unbelievable experience that I'm really grateful for.
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Yeah.
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Was your husband working full-time too, still?
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Or what was he doing?
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No, he started working at ATT when he was 19 as a co-op.
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So all of that time uh went towards his retirement eligibility.
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So I think he retired at like 55 or something like that.
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Okay, so you're out in Santa Monica working a month or two at a time.
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What's he doing?
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Like, what's his life and where's the connections for the two of you?
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Oh, he's playing golf.
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He's you know, we have a son in college at that point in time.
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We have adult children, we have grandchildren in Auburn.
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So he was very busy.
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Okay, and we, you know, he was totally um connected and and needed in our neighborhood, you know.
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If somebody needed a sprinkler repaired, he repaired the sprinkler.
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If someone needed a garage door opener, he did the garage door opener.
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So um he's just he was a very I love people like I love people like that, right?
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That are available and they're that's just there to be of service of people.
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So okay, but you made it work.
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We made it work, yeah.
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You know, it was fun and we both had a great time.
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We traveled a lot together, and uh I I would do it again.
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It it was amazing, it really was.
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And um, when I retired in 2015, um I got on my first two boards because that's what I wanted to do.
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I knew that somehow I needed to, in my mind, I wanted to be engaged but not enslaved, right?
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Um, so I I didn't want to completely leave what I loved because it really never felt like work.
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I mean, there were stressful days, but I really loved what I did and I love the people and you know the passion around the science, and um it was just worthwhile work, that's all I can say.
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Yeah, so you retired, so you retired in 15.
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Okay, and then and then in yeah, and then in two then I went in 2000 late, like December 2015, I think it was.
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Don't don't hold me to that, I'm bad on dates.
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But from 2016 to 2018, I was at kite.
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And so, long story short, I went to be a consultant, but then I called Ari one day and I'm like, you know that job that you offered me?
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I think I want it now.
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He's like, Okay, okay, I love that you can always change your mind, right?
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You did, yeah.
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I was like, Oh, I have to do this.
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This is amazing.
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These people are so good and so so dedicated.
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Um, it it was hard, but it was really fun.
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And um, so then, you know, after then Gilead acquired Kite.
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And you know, Gilead's a great company and they've done a lot of good in the world, but they are a big company, and you know, I'm not a big company girl.
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And uh, if I had gone to Gilead within four months, they would have fired me.
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Uh because I'm action-oriented, I see it, I do it, I yeah, you know, I want it done.
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And right, and that's just the way I operate best.
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Yeah, me too.
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That's that's why we got along, right?
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We're like, okay, just like okay, what's the right decision?
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Let's all get in it.
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Okay, great, let's try it, let's do it, right?
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And if it doesn't work out, we'll learn from it and we'll try it again.
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So I did, I did actually um retire from operational roles, but I have actually served at this point on 14 boards.
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Um wait, say that again, wait, say that again.
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What's that number?
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14 boards.
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One four.
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One four.
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Holy cow.
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Um, and a lot of them, you know, some of them don't last that long
because you transact or you reverse merge or um you get acquired uh outright.
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So um, but gosh, it's been really fun.
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I've met people that I would never have come across in my what I would call my normal operational life.
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Um and yeah, it's it's been great.
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And it has allowed me as a board member, you know, I I was have been the chairwoman of one board.
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And um then, of course, I'm on a lot of committees for for various boards, and it has allowed me to stay engaged and still have room in my life for, you know, more time with my family, more time to play Mahjong, more time to play tennis, more time to just walk my dog and not feel rushed about, you know, getting back to whatever I'm supposed to get back to.
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Yeah.
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So tell tell me about your process to evaluate and to decide and how to get on boards.
00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:36.720
Cause I know a lot of people are thinking about retiring or they have retired and they'd like to get on boards and nobody's calling, and they're like, How do I do it?
00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:38.240
Like, what's the process?
00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:44.480
How do I go about being a desirable board member and or getting on a board?
00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:46.640
Tell us how it worked for you.
00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:47.279
Okay.
00:17:47.680 --> 00:18:01.759
So I think there's really an important element of achieving what your goals are, whether it's getting on a board or getting that next role at, you know, let's say I'm a division manager and I want to be a region manager.
00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:10.400
Well, you have to tell people what you want to do or what your aspirations are and why, right?
00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:28.960
You and it's it's scary to tell people because there's always the chance that they're gonna a discourage you that you're not qualified or B not really want to engage with you about what you want.
00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:44.880
Um, but I was pretty bold about telling people, not everybody, but people that I felt like understood my capabilities and qualifications and had the ability to at least make an introduction, right?
00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:48.160
I would tell them what I wanted to do.
00:18:48.480 --> 00:19:02.880
And so um, as we were uh closing the deal with uh pharmacyclics and abvi, one of our third-party partners, asked me, Hey, what are you gonna do after this?
00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.799
What do you want to do after this?
00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:08.960
And I said, I would like to start serving on boards.
00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:16.799
I think I could add a lot to a board based on my experiences, you know, over the last 30 some years.
00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:18.079
And that's my goal.
00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:29.920
And he goes, Oh, well, I know about this company called Oxford Biotherapeutics out of Oxford, England, and they're looking for, you know, blah, blah, blah.
00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:33.759
So that individual made the connection.
00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:38.880
But if I hadn't said that's what I want to do, I don't know.
00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:57.920
It's scary to tell people what you want to be because maybe you're not ever going to get to be that, and maybe they're not interested in helping, but it's really important to tell people what your aspirations are and ask them to help if it makes sense, right?
00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:58.240
Yeah.
00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:06.160
If you're sure that you have the capabilities and they may have contacts that you don't have, you have to ask.
00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.359
I am fearless, but I am not reckless.
00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:10.000
Okay.
00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.079
14 times now, I think.
00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:14.160
Yeah, you've you've done really well.
00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:24.880
So um tell me about uh your beliefs or your and or your philosophies that you rely on to guide your life choices.
00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.799
Yeah, life choices are about who you surround yourself with, it really is.
00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:37.359
Um, you know, and it took me a while to um really land on that.
00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:43.759
And I had I had the guide from a very young age, but I did not embrace it.
00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.799
I don't know how many things your parents told you that you didn't fully embrace.
00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:57.920
But my dad used to say to me, you know, especially in the teenage and early 20s, he would say, Don't ever forget, he called me Shawnee.
00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:05.039
He's saying, Shawnee, don't ever forget you are who you hang with, and you can never get around that.
00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:17.599
Did you have a mentor or friends that helped guide you or talk to you about retirement and and advice for retirement or not retirement?
00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:21.039
I'm gonna say no.
00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:22.319
That's okay.
00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:24.000
I'm gonna say no.
00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:26.319
Uh I really didn't.
00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.400
I just assumed that I would figure it out.
00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:31.119
Okay.
00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:35.759
Um, and I felt like it was time for me to quote go home.
00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:36.079
Yeah.
00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:41.680
Um, that, you know, my family and my husband had been like you couldn't be more supportive.
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:42.880
You just couldn't have.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:57.519
And I felt like it was time for me to go home and really embrace and, you know, be present, not all the time, but be more present than I was when I was working full time and commuting back and forth.
00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:59.519
And you know it.
00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:01.920
It worked for us.
00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.799
It it won't work for everybody.
00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:05.440
Right.
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:07.759
But it did work for us.
00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:08.240
Yeah.
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:19.920
Was anything else happening in your family, in your community, or anything, any other factors that contributed to your decision to retire?
00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:25.279
Oh gosh.
00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:29.440
Well, I really wanted to spend more time with my husband.
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:34.000
It was the the biggest um uh uh driver.
00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.799
And then I retired in 2018.
00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:42.400
Then I realized my husband was having some uh mild cognitive impairment.
00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:56.960
I'll tell you one thing I'm really grateful for is never really letting go of um my uh female friendships that I had developed over the years.
00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:00.079
Even though I was busy, I stayed in touch.
00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:04.559
I, you know, when I was home, I played tennis, I went to dinner.
00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:11.440
Um, you know, a lot of times it was with couples, but I I feel like it's really important.
00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:21.839
Well, I'm sure that when you retire, it is really important to have a community because you're leaving your community.
00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:30.079
And I do not miss the stress and the actual operational work.
00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:32.240
Yeah, I do miss the people.
00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:39.680
Yeah, I do miss the people, and I'm still in touch with quite a few of the folks that I have built companies with.
00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:47.519
How does your relationships with your co-workers and your friends change in retirement?
00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:52.640
Oh they've gotten much better, actually.
00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:55.599
Oh yeah.
00:23:55.920 --> 00:24:12.559
Um you know, when you're when you're working together every day and you're either colleagues or you know, I have really good friends that actually reported to me and that I reported to.
00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:21.440
And once we are not in a work relationship, our relationship is much deeper than it was before.
00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:23.920
Yeah, and I'm really grateful for that.
00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:30.400
Yeah, I I've experienced that twice in my yeah, two like remarkable ones, right?
00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:34.000
And you're right, you have to keep the boundary up, they have to keep the boundary up.
00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:41.279
Um, and being for me, being in HR, it was particularly I bet that really is tough.
00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.960
Well, we can let the guard down.
00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:44.000
Well, you can't.
00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:53.200
I mean, we have I always practiced it where we have a higher bar for ourselves because of the work that we do.
00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:59.359
And we have to go in if we're we have to do an investigation or a lot of the sensitive work that we have to do.
00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:04.880
People have to trust us, not trust our professional selves, but trust us as a human being.
00:25:05.039
--> 00:25:14.240
So the decisions and the choices that we make and the behavior that we display at all times that contributes to people's perceptions of whether or not they trust us or not.
00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:28.079
And so I always had a really high bar, and some people thought that that was a little rough, and maybe it was, but I never had anybody question me or my team when we had to go and do some of those high-stakes um HR people.
00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:29.839
Part conversations, yeah.
00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:30.640
Yeah, yeah.
00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:40.720
So that that was that was um, but anyway, so but once I left, then it would be like, oh, hey, you went have coffee, you went have lunch, and then the friendships took off.
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:43.119
So I was I was grateful for that too.
00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:52.079
And that, you know, being in HR, you know, you don't always get to show yourself, your affinity to people too.
00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:53.200
You have to be careful of it.
00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:57.920
I have to be, I have to be very like, yeah, because I remember having an affinity towards you.
00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:05.839
I remember the first time like you walked in and I went into your office, and you're like, such a straight shooter, but you're like, Lisa, this whole landscape of genetic, it's so different for me.
00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:13.920
And I was like, okay, so here's okay, here's how you talk to this person, here's what you want to do here, here's what this person, and I wanted to help pave the way for you, right?
00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:46.720
So I was like giving you kind of the landscape more than I had done with other people, and I just felt so happy, thrilled, excited that we had I had another woman leader, yeah, because I was surrounded by I was surrounded by men, and and I was like, I want we both were back then, this this dynamo wonderful woman that just wants to roll up her sleeves and make make do the right thing and just get rid of all these barriers and all these hurdles and let's just make goodness happen.
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:50.640
I wanted to do that, but I could never really tell you how much I admired you.
00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:52.319
I mean, when I decided to leave, I did.
00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:54.799
Yeah, that makes me feel great.
00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:55.920
I appreciate that a lot.
00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:01.119
But you know, but but just your approach to things and your smile and your sense of humor.
00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:04.240
But anyway, um, let me let's go back to my questions.
00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:13.759
Um, what advice do you have for people thinking about or in the midst of creating a satisfying next chapter for themselves?
00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:25.519
Next chapter in being after work or next chapter some people decide to retire and that's their next chapter.
00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:28.079
Some people try retirement and then go back.
00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:35.920
Some people are like, hey, I've been doing X profession, and now I want to do something completely different.
00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:42.880
I don't wanna I don't want to do X anymore, I want to go zigzag and try something completely different.
00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:57.359
So letting go or moving on of the life and the career and the knowledge that you've built up to do something completely different.
00:27:58.319 --> 00:27:59.759
What advice, if any?
00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:03.920
So, first of all, that is scary no matter who you are.
00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:04.640
Yes.
00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:11.920
So, and and it would for me, my advice would be to really know what you love.
00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:16.240
Like what do you really get excited about doing every day?
00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:19.119
What makes your heart happy, right?
00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:31.440
And yes, I love numbers, I like to see achievements, but what made my heart happy was to to invest in somebody else and see them fly, right?
00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:38.960
And to see them, you know, achieve their potential or their goal or whatever.
00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:47.200
But yeah, I have to go back to something Myrtle Potter used to say, it would crack me up, but I have actually said it to my kids.
00:28:47.680 --> 00:29:00.000
But she, you know, when you're thinking about like you're comfortable, I know this business, I know these people, I know how to be successful here, but I feel like I'm ready to go do something else, but I don't know.
00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:14.000
And and she I heard her tell somebody one time, when you're when you're ripe, you rot, and when you're green, you're growing, so you need to get out of your comfort zone.
00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:20.240
And and I was like, Oh, she's right, she's right.
00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:26.079
Yeah, it's it's kind of an interesting analogy, but it is true when you really think about it.
00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:35.039
But you know, we all have the capacity to to grow and learn, um, really throughout our lives.
00:29:35.279 --> 00:30:01.680
It's just frightening when you're comfortable in your your profession or your competencies, and to think um that something is going to be challenging and you're not sure if you can meet the challenge, or maybe you make a and here's the other thing so few decisions that we make in life are permanent, so few, thank goodness, right?
00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:06.000
Right, right, goodness, right.
00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:12.559
So, and you know, you can pivot and you should be willing to pivot.
00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:13.119
Yeah.
00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:14.720
Uh so yeah.
00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:17.119
Have you have you tried anything new?
00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:19.839
Because I know you've always played tennis and you're doing it.
00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:21.279
Oh yes, I know I have.
00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:23.279
Okay, so tell me about that.
00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:37.200
So um, yeah, so I have a group of women that I
spend a lot of time with in the summertime because I go to North Carolina in the summer when it gets really crowded and hot in Florida.
00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:52.960
Okay, and so I go to the mountains, and one of the ladies was at my house with her husband for dinner recently here in Florida, and she said, Oh, by the way, Terry told me to tell you that you need to learn how to play Mahjong because we're playing all summer long.
00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:59.759
This was three months ago, not even three months ago, maybe two months ago.
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.240
And I was like, Mahjong, what in the world is Mahjong?
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:09.039
And so, but look, you know, I'm a I'm a social being.
00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:18.160
I need I need to try when I'm up in North Carolina, and so I started taking Mahjong lessons.
00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:34.160
There's a uh certified teacher in my neighborhood, and I'm telling you, it is hard and it is complicated, and I am like watching YouTube videos at night and studying, and I'm like, dad gone it, I'm gonna learn this.
00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:38.720
At first, I was like, oh no, this is above my pay grade, this is not for me.
00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:43.279
But now you're doing, but now you're doing it, yes.
00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:47.759
So the boards change every year too.
00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:52.880
Yeah, they they soon as soon as you learn it, it's like it changes.
00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:53.359
Yes.
00:31:53.759 --> 00:32:09.279
I just got the 2026 card in the mail two days ago, and I'm like, I haven't even mastered the 2025 card yet, but I'm really ready just to throw it away because I'm not I'm I have not mastered it, but I have, oh, I have to tell you just a real quick story.
00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:20.960
So, you know, I'm I'm playing once a week with um four uh three other women, so we play once a week at least, and I was like, I gotta play more than once a week.
00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:28.480
So I got on social media and I found a club in my neighborhood that's like an open play, right?
00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:31.599
I'm like open play, I'm not sure what that means.
00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:40.559
So I asked around a little bit and got got the low down on what it would be like, and on on Thursdays, it's at the library.
00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:44.079
So I'm like, I'm going, I'm going.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:49.759
And when I tell you that walking into that library, I wanted to throw up.
00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:52.960
I felt like I was back in junior high school.
00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:56.079
I hadn't even met anybody yet, but I was so nervous.
00:32:56.319 --> 00:33:00.240
I was like, back in junior high school, will anybody like me?
00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:02.640
Will I be able to sit next to anybody?
00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:04.559
Will anyone ask me to play?
00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:06.799
Will they will they be nice?
00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:08.160
Will they be mean?
00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:14.640
You know, I mean, I'm like, oh my god, I feel like a first day of junior high school going to play Mahjong.
00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:21.680
And but they were very nice and very gracious and very welcoming.
00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:24.079
And um, I was so nervous.
00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:35.920
And we sit down and I get with three other ladies and we introduce ourselves, and I'm like, pay attention, pay attention, pay attention, don't be nervous, just pay attention, just do what you know to do.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.519
And I mahjonged.
00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:43.119
Oh I was like, I can relax now.
00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:46.799
What's been your process for creating a new routine for yourself?
00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:52.960
Because you were traveling, you I mean, your life was completely different than it is now.
00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:54.000
How was that?
00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:59.519
How was that first couple months or that first I'm not I don't want to put a an a time frame on it?
00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:04.160
How was the transition and how was how it was settling in?
00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:16.480
Yeah, it was hard at first because you know it and when when you commute a lot, um, your family just kind of goes on with their own routine, right?
00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:23.119
They have their routine, and you're really not uh embedded in it.
00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:34.159
So when you're no longer traveling and you're there with your family all the time, your kids, your husband, you're like, okay, oh, okay, so it's Tuesday.
00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:37.599
You play golf on Tuesday, see what am I gonna do on Tuesdays?
00:34:37.840 --> 00:35:00.480
Um, and it took me a while, but I I think when I really got comfortable and felt like I had a rhythm of life outside of meeting to meeting, town to town, um, once I developed a rhythm of of having a pattern during the week, I felt much more settled.
00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:01.039
Okay.
00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:27.920
Like, you know, on like tennis on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then Sunday, or you know, and now Mahjong on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and um you know, I just have regular calendared events to look forward to that I find interesting and engaging, and it feels like I have a flow to life.
00:35:28.320 --> 00:35:33.119
But that took it took me a while because I really didn't know what I wanted my flow to be.
00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:34.480
Right, right.
00:35:34.639 --> 00:35:36.159
Yeah, how did you figure that out?
00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:41.440
And did you try anything and go, uh no, that's not for me, and toss it out and go on to something else?
00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:42.480
Yeah, yeah.
00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:42.960
Yeah.
00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:58.400
I tried like some cooking classes and and then um I tried like getting different recipes to to really kind of challenge myself because it's not not a big talent for me.
00:35:58.559 --> 00:35:58.800
Okay.
00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:01.360
And after a while, I was like, I
don't even like this.
00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:02.719
Why am I doing this?
00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:04.719
This is not my deal, you know?
00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:12.000
Yeah, it's like I'm going back to cooking inmate meals for my family.
00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:20.239
How is it for your spouse, you and your husband, because you're on the road all the time and now all of a sudden you're home all the time, right?
00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:36.880
He's used to sleeping by himself, he's used to not having to share the remote control, like he's like doing his own food and dinner, like there's all of this this life that he's lived very, you know, and now all of a sudden you're here all the time.
00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:38.639
How was that?
00:36:39.039 --> 00:36:41.039
That was not hard for us at all.
00:36:41.280 --> 00:36:52.159
Okay, that really was not hard for us at all because you know, all the things that he was always kind of, you know, I I called it division of labor.
00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:59.199
Yeah, you know, we we raised five kids together, so you have to have division of labor.
00:36:59.599 --> 00:37:02.239
I think we were both so ready, yeah.
00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:04.079
Um that it was easy.
00:37:04.719 --> 00:37:06.000
That part wasn't hard.
00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:07.760
Yeah, it really wasn't.
00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:08.559
Okay, good.
00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:14.159
What uh what three things would you tell your pre-retirement self?
00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:19.280
Oh pre-retirement self.
00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:29.840
Uh, I would say retirement is really not cracked up to what people to to how they build the dream of retirement.
00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:30.880
Okay, say more.
00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:35.760
It's really not cracked up, like not to what people make it out to be.
00:37:35.840 --> 00:37:41.199
You know, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, you don't you don't answer to anybody.
00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:45.360
Um, you know, you don't have to go to meetings all day long.
00:37:45.519 --> 00:38:17.840
And you know, some of the things that I didn't always love, but um, you know, you can travel the world, and uh it's just really not that simple because as you're retiring, your parents are needing you more, and it's almost like it's set up to like transition from one responsibility uh mode to another responsibility mode, okay, right?
00:38:18.159 --> 00:38:18.559
Yeah.
00:38:18.719 --> 00:38:29.119
Um how was that how was that transition then from your your career to now transitioning to caring for others?
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:30.800
I feel good about it.
00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:31.679
I really do.
00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:33.039
I feel good about it.
00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:41.760
I feel like I really didn't leave any stone unturned in my professional life.
00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:47.440
And I feel incredibly satisfied and grateful and blessed.
00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:59.519
And and I had, you know, so much support from my family and my kids and my friends that I'm happy to be giving back.
00:38:59.760 --> 00:39:00.159
Yeah.
00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:07.679
Well, so it sounds like it sounds like a piece of advice is maybe for some people before you retire.
00:39:08.159 --> 00:39:12.239
Have you accomplished everything that you want to accomplish before you retire?
00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:16.000
It's not a bad question, right?
00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:19.760
Right, but it sounds, but it sounds like you did that though, Sean.
00:39:20.239 --> 00:39:22.639
So you you climbed the mountains.
00:39:22.880 --> 00:39:24.159
Yeah, I do too.
00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:25.679
It sounds like that.
00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:26.639
I do.
00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:29.760
What brings you joy and purpose now?
00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:31.280
Oh wow.
00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:35.920
Oh gosh, joy and purpose.
00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:46.400
Um, you know, I I love my adult kids, I really enjoy my adult kids, and they were they were uh really great.
00:39:46.559 --> 00:39:51.920
We have a blended family, and when I met Richard, I thought he was awesome.
00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:57.199
Um and then I was like, oh, this is this is a really amazing man.
00:39:57.440 --> 00:40:07.920
And then when I met his three children, and they were, you know, I think 13 to nine or so at that point in time, so like 13 to 9.
00:40:08.079 --> 00:40:13.360
When I met them, I was like, wow, and he's an amazing parent as well.
00:40:13.599 --> 00:40:18.239
And I used to tease him and I'd say, Yeah, I really liked you, but your kids sealed the deal.
00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:22.880
And they they really are.
00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:29.039
I mean, all five of our adult kids, they're really different, but I I so enjoy them.
00:40:29.199 --> 00:40:32.159
I enjoy talking to them, I enjoy spending time with them.
00:40:32.400 --> 00:40:41.039
I'm going next week to Vegas with our oldest daughter, Jennifer, and we're gonna have you know three days together to see shows in Vegas.
00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:45.440
And yeah, um, I I really love being around my family.
00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:57.519
I've been able to spend time with my cousin who um is like a sister to me, but we were both raising families and doing jobs, and now we get to love on each other, right?
00:40:57.760 --> 00:40:59.679
Yeah, uh, yeah.
00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:03.840
So I really I I really appreciate that a lot.
00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:04.400
Yeah.
00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:07.760
And and the uh the community and the friends.
00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:10.880
I love my tennis tribe, I'm telling you.
00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:18.239
It's the it is an amazing group of talented women that are accomplished, each of them in their own right.
00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:21.119
But we're a tribe, yeah.
00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:23.920
And and it's nice, it's really nice.
00:41:24.159 --> 00:41:25.840
And you play how often do you play?
00:41:26.000 --> 00:41:27.599
You said Mondays, Wednesdays.
00:41:27.920 -->
00:41:31.679
Man, sometimes I play like five times a week.
00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:38.159
Sometimes, you know, I'll play three times, but a lot of times I'm playing like five times a week.
00:41:39.039 --> 00:41:40.000
That's awesome.
00:41:40.239 --> 00:41:41.519
Are you doing USTA?
00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:42.880
Are you not doing USTA?
00:41:43.039 --> 00:41:44.639
Yes, I'm doing USTA.
00:41:44.880 --> 00:41:49.679
Okay, how many how many teams are how many teams are you on?
00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:57.599
I'm only on one USTA team, so I'm on a league team, a USTA team, and a seniors team.
00:41:57.920 --> 00:42:00.480
I just joined a 55 and over team.
00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:02.000
Exactly.
00:42:02.239 --> 00:42:04.559
Well, because I was playing 18 and up.
00:42:04.880 --> 00:42:05.280
Yeah.
00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:05.920
Oh goodness.
00:42:06.239 --> 00:42:16.800
And then and then my first USTA, it was 18 and up, and I played singles against this 30-year-old, you know, I'm twice her age.
00:42:16.960 --> 00:42:21.360
And the other team walks up and she's like jogging, like doo doo doo doo doo doo.
00:42:21.519 --> 00:42:26.000
And I see them and I'm like, please don't have that be the person I'm playing singles against.
00:42:26.159 --> 00:42:32.480
And she's like, hi, and she's like, Oh, I was like, Oh, I'm gonna get my arse handed to me.
00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:36.480
I don't know, I don't know how I did it, but I I I won.
00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:45.840
But I literally, but I was exhausted for like a week after I it took everything out of me because I was like, my first US, I'm like, I am not gonna lose my first one, right?
00:42:46.239 --> 00:42:49.039
So um, but it's a great sport, yeah.
00:42:49.119 --> 00:42:49.920
I do love it.
00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:50.880
I do love it.
00:42:51.039 --> 00:43:01.199
And you know, they say if you if you if tennis is your sport, that on average you live 10 years longer than those who don't play tennis.
00:43:01.519 --> 00:43:03.760
Well, I'm going for that, right?
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:04.639
Me too.
00:43:04.719 --> 00:43:05.760
I'm going for it too.
00:43:05.840 --> 00:43:19.039
But okay, so if you get another phone call from somebody that you know and trust, and they say, Sean, we have a role for you.
00:43:22.000 --> 00:43:24.719
I always would you entertain it?
00:43:25.039 --> 00:43:26.719
Yes, yes, I would.
00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:41.440
Yeah, yes, I see you have so much energy, you have so much energy, you have the same amount of energy, the same sparkle in your eye, the same like zest for life and action that you had when we first worked together.
00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:42.880
Like you haven't changed up.
00:43:43.119 --> 00:43:45.599
No, but it's that I'm I I I you know me.
00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:47.920
I don't give I give compliments if they're truthful.
00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:53.920
I'm like, but I still think I still when I see you, I still see some gas in the tank.
00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:54.719
Oh, yeah.
00:43:54.800 --> 00:43:59.360
Um absolutely when somebody puts an opportunity in front of you.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:01.039
Say yes.
00:44:01.679 --> 00:44:02.639
Say yes.
00:44:03.440 --> 00:44:05.360
And find a way to make it work.
00:44:06.079 --> 00:44:14.400
And if it doesn't work, it's almost assuredly not a permanent decision.
00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:15.599
Yeah.
00:44:15.920 --> 00:44:16.239
Yeah.
00:44:16.480 --> 00:44:17.440
I love that.
00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:18.159
Yeah.
00:44:18.320 --> 00:44:19.280
Just say yes.
00:44:19.519 --> 00:44:20.559
Give it a try.
00:44:20.880 --> 00:44:26.800
How how do you put aside your fears or imposter syndrome if you feel like you're not ready yet?
00:44:27.199 --> 00:44:28.480
Yes, I have.
00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:29.840
I don't, I don't have that.
00:44:30.719 --> 00:44:31.920
But how did you do that?
00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:33.119
How did you do that?
00:44:33.360 --> 00:44:36.320
Especially women, women in leadership roles.
00:44:36.480 --> 00:44:41.840
We all know there's there's there's more men in leadership roles around the world than there are women.
00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:48.719
So a lot of times, as women, we're either we're what the only one in the room or one of only a few.
00:44:48.800 --> 00:44:51.440
And you don't want to let your other the other women down.
00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:53.440
Have you overcome that?
00:44:53.760 --> 00:45:02.960
I would say blind determination and and accomplishment after accomplishment after accomplishment, right?
00:45:03.599 --> 00:45:05.440
I'm like, no, I belong.
00:45:05.599 --> 00:45:06.239
I'm sorry.
00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:09.920
I earned it, I belong, and I get along.
00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:10.880
Yeah.
00:45:11.199 --> 00:45:28.800
Because I remember at Genentech feeling that with you and some of the challenging situations that we had that were usually around men that that were at the same or higher level than us, particularly you, you.
00:45:29.119 --> 00:45:48.880
And I never asked you the question at the time, but how you stayed in the ring and how you kept moving forward when you believed, and I think I believed as well, which is why I worked hard behind the scenes to try to remove boundaries for you and to try to help you succeed.
00:45:49.039 --> 00:45:53.440
Because there were some people in the beginning that I don't think wanted you to succeed.
00:45:53.760 --> 00:45:54.880
Oh no, they did not.
00:45:55.039 --> 00:45:55.440
Yeah, yeah.
00:45:55.599 --> 00:46:04.480
Because you were you were you were you were too direct, you were like you didn't weren't doing it the way that the company did it, like, but you stayed in the ring.
00:46:05.199 --> 00:46:25.280
So, what's your advice for women that you know have been doing this for a while and maybe they get into a role before they retire or the next chapter where it's the furthest, it's the biggest job they've ever had, and they're maybe in in an ecosystem or an environment that not everybody's written for them and they have imposter syndrome.
00:46:26.320 --> 00:46:37.679
Well, I think it's really important, whatever role you're in, to be honest with yourself and and with your team about what you're good at and what you're not good at.
00:46:38.639 --> 00:46:47.599
Quickly ascertain who the subject matter experts are in something that you're not and ask them to teach you.
00:46:48.639 --> 00:46:50.000
Ask them to help you.
00:46:50.960 --> 00:47:03.599
You know, I do think that that you need to find out who the informal leaders are and and give them the respect that they deserve and have earned and learn from them, and who are the subject matter experts?
00:47:03.760 --> 00:47:12.400
Give them the respect that they deserve and learn from them, yeah, and put them in positions where they can help the entire team, including you as the leader.
00:47:12.639 --> 00:47:14.960
Yeah, yeah, that's wonderful.
00:47:15.199 --> 00:47:16.000
Well, thank you.
00:47:16.079 --> 00:47:17.679
You've had such an amazing career.
00:47:17.760 --> 00:47:18.719
I had so much fun.
00:47:18.800 --> 00:47:19.920
It was so good to see you.
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:20.639
I hope you had fun.
00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:23.920
It was a great surprise to hear from you.
00:47:24.079 --> 00:47:27.760
So yeah, let me know how you're coming on your tennis up.
00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:29.840
Oh my gosh, yes.
00:47:30.880 --> 00:47:31.920
Hi, listeners.
00:47:32.079 --> 00:47:34.320
We're adding variety to our podcast.
00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:39.840
Thanks to your feedback, we're expanding to include multi-generational perspectives.
00:47:40.159 --> 00:47:43.760
You were introduced to my son Ricky in our first About Us episode.
00:47:43.920 --> 00:47:45.280
He produces the show.
00:47:45.519 --> 00:47:54.960
One of the strongest themes in Sean's career was her story about knowing herself, especially when she said, I knew I wasn't a big company gal.
00:47:55.519 --> 00:47:59.280
Sean didn't make it a weakness, she made it a strength.
00:47:59.519 --> 00:48:03.599
It reminds me of a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
00:48:04.159 --> 00:48:10.000
To be yourself in a world that tries to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:13.760
Ricky, what did you think of the episode in the interview with Sean?
00:48:14.559 --> 00:48:18.159
I like what she said about how to build a lasting reputation.
00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:24.559
I was impressed to hear about how she led teams and gave subject matter experts the respect they deserved.
00:48:24.800 --> 00:48:32.000
After hearing the advice she got from her dad about surrounding yourself with the right people, it gave me something to think about for myself.
00:48:32.239 --> 00:48:37.760
Share this episode with someone you know that needs a reminder and encouragement to keep being themselves.
00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:39.840
Let us know if it was helpful.
00:48:40.079 --> 00:48:44.800
You can email us at Lisa at next chapter conversations.com.
00:48:45.199 --> 00:48:50.400
Or you can drop a comment on one of our Spotify or Apple Podcast episodes.
00:48:50.800 --> 00:48:52.079
Thanks for listening.