Inspiring messages, actionable ideas and shared experiences were not in short supply as successful leaders from every industry came together for this year’s women’s events at the SAS Championship.
Powerhouse lineups at Women’s Day on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and the Women in Risk Executive (WiRE) Connection on Monday, Oct. 9, gave hundreds in attendance a full slate of takeaways.
What follows is a sampling of what has made these events earn their incredible reputation and bring many participants back time after time.
Women’s Day: Stronger Today, Better Tomorrow
‘Bet on yourself…Bet is an action; it has teeth.’ — Molly Grantham
When four-time Emmy winner and TV News Reporter of the Year Molly Grantham decided to step away from 25 years of television news to begin a new career path, she relied on a mantra she learned as a child to bet on herself and accept failure as part of the process. “You should fail,” she said. “The trick is not to fail in the same way. If you never fail, you will plateau.”
Grantham also had advice on the unsolicited negative feedback you can sometimes receive when doing something new. “If someone wants to criticize you when you’re doing the best you can, that’s not on you; that’s on them,” she said. “Wear that criticism like a loose t-shirt: Don’t let it stick to you. Decide which words are really worth wearing.”
‘Know the landscape. Have an opinion. Fandom won’t get you far.’ — Nina King
With the title VP and Director of Athletics and Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at Duke University, participants likely didn’t anticipate Nina King opening with a confession of imposter syndrome given that she has never coached or played sports yet earned her position. King reminds herself that she is running a business that requires mental toughness and focuses on establishing shared values across 27 sports and their coaches. “I’m not here to pave a path for people to follow after me,” King said. “I’m here to bring people along.”
‘A champion’s mindset is not an athletic thing. It’s self-awareness, problem-solving and lifting those around us many, many times. It’s paying attention to those little itches every day. You don’t just show up great.’ — Jenny Levy
Jenny Levy, Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a National Lacrosse Hall of Famer, talked a lot about subconscious mindset and mental health among athletes and in the workplace. “Mental health hasn’t changed; it’s just our awareness and our resources for it,” Levy said. “We’ve normalized the conversation around it.” She believes it’s ok to acknowledge that you’re not going to be your best self every day. Some days, it’s ok to simply show up.
‘Stress less and play more.’ — Colleen Briggs
Colleen Briggs, VP of Corporate Social Responsibility and Communications at Blue Cross NC, said showing vulnerability as a leader is important to supporting well-being in the workplace. “Putting down walls creates space for us to connect,” she said. Briggs recommended finding accountability partners you can trust to give you feedback on how you show up. But it hasn’t always been easy for her to let go. “I think I glorified stress,” she said, recalling earlier days in her career. “That’s toxic.”
‘I sure could use an assistant.’ — Portia Exum
Many in the audience could relate to SAS Software Development Manager Portia Exum and her wishes for someone (or something) to take on smaller tasks at work and home to focus on more strategic and creative activities. But what brought the chuckles soon came to life as she introduced her animated AI assistant, Cassandra, created courtesy of DALL-E, an AI model that creates images from text descriptions. Exum (and Cassandra) provided four ways audience members can use AI right now, including an effort Exum called her “angry translator” that re-words a sharp-tongued email or text message into something much more palatable.
‘The good news is that now every one of us can access technology that helps us get things done.’ — Pamela Meek
Following Exum’s presentation on AI, Pamela Meek, VP of Communications at SAS, shared some of the more strategic ways SAS uses AI to advance innovation. She shared examples from Ulta Beauty, iGA Istanbul Airport and the French Rugby Federation. Meek also tossed some SAS swag into the mix, awarding audience members for sharing unique uses of AI they had already put into play, including one parent who had caught their child using AI to secure homework responses.
‘I loved communicating, I just didn’t like what I was saying.’ — Jennifer Keitt
Closing keynote speaker Jennifer Keitt, CEO of The Keitt Institute, opened with her story of shifting from a journalism career to one that has allowed her to help thousands of people discover the best of who they are. Within minutes, she had everyone on their feet, moving around the room, and talking with new acquaintances about the gap between knowledge and decisive action. “Unpacking questions is the only way to bridge that gap,” Keitt said. From naming your inner strategist to discerning if you’re at a place where you need to heal, grow, act or let go, Keitt left the audience with tools and questions to help “decide and conquer.”
Women in Risk Executive Connection
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- Erin Matson, Simone Manuel, Megan Nelson and Zora Stephenson.
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- Courtney Banghart
The Women in Risk Executive (WiRE) Connection kicked off this year’s SAS Championship Week on Monday, Oct. 9, with an inspirational event aimed at advancing women’s leadership in the risk industry. The event follows similar summits held at two locations in London in May and November of this year and related efforts to engage women leaders.
WiRE focuses on five key areas:
- Overcoming workplace barriers.
- Amplifying voices.
- Advocating for inclusivity.
- Building mentorship networks.
- Advancing excellence.
‘Be motivated by the fear of regret, not the fear of failure.’ — Courtney Banghart
Courtney Banghart, Head Coach of UNC Women’s Basketball and one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, delivered a motivating keynote emphasizing the need for resilience, courage and pushing through fear. She reminded attendees that “not yet” doesn’t mean “never.”
Power panel
The panel discussion, moderated by Zora Stephenson of NBC Sports, featured Simone Manuel, Olympian and activist; Erin Matson, UNC Field Hockey coach; and Megan Nelson, SVP at Truist. They discussed leadership, resilience and the value of failure in growth. When asked how men can support women, the panelists urged male allies to give women a seat and voice at the table, noting that collaboration can drive greater impact.
Each panelist shared how their unique experiences shaped their leadership styles, the role of data in decision-making and the importance of resilience in overcoming challenges. Key takeaways from the discussion included:
- Failure is a part of growth.
- Your dreams should scare you.
- Growth is not linear.
- You can do hard things.
