Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.

I'm really excited about this conversation today with two brilliant women.

The first is Christiana Smith, the former president of Nike's consumer direct division, leading the company's global retail and e-commerce business. Before that, she was a senior partner at McKinsey. Christiana has been named one of the Most Influential Corporate Directors by Women, Inc. She currently leads Lovejoy Advisors, which is focused on digitally transforming consumer and retail businesses.

She's joined by Grace Puma, who is the former executive vice president and COO of PepsiCo, who, before that, held senior positions with United Airlines, Kraft Foods, Motorola, and Gillette. A board member of both Organon & Co and Target, she has been ranked on the “Most Powerful Latina” list by Fortune magazine and recognized as the “Executive of the Year” by Latina Style magazine.

Christiana and Grace are here to talk about their new book, Career Forward, which shows how to prioritize a career path, build professional value, and enjoy a full life both in and out of the workplace.

THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anyone who wants to expedite their leadership development and glean some lessons from those who have built successful careers.

TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… Christiana and Grace are highly successful women in vastly different ways. However, the advice they have for rising leaders and the things that got them to where they are aren’t so different. In their new book, they create a blueprint for those looking to intentionally grow their career path. In this episode, they share some practical advice.

WHAT I LOVE MOST… many leaders live by the mantra “fake it till you make it,” and while there’s some truth behind it, it’s only a positive mindset if, while you're faking it, you're committed to learning how to do it right.

Running Time: 29:42

Find Tiffani Online:

Learn More About Grace and Christiana:

Career Forward Website

Book: Career Forward

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