#48: Donna Orender — Fmr. President of the WNBA, SVP of PGA on the Future of Work

With COVID forcing teams to distance themselves and create a divide between those who had the privilege to work remotely and those who didn’t, having a uniting culture in a company was more important than ever. As things begin to reopen, it’s important to never lose sight of the importance of a strong culture.

That’s something Donna Orendar is focused on right now; recognized as one of the top 10 women in the sports business, she knows how strong culture drives sales, engagement, and creates a better, healthier workforce.

Donna was formerly the Senior Vice President of the PGA Tour for 17 years, after playing 3 seasons of the WBL and as Team Captain in the Women’s 1985 Maccibah Games in Israel. After her career as a star basketball player and PGA executive, she was elected to be President of the WNBA where she drove double digit growth across all key metrics, even in the fallout of the 2008 recession.

Since then she has gone on to found Orender Unlimited, Generation W, and Generation Wow, aimed at giving opportunities and empowering women across the workforce and the V Foundation.

Donna joined us to talk about the power of helping others find purpose, what it means to really work for good, and the importance of creating “good work.”

With another huge shift for our workers coming around, this convo is not only timely, but important. So with that...let’s bring it in!