Leadership and Executive Development for women of all races, cultures and backgrounds
Issue link: https://diversitywoman.epubxp.com/i/632328
We Mean Business > d i v e r s i t y w o m a n . c o m W i n t e r 2 0 1 6 D I V E R S I T Y W O M A N 23 By Katr ina Brown Hunt I n 2008, after Eileen McDonnell had stepped out of corporate life for three years to adopt her daughter and tend to her family, one might think she would have to jump through hoops to get back into the C-suite in the insurance industry. But taking a break from corporate life wasn't about to stall McDonnell's career. During her time away, she had started her own consulting frm, taught at the American College, and even penned a marketing textbook. She was ready to get back on the corporate ladder, but she wasn't willing to trade in her newfound freedom and fexibility. "Coming here and interviewing with the then CEO, I was pretty clear—at 40-some-odd years old and having gone halfway around the world to adopt—that I wasn't going to enter a situation that would not let me be the authentic me," says McDonnell, who is now chairman, president, and CEO of Penn Mutual. "I told them I would give them my all, but it might not look traditional." Tat meant, she says, being able to see her daughter in the morning before school and having dinner with her most nights. "I still have to answer to a board, but I laid out those expectations," she says. "You have to let people know what you want." Tat commitment to doing things her own way is one reason that McDonnell, author of Marketing Financial Services to Women, wants to broaden and diversify the playing felds of the insurance in- dustry, in terms of both its workforce and its consumer base. Diversity Woman spoke with McDonnell about weather- ing the recession, the notion of a glass ceiling, and how playing a diferent game—literally—might help grow your business. McDonnell has received an honorary doctor of laws degree from her alma ma- ter, Molloy College, and earned her MBA in fnance and investments from Adel- phi University. She is a former member of the Master of Science in Management faculty at the American College, where she held the newly endowed chair for Women and Financial Services. Diversity Woman: You come from a big family. How did that shape you? Eileen McDonnell: I grew up in Rockville Centre, on Long Island. My mother had six children in eight years, and I fell right smack in the middle, which honed my di- plomacy skills. I learned to see the unique abilities and strengths of each individual. We were all raised by the same parents, but each of us possessed unique abilities, and I still use that. I also learned that you have to play nice in the sandbox. DW: What was your original career goal? EM: I entered college as a nursing stu- dent, but after sophomore year, I realized I didn't want to be a nurse. My imagina- tion was captured by the introduction of Paying Dividends The life insurance executive makes it her policy to chart her own path Power Suit: Eileen C. McDonnell