Leadership and Executive Development for women of all races, cultures and backgrounds
Issue link: https://diversitywoman.epubxp.com/i/91258
DW'S 100BESTCOMPANIES forLEADERSHIPDEVELOPMENTforWOMEN Company CA Technologies Campbell Soup* Capital One Cardinal Health Carlson Chubb Cisco Citi Colgate- Palmolive Covington & Burling Credit Suisse Dell Deloitte Deutsche Bank Diageo North America Discovery Communica- tions Dow Corning DuPont Eli Lilly and Company * Female CEO www.diversitywoman.com Headquarters Islandia, NY Camden, NJ McLean, VA Dublin, OH Type of Company Enterprise software Food processing Financial services Pharmaceutical Minnetonka, MN Hospitality Warren, NJ San Jose, CA Insurance: property and casualty Network and other communications equipment New York, NY New York, NY Commercial banks Personal care Washington, DC /DZ ëUP Zurich, Switzer- land, and New York, NY Financial services Round Rock, TX Computer hardware Professional services New York, NY, and London, England New York, NY and Frankfurt, Germany Norwalk, CT %DQNLQJ ëQDQFLDO services Beverages Silver Spring, MD Mass media W hen Debbie Ballard decided to leave McDonald's in 2004, she made the move because she thought she wasn't reaching her professional goals. During her time away from the Golden Arches, she realized she had it all wrong. "I had been very conservative and not willing to build the relationships that I needed or take the risks necessary for growth in my career," says Ballard. She decided to change her professional approach and mindset, which made a big difference when she returned to McDonald's in 2005. McDonald's seemed like a whole new company. Ballard says that six years ago she didn't even have a passport. "I couldn't have ever imagined the global nature of the role that I am in today," she says. "Now 50 percent of my job requires global travel, and 40 percent of my organization is based outside the U.S." Ballard gets all the support she needs to succeed from the company's executive development programs. One program, called Leadership at McDonald's, helped her expand her busi- ness experience and savvy, and solidify key management skills such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and building an executive presence. Another program, the Executive Pro- gram in Corporate Strategy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, taught her how to come up with strategies and execute them while thinking about the global business environment. For supplemental support and professional growth, Ballard Midland, MI Manufacturing Wilmington, DE Chemicals Indianapolis, IN Pharmaceutical counts on her personal board of mentors for guidance. "I believe in a panel approach to mentoring, meaning that you will need a number of people to provide varying perspec- tives related to your career because there is not only one path to success in business," she says. In Ballard's case, mentors include a CFO, a CIO, a controller, a VP of strategy and align- ment, and the president of McDonald's USA. As Ballard says, "It truly takes a village." Fall 2012 DIVERSITY WOMAN 45 Debbie Ballard Vice President, Global Shared Services MCDONALD'S Oak Brook, IL