DC Velocity - May 2020

www.dcvelocity.com MAY 2020 DC VELOCITY 47essarily replicating them [from an earlier experience], but you can anticipatechallenges and plan for them to avoidpitfalls. By focusing on business principles and fundamentals, pattern recognition also lets you see how thingsare done consistently or inconsistentlyacross different companies and industries. For example, a marketplace business model or a product developmentcycle, at certain stages of a company’slife cycle, should be working well. Or,from the opposite perspective, you cansee how things are done differently.

The important thing is to take the bestof what you’ve learned and apply it toa new company or industry.

Q: What do you bring as a woman in a leadership role?

It’s so important that we can even be talking aboutwomen in leadership roles, but we’re really just beginning that conversation. I think you have to be an examplefor others. From my perspective, I want to be able toshow other women that absolutely, it is possible to be abusiness leader. Women need to know that they are verymuch capable of doing that.

I also think that being in this position allows me to giveback to other women. For example, I can offer growthopportunities by helping them to become the leadersthey want to be. One reason I joined Transfix was ourcommitment to diversity. I want to continue and drivethat forward.

Transportation is largely male-dominated, even morethan some of the other industries I was in. It’s up to us tochange that by bringing more diversity to leadership perspectives, and to management style and philosophies—and to make all of that better for organizations and theirpeople.

Q: Do you have any advice for other women moving into
C-level positions?

You have to take risks in order to grow. When peoplethink about risks, they think about big life decisions, butwe take thousands of small risks every day. Go ahead andexpand your role. Sometimes opportunities are right infront of you, but you have to take them! Be proactive, andpush yourself to take advantage of those opportunities.

Something I really value and recommend is to be a“connector.” Women are natural connectors. This is particularly important as you move into leadership positions,where you’re bringing functions together, bringing processes together, and bringing people together. Womenwho are good connectors are very well poised to take onleadership roles. Sometimes you’ll be leading up front andsometimes from behind. Whatever the situation requires,be authentic and true to yourself and your style—and beconfident enough to do that.

Name: Lily Shen

Title: President and ChiefOperating Officer, Transfix

Education: B.S., New YorkUniversity Stern School ofBusiness; executive educationat Stanford University GraduateSchool of Business and HarvardBusiness School

Previous Experience: Almost 20

years in leadership roles at SiliconValley technology companies,such as executive director, mobility and advanced technology, atIDEO; Internet marketing directorat eBay; chief marketing officerat Wealthfront and Bloomspot.

com; venture partner at CanvasVentures; and independent business adviser andconsultant

Volunteer Experience: Venture for America; Roomto Read; and AIGA, the professional association fordesign

can and do fill. For another, although large publicly tradedenterprises are more widely known and reported on, they’renot the only ones offering leadership opportunities forwomen. In fact, as our three executive profiles attest, moreand more women are at the helm of mid-sized and smallercompanies too.

Experienced supply chain experts are well posi-
tioned to be effective corporate leaders. At the same
facts together, and it seems inevitable that the women
supply chain professionals who have already earned a
place in the C-suite will—and should—have a lot
more company soon. n