Women Of Influence

The number of women not just buying craft beer, but taking roles in the industry is on the rise. With that increased inclusivity of customers and employees, it’s put a spotlight on the practices and behavior of some in the male-dominated craft brewing industry in recent years. There have been calls to eliminate offensive beer names and marketing and there’s been a greater willingness by women in t...

Heather Brilliant has had plenty of mentors. She's been a mentor herself. But there's a different type of relationship she thinks can be even more beneficial to women looking to rise in the workplace. "The thing we need to focus on setting up for ourselves as much as mentorship is sponsorship," said Brilliant, who earlier this year became CEO of Columbus-based Diamond Hill Capital Management. "We...

For the first 15 or so years of her career as a financial analyst, Heather Brilliant didn't think to much about her status as a rare woman in a male-dominated industry. "I was more keep your head down and just do your best and I could be successful anybody else could too," said Brilliant, who became CEO of Columbus-based Diamond Hill Capital Management earlier this year. But about seven or eight y...

What's the biggest mistake Renee Cacchillo has made in her career? "Not making enough mistakes," Cacchillo, chief experience officer at Safelite AutoGlass, said during a recent taping of our Women of Influence podcast. Early in her career, Cacchillo said, she was perhaps "more (of a) perfectionist than (she) need to be." She's since realized that it's important not only to take risks, but also to...

Renee Cacchillo is willing to take a risk, even when she thinks she might fail. That's what Cacchillo pointed to when asked about the best decision she's made in her carer, a career that's led her to her relatively new position, chief experience officer at Safelite AutoGlass. "The thing that I did to be successful is I just took a piece at a time," Cacchillo said. "I didn't try to swallow it all o...

Lori Kaiser thought there’d be a point where she went back into the workforce and got another “real job.” She’d left her job as a CPA with KPMG a few years earlier, as she realized the demanding travel schedule and hours required for work at that type of firm weren’t conducive to having young children. Instead, she started doing project-based work for a few clients, and within a year found herself...

Lori Kaiser and her team can tell pretty quickly from a candidate's resume if they've got the technical skills and experience necessary to succeed at the accounting firm. What they're looking for in a job interview, then, is more of an intangible quality. "We tend to like people … that have batteries included," Kaiser said. "“They’re going to be out there at the client site, and they have to be a...

As a college student, Christie Angel was drawn to the world of politics and government, eager to tackle projects that would help solve problems – large and small ones – for the people of her community. After realizing her nightclub ownership dream wasn't exactly realistic, Angel made her way to Columbus City Hall, first working on a few campaigns (including former City Council President Jerry Hamm...

Sometimes you take a risk on a passion project and it works out great, leading you to professional success beyond your wildest dreams. Other times, you realize that you probably should go back to school and get that degree. We’ve got examples of both in this week’s Women of Influence podcast preview, our off-week mini-episodes in which we share snippets of our full interviews with some of the most...

When Casey McCarty first joined the Idea Foundry, her role was largely behind the scenes. She was in charge of operations, something she compares to your organs, in that "you don't really think about them unless there's something going awry. But then, last August, she ascended to the top job at the makerspace. Early in her tenure as CEO, though, she learned an important lesson about what it takes...

When Casey McCarty agreed to help out the Columbus Idea Foundry, she thought she knew what kind of response she would get. "Who even is she?" McCarty said she imagined the (largely male) members of the makerspace saying when they saw McCarty, a neophyte to the world of the "maker" industry, trying to make necessary operational changes. "I was just expecting all of this pushback," said McCarty, who...

A Canton native and Ohio State University graduate, Corrine Burger started her career with accounting giant Deloitte in Phoenix, a location she chose in part for the warm weather. She eventually returned home to the Buckeye State, though, taking on a variety of positions with the financial institution we today know as JPMorgan Chase & Co., the country's largest bank and an employer of nearly 2...

For Corrine Burger, even bad managers could be good role models. The reason? They show you what not to do. Burger, who leads JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Columbus operation and also serves as a managing director and chief control manager for the financial giant, talked about her good and bad mentors during a recent taping of the Women of Influence podcast. She shared some of the worst advice she's e...

Belle Communication isn't just run by women. Its entire staff is women. Kate Finley, who founded the public relations firm in 2013, didn't necessarily set out to do that. Men have worked for the firm, and she's open to the idea and would make the necessary cultural adjustments if one joined. But there's another factor driving her as she builds her company. "I love investing in women," Finley said....

Two years after launching her own public relations firm, Kate Finley took a two-week vacation. That's not something most entrepreneurs would do, especially in a 24/7 grinding business like Finley's. But for Finley, that two-week trip made all the difference. And it taught her an important lesson: Even in a demanding field like public relations, there's advantages to be had from giving yourself tim...

Joelle Brock did at least two things people say you shouldn’t do when starting a business. Her partners in the business are longtime friends, defying the conventional wisdom that you shouldn’t go into business with friends and family. And they’ve built their IT business “from the heart” and “run it from the heart,” not putting emotions aside in the way Brock said many preach. And on the whole, Bro...

Get a sneak peek of our conversation with Leading Edje CEO Joelle Brock.

Becca Apfelstadt, the CEO of Treetree, knew that she needed to make a change. In 2009, after her marketing agency closed, she and a colleague decided to co-found their own special projects company – in the middle of a recession. "But it felt almost less risky to go out on our own," said Apfelstadt. "Somehow we landed, even though it was really hard. Starting a business in the recession is no joke....

Becca Apfelstadt, the co-founder and CEO of Treetree, is a woman at the top – but unlike many others, she isn't alone. In fact, all of the leadership team at the special projects company are female. "We have an all female leaderships team," she said. "And its not that we decided upfront that thats how it should be – it's just how it happened to be." "I think that there is an area that can be broug...

For Rachel Friedman, being an entrepreneur is a lot like being on a trapeze without a net – and knowing you don't have a net. "But that's part of the exhilaration," she said. "The highs are really high, and the lows are really low." Friedman, the founder and CEO of Tenfold, knows a lot about the highs – she's successfully launched and scaled a business that recently made the Inc. 500 Companies Lis...

Lacey Picazo, the founder and principal of local digital design agency ZoCo Design, said she had to stop waiting for opportunities to show up in her career. "Typically you aren't given opportunities you don't ask for," she said. "But if you're not willing to raise your hand and say 'I want this, what do I need to do to get it?' ... I think when you show that initiative, it almost never goes unnoti...

Women Of Influence: Tasha Booker Fowler of City Year Columbus by Columbus Business First Mentioned in this episode: Let Crate Media help uncover your company's story and amplify your messaging with a branded podcast. Get a free one-hour casting session at crate.media/cbf

Women of Influence preview with Tasha Booker Fowler by Columbus Business First

Kristy Campbell, the Chief Operating Officer of Rev1 Ventures has no problem with being direct. Speaking up and being honest were what helped Campbell climb her way up the venture capital ladder to her C-Suite position she holds now within Rev1, the local venture capital firm. At times, however, she said that she had to learn how to reign it in. "Sometimes I can be direct and cut to the case," she...

Let's be honest here: Every single person struggles with caring about what people think of us, inside and outside of the office. And Columbus City Councilwoman Liz Brown said she know what that feels like, particularly because she works a very public-facing job. But she said she had to get to a place in her career where she had to just stop worrying about it – no excuses. "It's hard. I choose to i...