DMAGAZINE - June 2 - Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group, came from a family of entrepreneurs. Her father was a first-generation Jewish immigrant who'd followed the family legacy of building his own business. As far as her grandfather was concerned, Ginsberg was selling out when she began her career in corporate America. "My grandfather was mad at me for days," she says. "He said you'd make much more money working for yourself than working for someone else." Ginsberg served as CEO of Match Group Americas, CEO of The Princeton Review, and president of Match before taking the leading role at Match Group, which employs ~1,400 people and generated $1.3B in revenue in 2017.
Q: Did you always want to be a CEO?
A: I wouldn't have said CEO was a goal, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
Q: Why are there so few women CEOs?
A: It's a social change. As there are more women leaders, it will change over time.
Q: Did your company change with a woman at the top?
A: Having strong women in leadership roles attracts other women.
Q: Was there ever a time you were overlooked or discriminated against for being a woman?
A: I walked into a meeting to hand someone a piece of paper. An older man asked me for a cup of coffee, and I was running the business. If it had been a man, I don't think he would've asked. It was very funny, but very rare.
Q: What did you wish you knew earlier in your career?
A: In your 20s, you try so much to be something you're not. I wish someone had said all that doesn't matter. You've got to be authentic and just work hard. Don't be afraid of taking risks.
Q: Has there ever been a time you felt like you failed?
A: I've never felt like I've failed. It's really not about if you fail, but what you do about it.
Q: How do you know it's time for the next step in your career?
A: When you stop learning and you're stagnating and not challenged, it's time.
Q: What are you doing to improve opportunities for other women?
A: At our organization, it's about accessibility - making sure there's enough time to provide access to people in the organization. We've got such a big portion of our executive team who are women, we probably do stuff more innately.
Q: How do you negotiate pay?
A: My mother would say, 'If you don't ask for it, you're not going to get it.' If you don't get it, it's OK, because it puts into the head of your manager that this is your goal. Men tend to shoot higher than their skill level. For women, shoot a little higher. Push yourself. If you feel like you're hitting a ceiling some place, take the risk to go to another place.
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