Myra Biblowit, Board Director, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Interviewed by Rachel Humphrey

Myra shares how choosing and emulating strong role models shaped her leadership and why she puts so much effort into every single public speaking opportunity. She discusses the ways her self-awareness and self-confidence show up in her career decisions and how her leadership has evolved over time. Myra talks about board service, advice to her younger self, and what leadership traits she looks for in hiring and she thinks makes for great corporate leaders.

Transcript

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Rachel Humphrey 0:02

Good afternoon. I am Rachel Humphrey with it's Personal Stories of Hospitality podcast, and I am so excited for today's episode of the program. I am joined by Myra Bibbo, the board director for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. Myra, welcome to the podcast.

Myra Biblowit 0:18

I'm thrilled to be here.

Rachel Humphrey 0:20

As I am very excited for today, both because I have really enjoyed getting to know you better over the last couple months. But I'm also really excited to share you with the broader hospitality community, as people will hear. Your career really isn't in hospitality. Your avenue through hospitality is as a board director for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, and then its predecessors before that. So let's jump right in. Spend a little bit of time, tell us about who you are, your career journey. I know we're gonna delve into a lot of your leadership insights, but talk a little bit about what your career path has looked like.

Myra Biblowit 0:57

I'm a long time nonprofit executive and most recently retired after almost 23 years as president of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which today stands as the largest private funder of breast cancer research. Worldwide. I joined Evelyn Lauder to found the organization and build it into the powerhouse that it is, and it has had a dramatic impact on survival for our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, and our friends. So I take great pride in having done that, but as a nonprofit executive, I'm really a mission driven person, and that's what feeds my soul. Drives my energy. But I also love being on the board of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts because it has remarkable leadership leadership that is built a culture that fosters bringing women into the C-suite that fosters engagement with our customers. And there is a consonance between hospitality and nonprofit and the work that I did, I am thrilled to wear the two hats that go comfortably together.

Rachel Humphrey 2:12

I am grateful for the work that you have done for breast cancer research, and we're gonna dig into a lot more of some of the lessons you've learned through that experience, but also how they impact your hospitality experience. I wanna jump right in. To how we met. So about a year ago, you and I were both speaking at Wyndham's, women owned the room event out in Las Vegas. We had not met before that. And you and I both got to the room hours and hours early and we were both doing the same type of checking out the stage, making sure the computer work, doing all of these other things. And I told you I was really blown away because people who speak often, whether it be to a. A board, a management team or conferences of thousands of people. Sometimes people don't think that we prepare as much or as frequently or as intently. And here was this person who I'm sure you could walk right up on that stage anytime you wanted to and say anything. But you were involved in every single aspect, microphone level, to the computer, to the font, to everything else. Talk a little bit about public speaking, your journey there, why it's so important for you, and that idea of those attention to details before you took the stage.

Myra Biblowit 3:25

It's who I am. I always wanna. Deliver an A plus product. I worked long and hard. You said to me the other day, do you have a board of directors who have that, that are your touchstone? And the answer is, I have picked role models along the way, and that is how I've really learned my game. Leonard Lauder and Evelyn Lauder are my. Heart and soul. They are both gone now. We just lost Leonard, but Leonard built the rest of the Estee Lauder company into the powerhouse that it is today. He took it over from SD when it was worth $800,000 and today it's a multiplicity of brands. But his brilliance in building it, his ability to have build collaboration and be authentic was really a key to a culture within that enabled the company to grow. Evelyn, on the other hand, Holocaust survivor. With a deep soul. Had breast cancer came to me one day and said we were longtime friends. I want to start a foundation. I've looked around the country. There is not one entity with a laser sharp focus on funding. Research, and research is advancing at a pace that has never been more rapid. Will you help me? And I had just started a new job as vice Dean at NYU Medical Center. And I said, gee, Whis Evelyn, I don't know if I can do it right now, but she was very talmudic and she said because I can do it. If I don't do it, it would be a sin. You have to join me. So I would say that I learned to prepare and deliver an a plus product. From watching the two of them, they did everything at, in the most elegant and appropriate and authentic way. These were people who could have sat in Aspen and eaten bon bonds, but what drove their soul and moved them was doing good. And making a difference. And so I learned, I would go get up to speak and Evelyn would mouth, bite the mic and Leonard would give me feedback. And so over time. It became my mantra to only deliver a and to communicate to my staff. We don't skid along, we deliver a because we are a reflection of the Lauders. So it became part of who I was. And I love public speaking, but you did. You saw me checking the mic, checking the sound check. I came in today with my halo. Because I didn't like the light yesterday when I set this up. The attention to detail makes a difference. The recipient on the other side of any conversation feels it, sees it, appreciates it. So to me it's just second nature to do it well and to deliver.

Rachel Humphrey 6:30

I love so many pieces of that. First of all, delivering the A or the a plus product and how you learned. And we're gonna talk a little bit more about Evelyn and Leonard in a second, but also that they were offering you feedback as you would take the stage, and you were willing to take that feedback and begin incorporating it, seeing that your lighting wasn't good and coming up with a solution. Do that, but also thinking about it from how the audience will receive the information. Because in all of your roles, at the end of the day, the messaging is what you're trying to get across. And so the easier you make it for your audience to be in a position to receive it, the better. I really love that.

Myra Biblowit 7:08

That's right. I'll tell you a great Leonard Lauder story. We were working on changing our logo. The pink ribbon is the symbol of breast cancer, and I had a. A new PR person who decided she'd leave her mark by developing a new logo. So she came up with all sorts of ideas and I brought Leonard in and he would say ombre it a bit, change it a bit. And then one morning he called me and said, you have to come over to my office right away. So I ran. Madison Avenue to Leonard's office. And he said, look in that closet. Tell me what I said, it's a big mess and if you brought me here to clean the closet, I'm not doing it. And he said no. There's a paper bag in there. Let me have that paper bag. And he took the paper bag and out of it came iconic brands, Kellogg's and other products that have had decades of. Imprint on the public's consciousness. And he said, we are not changing our logo. Our currency is the pink ribbon. And then I got branding 1 0 1 from the master. Those are the kinds of things that benefited me so tremendously in my career, was to see how smart and insightful he was to understand how he built. The company and similarly Evelyn with her just innate warmth. People used to say, you could call Evelyn to say your housekeeper had breast cancer, and she would talk to the housekeeper for as long as she would talk to. A wealthy patron. So success in life is built on relationships and I learned from them to be exquisitely attentive to making sure those relationships delivered.

Rachel Humphrey 9:00

I love that and I love hearing you talk so much about them. When we were talking a couple weeks ago, you said to me that early in your career. You learned that you would rather be a big fish in a little pond than a little fish in a big pond, and it impacted your career as far as roles you were in then seeking out new roles and what you thought at the time until this opportunity with the Lauders came about. Where you were gonna go. I'm curious because that's an incredible self-awareness for a young person in a very busy city, in a busy community. Talk a little bit about that self-awareness of why Myra says I wanna be a big fish.

Myra Biblowit 9:40

I remember I was at Mount Sinai Medical Center when I was director of development and I got in an elevator and some. Buddy in a white coat. A doctor said, so dear, who do you work for? And I thought, I don't like that. I have a major role here at the medical center. In fact, I'm raising the money that enables you, the doctor to do your work. And I thought to myself, I wanna be somewhere where I am recognized for my leadership, that I'm recognized for the changes that I am bringing about and able to bring about for the vision that I have. And, and then I got pregnant and I thought, okay, my life is completely outta control. I'm working full-time. I'm gonna have a baby. I need to be a big fish in a little pond. So instead of returning to Mount Sinai, I went and became executive Vice president of the Central Park Conservancy which is a major New York. Charity responsible for the restoration of Central Park and from there to the Museum of Natural History to NYU Medical Center. It just became a path that I was on to have a leadership role in some of New York City's great institutions.

Rachel Humphrey 11:05

I find it so inspiring that you not only knew that about yourself, but you actually put it into action. You put a vision into mission. Yeah. Saying, you know what? I know this about myself, and how do I make sure that the options that I'm choosing going forward really align with that? And I love that.

Myra Biblowit 11:24

Yeah. I saw an opportunity with the Central Park Conservancy to make a mark.

Rachel Humphrey 11:30

Yeah.

Myra Biblowit 11:30

That I knew the importance of Central Park. You're not in, you're in Atlanta, but Central Park we call the lungs of the city. Yeah. And I knew there was an opportunity to. To restore it to its form of glory and to build a board of prominent New Yorkers who would be devoted to the upkeep of this municipal treasure. So it was very enticing. Rather than going back to Mount Sinai and being the little girl in the elevator, I decided to make that move and that launched me to, to future opportunities.

Rachel Humphrey 12:07

That's incredible. Yeah. Now I could have an entire book based on snippets that Myra has said to me in the year we've been getting to know each other because this was another one that I'm gonna be honest, I was really envious of. I asked you about imposter syndrome. Do you ever like about having a seat at the table? The nonprofit universe, of course, can have a lot of female leadership, so different from some other industries, and you said to me. I have too big an ego to be intimidated by anybody else in the room. And I thought, my goodness, Myra, that is incredible. Talk a little bit about that philosophy. Where do you get that confidence to know that you belong in every room that you walk into?

Myra Biblowit 12:53

It's probably a credit to my parents. I'm an only, I was an only child and they imbued me with a sense of self-confidence that I could do anything and be anything, and it just, I just assumed it was thus, and that's a very powerful thing, and it's a lesson in parenting. They, to give a child that sense that their capacity is boundless and that they're not easily intimidated.

Rachel Humphrey 13:25

One of the things that I love in that it came from your parents is this opportunity for generational role models or generational impact, because now your children and your grandchildren get to feel that experience that from you and now. Your daughter, granddaughter can see that same type of confidence when they walk into a room. So I think that's a really incredible story.

Myra Biblowit 13:50

Yeah. Yeah. My, I will tell you, my granddaughter talks about it all the time. My grandma and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. And she takes great pride in being able to hold me up as a role model. And how great is that?

Rachel Humphrey 14:05

That is incredible. I strive, get that with my girls. I strive for that someday with granddaughters as well. We've talked a little bit about Evelyn and Leonard's impact on you as a person, on you as a leader. The a plus product, the strategic thinking, other types of things. And when you spend any time with you, it's really. Beautiful. The impact that these two people have had on you. Talk about some of the other ways that they, you think that they have guided your leadership. As you said, you were at breast Cancer Research Foundation, almost 25 years. You serve on this role for board. What are some of the other lessons that you've learned that you attribute to their style of leadership?

Myra Biblowit 14:49

Building a culture that's collaborative. I read in an interview with Danny Meyer the other day and he talked about HQ versus iq. Being important when he hires hospitality quotient and it's that. It's empathy, it's intellectual curiosity, it's collaboration less so the degrees that are on a resume. And I think that's increasingly an important message. For leaders. You really, someone said to me once you hire, like you're hiring a fourth foot bridge, but it's very important to have a culture that is consistent across the organization where people are accessible when no one hesitates to express their opinion to disagree, but to do it in a way that. Is toward the strategy of building the company, the business, the nonprofit, the organization, and I would say Wyndham under Jeff Otti, who is a brilliant leader. A brilliant leader. I love being on that board because of his commitment to the culture as much as the business.

Rachel Humphrey 16:11

You have said that one of the reasons you really admire Jeff, who's been a guest on the program as well, is this combination of heart and head leadership combining heart and head. Tell us more about that successful combination, whether it's about Jeff or just in general, that leaders who combine heart and head will tend to be the most successful of leaders.

Myra Biblowit 16:33

I recently brought. Wyndham, a project that I was working on because I always have to have another thing in my life to be hideously busy. And I was honored at an event along with a gentleman who was the founder of something called Honor Flight New England. I. Every year he would raise a little bit of money and he would bring veterans from World War ii, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to Washington to see their monuments. And he would buy a few tickets on the plane. And my father has a, received a Bronze star and he served valiantly in, in World War ii. And so I said, Joe, how do you do this? And could I help you? And what if I could get you a plane? And what if I could get you financial support? Would that be helpful? And so now for the fourth year in a row, we will have our Honor flight, new England on a plane donated by Delta Airlines, a com, a commercial plane. Brought in as a charter for the day and we will have financial support from Wyndham. It took Jeff a nanosecond to say I'm in, but not only was he in. He came. He came. He showed up at eight o'clock, at six o'clock in the morning in the police barracks at Logan Airport, and he spent the day with me with 75 veterans going to Washington, greeting them. That is emblematic of the soul as well as the acumen. It wasn't just let us write a check. Myra, it was, let me be part of it and let me bring to my employees and my customers a reflection of Wyndham's commitment to the military and the veterans. And of course we have a broad program to hire. Veteran owned businesses and to make our properties accessible to veterans and their families. Women Own The Room is another reflection of Jeff's commitment. It was the first hotel program dedicated to fueling, encouraging, and emboldening women to be hotel owners. Not just open the door, but provide guidance. His heart and his acumen blend magnificently and the employees know it and recognize it and celebrate it, and it makes me honored to be on their board. So in September we will do our fourth honor flight, new England and our, we are losing our veterans quickly. From World War ii, but we will go to Washington and Jeff will be there waving the flag and celebrating Wyndham's commitment.

Rachel Humphrey 19:25

I think that's also a perfect example of Myra who gets something in her mind and then puts it into action, gets it done, and reports back out on it. I wanna talk about board service a little bit. There's a lot of conversation now, not just. In the hospitality industry, but about board service and women on boards. I actually have two questions You've been on starting with Sedant and then Wyndham Worldwide and then Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, the board for about 25 years. Let's start with just a quick one. How did you obtain that very first seat back when it was Sundance to serve on the board?

Myra Biblowit 20:01

I speak sometimes at board boot camps and things for women who wanna get on corporate boards, and I'm not a very good example of how to do it because it's always about, burnishing your resume and things like that. I was at NYU Medical Center and I was vice Dean and ran development and public relations and alumni relations. And Henry Silverman was then on the board and he said to me one day, I have to step down. My company is imploding. This is way back, 25 years ago. And I can't manage this. And I said, I'll tell you what. I'll do all the work. You stay put, I'll write your remarks. I'll deliver the dollars. We'll raise a lot of money and I'll make it easy. And he said, you're kidding. I said, you don't have to do a thing. And so he said, okay. And he stayed and then he built Sendent. And he called me one day and he said, I've loved working with you and I wanna add a woman to my board, and I would love you to join. You've shown me what you can do. So it was the right place at the right time, and I feel like that's been, I've been blessed to be in the right place at the right time on so many occasions but in part derives from treasuring and nurturing relationships.

Rachel Humphrey 21:28

I was just about to say, I would disagree when you say you are not the right person to speak as to how to seek a board seat, because in reality you did it based on building relationships such a critical part of the industry. You also showed up for somebody expecting nothing in return. So this idea of selfless leadership or servant leadership and how that impacted your journey. So I'm gonna disagree with you that one. I think it's an incredible example. But I wanna pivot to the second part because you spent your whole career. Really in this nonprofit sector, and Wyndham, of course, is a for-profit board role. Talk about the difference between what you have learned as a leader for the nonprofit universe versus the for-profit universe. I.

Myra Biblowit 22:18

I've learned so much being on the several boards that I've been on and watching how decisions get made and how people come together around the table, and how the various skill sets at the table impact decision making, and I think it has made me a stronger. Leader in the nonprofit. We are, Jo, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation is Johnny OneNote. It doesn't have a multiplicity of businesses. But it is global as the largest private funder of breast cancer research worldwide. So I think there were just. Lessons that helped me to become a stronger leader, a better conveyor of message a better leader of decision making and strategy and that. They came together and they continue to come together. And the fact that there is this flow of philanthropic engagement on the corporate side also has made a difference in the companies just to watch how the company. Grew from Sendent when we divided that into its multiplicity of businesses. And I went on the Wyndham Worldwide Board, which was timeshare and hotel, and then we broke timeshare into travel and leisure and be, and I went on the board of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. The process of decision making. The brilliance around the table. The mutual respect of talents at the table made me a better leader in my nonprofit world. And I'm the great beneficiary of something, a door that Henry Silverman opened that Steve Holmes nurtured so brilliantly at Wyndham, and that Jeff continues to build into this enormous global behemoth, the largest franchiser in the world.

Rachel Humphrey 24:26

It's been incredible to see that Henry's invite all that time again, continues to have such an enormous. Impact on the hospitality industry. I asked you a couple weeks ago about, especially when you're at one organization for a long time to not get stale. What is something that you think about how your leadership evolved? Where did it get better over time? I'm not gonna ask about confidence 'cause we know Myra's confident.

Myra Biblowit 24:53

Yeah.

Rachel Humphrey 24:54

That's not something, but how did. What would you say is something that you think you got better at as time evolved?

Myra Biblowit 25:00

I'm a bit of a science junkie and so the advances in research I find so exhilarating and the deliverables so heartwarming. We are going to cure cancer and the. The research is revealing so much about how to prevent, not just cure. When I started out, if a woman was diagnosed, she got on the conveyor belt and at the end of the conveyor belt everyone got the same treatment. And at the end of the conveyor belt, some people got better and some didn't. Now we understand the differences in tumors and we understand the therapies that'll make a difference, and we understand the genetic predisposition. So I found the research advance is so exhilarating that it made me a very effective fundraiser because my own passion for investing in the science was so genuine. And the deliverables so tangible in terms of life saved, so I never Tired of the science.

Rachel Humphrey 26:09

Yeah. I mean that continuous learning is such a huge. Commonality among great leaders is that desire. I told you we were gonna run short on time 'cause I wanna know more. I wanna keep asking questions, but I'm gonna do a couple rapid fire questions with you. If you are hiring for a team around you, and I'm gonna limit you just to one thing, what is the number one thing you look for in knowing that person is going to be the right fit for you?

Myra Biblowit 26:38

A collaborative style.

Rachel Humphrey 26:41

Okay. I love that. Tell me something that would shock people. 'cause you're a very public figure globally and you are influential. And when Myra talks, everybody is listening. You have said you're an open book. Tell me one thing about you that would surprise people to hear. I

Myra Biblowit 26:59

have a pink closet.

Rachel Humphrey 27:01

Do you I'm surprised to hear that. Not

Myra Biblowit 27:04

surprised. After several decades, I learned it was better to consolidate everything pink in one closet. Gosh,

Rachel Humphrey 27:11

I love that. And then I, one of my very favorite questions on this podcast. Because I think that we are all works in progress. We continue to evolve as people, as leaders, but a lot of that involves reflection. Looking back some time ago, so as Myra took that first role out of college and started entering your career, what is one thing you would tell your younger self, either about how things turned out for you or something that would've made the path a little bit different for you?

Myra Biblowit 27:41

I would say be bold. Yeah, but I would also say thank you often.

Rachel Humphrey 27:47

Oh, I love that.

Myra Biblowit 27:48

Relationships sustain over a long period of time if you say thank you. And so I would say. Say thank you Often, don't let anyone fall off your Rolodex an old word, but be people in your circle and be bold.

Rachel Humphrey 28:08

I love that. Be bold.

Myra Biblowit 28:09

Believe and be bold.

Rachel Humphrey 28:11

Love that. And then our motto is empowering personal success. We've talked a lot about great advice today, but what is one final thought you might have for our audience?

Myra Biblowit 28:24

Bring people along with you. Success is not a solo practice. Success is a team sport.

Rachel Humphrey 28:34

From the collaborative. Myra, I would expect you to say nothing less, but such an important thought to bring people along with you, to lift others to be collaborative and That's right. Giving in that way. That's really incredible. Myra, I told you from the minute I met you, I'm intrigued. I wanna know more. I wanna keep learning from you. I wanna keep being. Inspired by you. I wanna share you and your story with the rest of the hospitality industry that I'm delighted have an opportunity. So in the, what you would tell your younger self, I'll say thank you to you often and with heartfelt gratitude. But thank you for your leadership in breast cancer research in giving to your community. In what you do to support the hospitality industry through your board service, through elevating women and others in the industry for joining me today and having already a deep impact on me over the short time that we have gotten to know each other. But thank you so much for joining us. Today and then I would tell our listeners, I hope you've enjoyed getting a chance to know Myra a little bit. We have the newly launched it's personal stories.com. We hope you will check it out and hear from other incredible leaders in the hospitality industry. But Myra, thank you so very much and we really appreciate you joining us.

Myra Biblowit 29:54

Thank you very much for having me.