OUR MISSION
To inspire one million women to see themselves as the boss.
In a world of over eight billion people, the goal almost seems too small. CEO Prep is the roadmap — the tools, strategy, and confidence to stop thinking small and start preparing for the possibility of leading.
People build their lives around what they see — and what they don't. When only 11% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, the message to young women is something like: "Don't bother. Women don't lead."
The result is that women often don't see themselves as CEO material. The damage doesn't stop there: when we miss out on talented female leaders, the paradigms they'd bring forward don't exist. Who wins?
At ABC To CEO, we want to inspire young women early to challenge what they see. We exist to sew seeds of possibility to women in formative stages, inviting them to play the biggest game they can.
“When more women are at the top, we believe there will be a tipping point that will make women becoming a CEO no longer headline news.”
Meet our Founder, Sharon Fiehler
After a long, successful career as a C-Suite Executive at what was then an $8 Billion Fortune 500 Company (Peabody Energy), Sharon Fiehler retired. By the end of her run with Peabody, she managed a global staff with an operating budget of approximately $250 million. She also chaired the board of the 8th District of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Because Sharon didn’t think about the future possibility of CEO, she didn’t consider which roles would best prepare her to be qualified to be considered for a CEO role at Peabody or sometwhere else. Despite experiencing great success, when she reflected upon her career, she realized that becoming a CEO would have been a challenge she would have enjoyed, but it would have required many changes in her career path.
When she retired, Sharon identified a fault line in how she thought about things, setting out to help other women avoid her mistakes. It shouldn’t be remarkable or news-worthy for women to be CEO. Sharon is dedicated to helping young women see themselves as the leader at a young age — so they can go for the top spot, if they so choose to.
OUR VISION
To redefine what’s possible.
We envision a world where women everywhere have the confidence, skills, and support to pursue their ambitions and create meaningful impact. When women believe in what’s possible for themselves, they expand what’s possible for generations to come.
When one million young women are practicing the strategies and belief systems that our CEO guests share, there will be more women at the top — and they’ll send positive ripples to the next generations to come.
“When more women are at the top, we believe there will be a tipping point that will make women becoming a CEO no longer headline news.”
DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FEMALE LEADERS
At ABC To CEO, young women learn from women who made it to the top. Our hats go off to them for overcoming many obstacles and finding their way through the difficult career maze with few female role models ahead of them. Fortunately, at ABC To CEO, the next generation of up-and-coming female leaders can learn from those who traveled the path before them.
tESTIMONIALS
“ABC To CEO has unleashed a new power on campus for undergraduate women at SCU. Not only do Beth and Sharon connect individually with each woman, they help our community connect with one another- recognizing how each of our strengths is unique and appreciated by those around us.
Helping facilitate conversations that normalize shooting for the top position among young women was more necessary than I realized. The topic of wanting to be the boss can almost feel stigmatizing. ABC To CEO created a framework for our conversations that increased the confidence of our club members to start thinking bigger in a way that created an empowering energy that lingered in our community long past the introduction of ABC To CEO’s programming.”
Jane Scullion, Advisory Board Member
“ABC To CEO has unleashed a new power on campus for undergraduate women at SCU They normalize shooting for the top position among young women and is more necessary than I realized. The topic of wanting to be the boss can almost feel stigmatizing. ABC To CEO created a framework for our conversations that helps us see that going for being the boss is not only ok it is actually good.
Our members started thinking bigger in a way that created an empowering energy that lingered in our community long past the introduction of ABC To CEO’s programming.”
Women in Investment, Santa Clara University
“We conducted a focus group with young women of JP Morgan. We learned about their experiences and shared our plan for the training modules. Focus group participants reported that they see their male counterparts as having more natural ways to connect with male senior leaders. They validated the need for more programming targeted at providing them with the tools they need to overcome obstacles to advancement. They see the need for outside support.”
JP Morgan Focus Group
“The most important factor in determining whether you will succeed isn’t your gender, it’s you. Be open to opportunity and take risks. In fact, take the worst, the messiest, the most challenging assignment that you can find, and then take control.”