OUR MISSION
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.
We inspire and prepare young women to become not just a leader, but the leader.
WE…
Plant the idea that becoming a CEO or top leader is possible;
Encourage young women to raise their hand and GET IN THE GAME;
Advise young women to gain necessary experience early in their career; and,
Ensure there is an abundant pipeline of women qualified to assume the role of CEO.
OUR GOAL
Our goal is to inspire 1 million young women to imagine they have a future that they may not have yet considered for themselves! Young women often fail to believe that they have what it takes to become a CEO or top leader. We plan to change this! When 1 million young women are practicing the strategies and belief systems that our CEO guests share, there will not only be more women at the top but there will be a positive ripple effect impacting millions of people. For those who don’t land in the top spot, ABC to CEO will make them better leaders — period. And for those who may not want to be CEOs, they can strive to reach their potential.
“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.” —Sharon Fiehler, Founder ABC To CEO
OUR RESULTS TO DATE
In 2022, the number of young women signing up to see our curated ABC To CEO content has doubled. Over 80,000 people (mostly young women) viewed our custom ABC To CEO content in January of 2023 alone. Some of our specific ABC To CEO guest content is viewed over 60,000 times. Our CEO wisdom and inspiration is striking a chord. So far we’ve created a robust CEO content library with over 1,000 short videos that address key subjects, traits and experiences critical to becoming a highly effective CEO.
The feedback we are receiving from young women lets us know we are onto something! For example, after being exposed to our content, they report being more likely to ask for a promotion and to raise their hand for stretch assignments — two behaviors that are essential to going the distance. We are also thrilled to provide young women with role models who have made it to the top. Young women appreciate that CEOs take the time to help them on their career paths. CEOs love sharing their wisdom knowing that they have a way to reach and to help tens of thousands of young women. This collaboration is what makes ABC To CEO so valuable.
The Story of our Founder, Sharon Fiehler
Sharon had a long and successful career as a C-Suite Executive at Peabody Energy — at the time an $8 Billion Fortune 500 Company. While at Peabody, Sharon managed a global staff with an annual operating budget of ~$250M. This included managing Information Technology, Supply Chain Management, Human Resources, Security Management, Flight Services and Facilities Management. She also chaired the board of the 8th District of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
However, because Sharon didn’t think about the future possibility of CEO, she did not consider which roles would best prepare her to be qualified to be considered for a CEO role at Peabody or another organization. Despite experiencing great success, when Sharon 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.
After her retirement, Sharon identified the problem she then set out to solve so other women would not make the same mistake. Today, she is dedicated to — Preparing young women for the future possibility of CEO.
“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.”