CEO Series: A View from the Top- Kathy Warden
In March, the JMU Federal Dukes were joined by Kathy Warden, the first-ever female Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Northrop Grumman Corporation and member of the JMU Board of Visitors. Ms. Warden shared her journey to the top, handling transitions and current climates, and insights from the new administration and the future workforce.
Many JMU students are interested in government related careers including consulting and contracting in the D.C. area as well as outside the beltway where more than 70% of the federal government operates. The JMU Federal Dukes has become a critical Affinity Chapter of the JMU Alumni Association to build inter-generational connections between alumni, students, future students and the University interested in public service; an important part of being a nationally recognized university.
“Civic engagement and education for democracy are really key priorities at James Madison University and crucial to our students. We cannot take democracy for granted. We know that for government to work well, we have to educate and prepare each generation of students and leaders for a democratic society. The variety of majors represented in the leadership of the JMU Federal Dukes speaks to what we had hoped to accomplish with this Affinity Group by bringing a lot of people with diverse backgrounds and interests together who share that common bond and interest in federal service. This JMU Federal Dukes group was really a dream come true for many people in our James Madison University community so I’m really excited to see it come to fruition,” said JMU President Jonathan Alger in his opening remarks at the virtual gathering.
President Alger noted in the earlier part of his career, he worked at the U.S. Department of Education and lived in D.C. and how it was a tremendously valuable part of his own experience and career leadership journey.
Interview with Tim Hartman, JMU Federal Dukes Advisory Board Member, and Chief Executive Officer of Government Executive Media Group, and Kathy Warden:
THE JOURNEY
Tim Hartman (TH): When you came to JMU did you know you’d be a CEO one day?
Kathy Warden (KW): I came in to JMU interested in a career in the law. I had no idea one day I would be a CEO. I was focused on doing good work and expanding the impact of that work. It became clearer later down the road, but when I was graduating it wasn’t a possibility in my mind.
TH: What were some of the lessons you learned from JMU?
KW: Staying true to yourself, discovering passion and my direction for the future were all learned from JMU. I learned to recognize the importance of a value system and having a strong foundation. College was overall a discovery process.
TH: What happened after graduation?
KW: My first job was at GE. I joined their corporate leadership program, which they were known for at the time. Joining GE was the first big decision that I made, against conventional norms. I decided to do something entirely different than what everyone else I knew was doing at the time. I didn’t know anyone at the company, but the experience stretched me and took me out of my comfort zone. It set the foundation for building confidence to take on future tough jobs and walk on the path less traveled.
TH: How long were you at GE, and later Northrup Grummen?
KW: I intended to spend my entire career at GE. I moved from business to business within the company. I stayed a little less than a decade. My husband and I were trying to align our careers for our family, and I left to pursue an exciting opportunity with a startup. The start up was acquired once, and then twice. Following 9/11, I got into the defense side of the business, with the intelligence community and national security. I fell in love with the mission. Being able to make a daily impact is what kept me in the industry. When I get up and go to work, I’m leaving a family behind. People struggle with that, specifically women. But knowing that I was leaving them for a reason made it easier.
TH: How have you been able to balance the demands and success of your personal and professional life?
KW: I’ve been able to find balance over a period of time. You can approach your goals in a way that balance and achieve what you want both professionally and personally. When possible, try to maintain positive relationships in both aspects of your life and bring those together.
TH: What are some lessons you learned along the way? Were there any setbacks?
KW: I of course had multiple setbacks along the way. A quote that has stuck with me is “Don’t let a good crisis go to waste”. You have to learn from your setbacks so then you can begin your road to recovery. In 2001 I left GE, planned for starting a family, my father passed away before my first child was born, and I ended up returning to work at the end of August right before the 9/11 attacks. Our clients were devastated, and the business really struggled. I had to figure out how to pick myself up from here. Everything seemed like it was awful timing. I quickly tried to reframe success and taught me a lot about personal and business resiliency. I believe that change and the opportunities that come with it are mainly optimistic.
TH: What advice do you give to women that are looking to ascend the corporate ladder?
KW: Don’t think that anything is out of reach. The first step is believing that it is attainable. The most important part is navigating the constraints, being able to overcome those. Oftentimes it’s mentally putting yourself in a positive frame of mind in order to overcome the challenges you face. The difficulty is in managing priorities and finding a balance. But I don’t think balance as a state of complete equilibrium between work and life exists in the real world. I think what it’s really about is over a long period of time feeling like you’ve been able to do the things that you want to do both professionally and personally, maintaining positive relations in both aspects of your life. This has only been possible because of all the support I’ve received both emotionally and professionally throughout my life whether it is on the family side, or on the business side with a really strong team. That kind of allyship is important and it’s something we’re talking about much more.
THE WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
TH: Where do you think the future of work is going post COVID?
KW: We need to pull forward what experiences have worked during the pandemic — provide employees more flexibility, look at office time as a necessity for certain tasks (collaboration and ideation) and not just as a place to show your face. A recognition of value of flexibility for employees. We can trust employees to get the job done without being in the office every day. Productivity has increased. There is a sign and worry with the lack of collaboration and being able to create affinity with the workplace. Return to work will be leveraging the best practices from virtual and supplement with in-person culture.
TH: Putting yourself in the shoes of current graduates- what do you think a possible career path could be?
KW: I can see this from the perspective from my college sophomore’s experience from home and not being on campus. I know it can be discouraging coming into the marketplace when companies aren’t working in their normal patterns. My encouragement is that this too will pass. The return to normalcy is what corporations are working to put into place. There will be great job opportunities after this. The importance is to make your mark and to learn from this experience. Resilience and the ability to cope with this impact is key. Companies will be looking at how you handled this and dealt with this.
Also, you can’t go wrong if you’re working to build your digital literacy whether you’re studying accounting or information technology, the systems and the outputs will be digital in nature. Within IT services, we work across a broad spectrum of support from building, to security, to operating, to fielding IT systems. We hire students with STEM, engineering, business functional skills. A wide spectrum. Technology skills are critical.
THE NEXT FOUR YEARS
TH: What public sector trends are you seeing?
KW: We have a new Administration and new leadership in Congress. We’re looking at some of the changes and their priorities — which include an increase in funding for research and technology. Some examples are using microelectronics and AI to solve national security problems. Another is climate. We need to think about climate as an industry and how we can work towards net zero emissions over the next decade. We need to work with government to reduce their carbon footprint. One trend that has transitioned from the previous Administration is space. There will be increased budget for NASA and military missions.
TH: How can JMU better align itself with the federal government?
KW: JMU should look at how it can help with national security, national infrastructure, national civilian agencies sectors and missions (i.e. energy, climate, healthcare) — to capture the investment research dollars
Click here to view the whole interview.
Please join the JMU Federal Dukes LinkedIn Group and go to https://www.publicservicecareers.org/jobs/ or https://www.usajobs.gov/ to learn more about how you can get involved in growing our community, news and opportunities in public service and to sign up for future programs.
