Karyn B. Schoenbart is the Chief Executive Officer of The NPD Group and the best-selling author of Mom.B.A.: Essential Business Advice from One Generation to the Next.
Karyn has spent the majority of her career working at The NPD Group, which provides information and advisory services for over 20 industries. NPD combines unique data assets and prescriptive analytics with industry expertise, working with the world’s leading brands to support better business decisions and drive growth.
Passionate about coaching others to greater levels of achievement, Karyn wrote Mom.B.A: Essential Business Advice from One Generation to the Next as a practical guide on everything from effective first impressions and workplace politics to relationship development, skill-building, and overcoming the Impostor Syndrome. The book is based on the real-life business lessons Karyn amassed during her career.
Karyn has received several awards recognizing her outstanding impact as a female business leader including the 2016 Long Island Brava Award and the 2017 Legacy Award from Women in Consumer Technology. She was also named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market by the CEO Connection for the past four years.
Karyn currently serves on the advisory board of The Resolution Project, a nonprofit organization that develops socially-responsible young leaders. Karyn has also served on the boards of directors of Civic Science, ARF Women in Analytics and CASRO, the Council of American Survey Research Organizations. She regularly teaches classes in leadership and developing client relationships and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
Karyn is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, summa cum laude. She and her husband live in Woodbury, NY. They enjoy the beach and spending time with their adult children.
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Sneak Peek Into What You’ll Learn…
2:54 – Karyn gives us a behind the scenes view of her background, her career journey, and the inspiration behind her book, Mom.B.A.
5:43 – First impressions are critically important. Karyn provides great, concrete advice on how to ensure you make a good first impression.
9:05 – Building relationships has been a critical element of Karyn’s success. She shares specific steps you can take to establish and nurture key professional relationships.
16:00 – Corporate culture is an important part of your happiness at work and ultimately your performance. Karyn discusses strategies to help you navigate different workplace cultures.
22:37 – Karyn shares the importance of mentor in her career and provides great advice on how to find and cultivate relationships with strong mentors.
26:03 – In addition to mentors, having a strong sponsor is an important factor in growing a successful career. Karyn explains the difference between a mentor and a sponsor and shares how to nurture your relationships with sponsors.
31:53 – Karyn describes her experience transitioning from being an individual contributor to team leader, and the skills she had to develop to become a successful CEO.
38:32 – Karyn shares her struggles with impostor syndrome and shares three strategies to help you overcome it.
41:17 – What does “having it all” mean? Karyn gets candid as she offers practical tips for integrating work and family life.
44:03– Brass Tacks: The lightning round of concrete advice and tips.
Quotable quotes:
“Dress the way that matters to the people who matter.”
“Prepare, remember names, have an authentic conversation and follow up quickly.”
“Not everybody is designed to work for somebody… That’s why they’re so many entrepreneurs out there.”
“What got you promoted isn’t what’s going to help you be successful going forward.”
“It’s also really important to figure out what having it all means to you.”
“Try to compartmentalize… Be present in your present.”
Links to Resources
To learn more, visit Karyn’s website
Get a copy of Mom.B.A
Follow her on Twitter @karynschoenbart and Facebook @karynschoenbartauthor
Join us in our private Facebook Group, The Working Mother’s Mentor Community
