A growing number of women are reaching the highest levels of business, entrepreneurship, and career success. As a result, they’re no longer discussing how to get a seat at the table, but rather, what to do once you’re there.
Female executives, founders, and industry leaders gathered last month in Miraval Berkshires in Massachusetts for the inaugural New Guard Summit, a two-day gathering called “The Third Act: Wealth, Wellbeing, and Influence,” to explore the next phase of their professional lives. The summit was created by The WIE Suite, a membership community for women leaders founded by Dee Poku.
“I want us to see this [stage of life] as a new beginning,” Poku said during the summit’s opening dinner, according to InStyle. “There is so much more ahead of us…we’ve acquired so much knowledge, and we’re just really coming into our full selves.”
The event focused on helping accomplished women think beyond traditional career advancement and, instead, learn how to deploy their resources, expertise, and influence to shape the future. Poku noted that women are expected to control more than $30 trillion in global spending by 2030, creating a significant opportunity for economic and social impact.
One of the summit’s most talked-about conversations featured Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code and CEO of Moms First, who encouraged women to become more comfortable talking about money and investing.
“We have to get comfortable with money, and we have to get detached [from] it,” Saujani told attendees. She later emphasized the need for women to use their capital intentionally, adding, “money will actually make things better for women. And we have an opportunity to show what compassionate capitalism looks like, to show what happens when good people who make money do good things.”
Beyond wealth-building discussions, the summit featured wellness-focused experiences, including yoga, hiking, meditation, and workshops designed to help attendees prioritize their health. Speakers included business leaders and experts such as Hillary Super, CEO of Victoria’s Secret & Co., OB-GYN Dr. Sharon Malone, and Forward_Space Founder Kristin Sudeikis.
For Poku, creating a space specifically for women leaders was essential in a moment when many feel their progress is under threat.
“I look around, especially now, and I just see endless rooms full of men telling us how to live our lives, policing our bodies, and really impacting our ability to succeed,” she said. “And we need rooms of our own where we can really determine our own destiny.”
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