Nancy Sheppard advises and coaches executive women on planning and executing their strategy to join a corporate board. At Athena, Nancy helps members develop their pitches and deliver them with ease to land their next opportunity.
Meet Nancy
Nancy is passionate about helping women earn a seat at the board table, founding Women2Boards as a way to assist both corporate boards and women connect and improve gender diversity in the boardroom. She joined the Athena team in 2017, bringing 30+ years of management and governance experience in banking associations, financial services industry, and legislative, regulatory & political environments.
She previously served as CEO of Western Independent Bankers, the largest regional banking association in the US, for over 20 years. She also served on two private company boards for financial institution products, created educational programs for directors and senior executives, and worked with hundreds of banks CEOs and board members.
Whether you are talking to a board member, recruiter, or just networking, your pitch – how you present yourself and the value you bring to a board, company, or committee role – is critical to creating a strong and lasting impression. Nancy leads Concierge-level members in dedicated workshops to practice their pitches together, receiving the support and feedback they need to polish their delivery and win the role.
“I’ve been involved in M&A processes before, but [Carol] shared nuances regarding the board’s perspective that were incredibly insightful.”
“I greatly appreciated the facilitation for this session, allowing the speaker to cover her material + weave in questions at the right time that built upon her messaging. Well done!”
“This salon was rich and thick with relevant info. I learned more about SPACs in an hour than I have cumulatively in my career. Extremely valuable.”
There is no shortage of qualified women for boards, but there is a need to connect these exceptional women to boards looking to fill an open seat. The current pace of change toward gender parity in the boardroom is 1% per year. At this rate parity for the largest companies
Loni Mahanta is an experienced executive, legal and policy expert, and strategic advisor formerly serving as VP of Policy Development & Research at Lyft. Loni came to Athena in June 2020 in the midst of a career transition, embarking on a new journey as an advisor and board director.
In making my decision to join the Leadership Team of The Athena Alliance, I looked at various parts of the program that distinguish it from other board preparation programs. The voice coach is one benefit that jumped out at me. Voice is one of the most powerful ways by which
Findings from the Fenwick & West Gender Diversity 2016 Proxy Season Survey, which looks at women’s positions on boards based on SEC data since 1996, point to a few promising trends and areas where Silicon Valley’s top public firms surpass the S&P 100 in their inclusion.
Launching Your Board Journey? Create a Go-to-Market Strategy that Works. As you announce to the world (or at least to your key connections) that you’re looking for a corporate board seat, have you strategized how you Go-to-Market? You ARE the product that customers (the board, CEO, recruiter, and referrals) will
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Athena offers live and on-demand learning, coaching, networking, and access to career opportunities for the world’s top women leaders. Have a specific goal such as a board seat, promotion, or career transition? Accelerators provide targeted, one-on-one support to help you get there.
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