By Katharine Marriott, Villanova School of Business 2023
The Villanova School of Business’ Women in Business Society recently hosted a professional development event, Presenting Opportunities for Women (POW), that I was given the opportunity to attend. Christine Dorfler, Chief Financial Officer of NBC Sports Group, spoke about her position at NBCUniversal and gave advice specifically for women considering working in the business field. The event also contained a panel discussion with female Villanova School of graduates working in various areas of business.
Christine began her presentation by discussing NBC Universal’s role in the media industry and how the company has evolved over the years. The company has been able to grow exponentially over the years because it produces high quality products with a high demand. For example, the new trend in the media industry is streaming, so NBC is producing its own streaming platform, Peacock, in April of 2020. I could not help but laugh when Christine mentioned that the financials at NBCUniversal are called the “Stairway to Heaven”; however, this name does perfectly illustrate the company’s growth over the past decade. I found this portion of Christine’s presentation to be extremely interesting because it showed how passionate and knowledgeable she is about the company she works for. It also showed that to manage the finances of a company, one must be knowledgeable about the other segments of the company.
Something I found to be significant that Christine Dorfler mentioned during her presentation was a statistic: A man will apply for a position if he meets 60% of the criteria while a woman will only apply for a position if she meets 100% of the criteria. She discussed how this statistics shows how women often seek perfection and do not allow themselves to be in an uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation that could allow for growth. I personally resonated with what Christine discussed. For example, I was hesitant to join the Villanova Club Sailing Team because I was not sure if I was a qualified enough sailor for the group despite the fact the club describes itself as containing members with a large range of backgrounds. I will be sure to keep Christine’s discussion in mind when I am entering new situations.
In conclusion, I would recommend all female Villanova School of Business students to join the Women in Business Society and attend the annual POW event. Even though I attended this event on a rainy Thursday evening, I walked away feeling inspired and motivated. If you were able to attend the event, please feel free to comment your thoughts about it. If you were not able to attend, I highly recommend you attend next year!
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