“You should step down as CEO”

WHAT’S ON DECK

• Tell Me More: What an 80 year-old first grader can teach us 

• Troublemaker Spotlight: Nancy Twine, founder of Briogeo and founder/CEO of Maker’s Mindset

• Dear FQ: How difficult is a difficult manager? 

• Poll the Pack: Employees are standing at a career crossroads

TELL ME MORE

When birth rates dropped and there weren’t enough children to fill classes, rural schools in South Korea welcomed grandmothers who had never learned to read

If young Soo-hee peeks into the first-grade classroom next to hers, she’ll see a familiar sight: Students carefully tracing letters, learning to sound out the 14 consonants and 10 vowels in the Korean alphabet. 

But these students aren’t 7 and 8 year olds. They’re 70 and 80. One of them is Soo-hee’s grandmother. 

They are a part of Daegu Elementary’s “Grandmothers’ classes,” a creative solution developed by rural South Korean schools to fill empty desks caused by sharply declining birth rates. These women grew up during the Korean War when girls’ education was often considered unnecessary and families focused resources on boys’ education, while girls cared for siblings and were expected to help around the home. 

Now, they are realizing a long-held dream. They’re finally learning to read and write. 

And the children around them are witnessing something extraordinary: Adults who have lived full and complex lives and are also still curious. Willing to engage in the challenge of learning. Humble enough to line up on playgrounds and ride school buses. Dedicated enough to wake up before dawn to work before the school day starts, all in service of one day being able to write letters to their children and fill out forms with more than just their names. 

In a world obsessed with youth, we’re often taught to see old age as an end-point. You get older, you retire, you sit in your recliner and watch your shows. But these women are teaching us a thing or two. 

• Older Americans are flooding back to college campuses in unprecedented numbers. Case in point: At 81-years-old, tennis legend Billie Jean King is heading back to California State University Los Angeles to finish what she started, earning her bachelor’s degree in history. 

• The older workforce (65+) has nearly quadrupled since the mid-1980s and will make up more than half of labor force growth in the next decade.

• These employees are healthier, more educated, and more likely to be able to continue working than older generations before them.  

“Learning doesn't stop when you're twenty two,” says UC Berkeley Chancellor, Carol Crist. “Many people have life choices that have kept them from going to university at the traditional age and so it's extraordinarily important to enable them to bring all the richness and experience to our student body.”

By the next decade, 150 million jobs globally will shift to workers over 55. This trend is particularly significant for women, who historically have faced career interruptions for caregiving. 

Smart organizations are already adapting and creating learning opportunities to welcome all ages. 

• Microsoft supports ongoing learning for older employees, enabling them to stay current in technology and contribute their expertise.

• Salesforce offers mentorship programs and targeted career development resources for older employees.

• Volkswagen of America provides flextime, job sharing, and telecommuting options, and hires retirees for part-time consulting and short-term assignments to leverage their experience.

The future of work won’t be defined by age. Organizations that invest in lifelong learning and create multigenerational pathways will not only retain invaluable expertise, they’ll unlock innovation that benefits everyone.

PSA: It’s never too late to start something new, to begin again, to do an absolute 180. You call the shots.

For the fourth year in a row, The Female Quotient and Deloitte are shining a light on the bold minds shaping the future of cybersecurity. These leaders see this work not just as a technical field, but as a powerful way to create impact, drive resilience, and protect what matters most.

Cybersecurity is about more than defending against threats; it’s about safeguarding people, protecting data, and preserving trust in the digital age. From personal information to intellectual property, these protections are foundational to innovation, security, and peace of mind. The leaders we’re celebrating didn’t all take the same path to get here, but they share a common purpose: Keeping our digital world safe. Congratulations to the Cyber Leaders of 2025!

TROUBLEMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Nancy Twine, founder of Briogeo and founder/CEO of Maker’s Mindset

Nancy Twine traded a thriving career at Goldman Sachs and took her mother’s hair care recipes to build one of the fastest-growing brands at Sephora. At 29, she became the youngest Black woman to launch a product line there with Briogeo, her clean, high-performance hair care company. Now through Makers Mindset and her $1M Dream Makers Founder Grant, Nancy is breaking down barriers for the next generation of female entrepreneurs, especially Black and BIPOC founders. From Wall Street VP to beauty mogul to investor and mentor, Nancy has spent two decades proving that when you bet on yourself and lift others up, everyone wins.

FQ: What’s the worst career advice you’ve gotten?

“You should step down as CEO of Briogeo and have someone come in who has done this before.”

It wasn’t just bad advice, it was disappointing. This person was telling me that I wasn't qualified to run my company simply because I hadn't done it before. But the truth is, every CEO is a first time CEO at some point.

I didn’t listen. I stayed on as CEO. I worked my ass off, I figured out what I didn't know, and I ended up scaling my company to a 9-figure exit without the help of an experienced CEO. I think sometimes where people get stuck is they're constantly seeking out feedback, and they take other people’s opinions for truth. Filtering for yourself is key, and no one else can do it but you. 

What’s the best piece of non-obvious career advice you’ve gotten?

It was actually back on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs where I learned early on, “You have all the tools you need. Go figure it out.”

That “go figure it out” mentality was really hard at first, because I didn't know where to start, but I'm so grateful that I had to work my way up through a career at Goldman by learning how to be resourceful. Because when I ventured out to become a founder and CEO of a business, that’s what it’s all about. You have to figure it out. And the confidence of knowing that you can figure it out, is incredibly important. 

What was a “heartbeat moment” for you in your career?

During my career on Wall Street, I ended up losing my mom really tragically in a car incident. It was the first time I realized life could be so short, and the first time that I really evaluated how I was spending my time. 

I realized that I couldn’t keep spending 60-70 hours/week in a job that was crushing me. So I went on a soul-searching journey to figure out how I could create a career where I could wake up each day and feel excited. Where I was using my God-given talents to do something that I actually cared about.

My mom was a physician and a chemist, and with her chemistry background growing up, we used to make our own clean beauty products from scratch in our kitchen, and I loved it. When I was going through this soul-searching moment, I was also seeing the shift that was happening in the beauty landscape, and the very early stages of clean beauty. I said to myself, “If I can quit my job at Goldman Sachs to start my own beauty company and someday pay myself a Goldman salary, I will have made it in life.” I put everything on the line.

People thought I was crazy. I remember when I resigned and told people I was going to start a hair company, they practically fell over. Wait, what? It was a running joke, “What does she know about beauty?” 

Ultimately it all paid off.

Who is one person you’d love to give flowers to from your career that influenced your journey?

Artemis Patrick, who’s now the CEO of Sephora. She believed in me from the start of Briogeo. I didn't come from the beauty industry. I'm not a chemist. I had no connections, but Artemis and the Sephora team saw something in me and Briogeo, and decided to take that bet.

She's always been very generous with her time, and always kept it real with me.

Where have you caused trouble?

I was a few years into my relationship with Sephora, and for many years I had struggled with scalp psoriasis. I decided that I wanted to create a scalp care line that didn't use any harsh chemicals, and that leveraged natural actives to support a healthy scalp.

I spent so much time in the lab, and the product was not very sexy. It was this gray goop, it had a weird texture. I brought it to a Sephora market meeting, and they said, “Nancy, what the hell is this? Is this a joke?”

They didn’t sell scalp care at the time. They thought it was so unsexy. But I just kept pushing. I said, “Look, give me a spot online. If it doesn't work out, I'll buy back the inventory.” I had so much conviction that it was an unmet need. They launched Scalp Revival and it ended up becoming the number one shampoo at Sephora, and led a shakeup that resulted in the skinification of the hair movement.

That relentless belief, putting money and also my reputation on the line, was a defining moment for me.

Want to nominate a “Troublemaker” you admire? You can do so here.

DEAR FQ

Your burning career questions answered

Sydney Kramer of The Female Quotient weighs in:

Congrats on the job offer! That’s very exciting. 

Ask yourself a few questions:

• Is this job something you're interested in or have a passion for?

• Will it help move you along in your career? 

• Does it align with your goals? 

If yes to all of the above, then you really have to think about where the information you're getting about the manager is coming from. Is it coming from a trusted source who has worked closely with the manager, is it coming from someone who simply does not get along with the manager, or is it just gossip? 

"Difficult" can mean different things to different people. Is this manager someone who has high standards and requires their team to work hard to achieve results, and if so, is the manager firm but fair? Or is this person known for being disrespectful or toxic? There’s a big difference between having a boss who pushes their team to excel and someone who creates a hostile environment.

Some of my absolute favorite managers have been people who others have deemed to be "difficult" or "demanding." Bad reputations sometimes develop because employees are having a hard time with the hierarchy of their work environment, or feel that their ideas aren’t being heard or respected. 

If you’re a clear communicator and can advocate for yourself while still being open to learning, then I think you will be just fine.

If, however, they really are difficult with a capital “D”, it’s worth asking yourself if you can handle being challenged by a manager who you might not always see eye-to-eye with. This is especially important if this role will have a positive impact on your career growth… and your bank account.

Remember, you can always pivot if it doesn't work out. There's nothing worse than never knowing what might have happened if you didn't try!

P.S. Got a burning career question? Serve it up here to Dear FQ to score advice from a powerhouse leader in our network.

POLL THE PACK

From stuck to seeking impact: Mapping today’s career mindsets

Career journeys are evolving, and so are the expectations tied to them. People no longer measure success by stability alone, they’re looking for growth, direction, and purpose. When 62% of professionals signal they're ready to get unstuck or change, that's an opportunity to seize.

Whether you’re seeking new challenges or working through uncertainty, you want the right guidance, pathways, and leaders on your side. Forward-thinking companies can capitalize on this by creating robust mentorship programs and clear advancement tracks.

The 23% who feel proud but seek more impact are particularly valuable. Organizations that harness this energy through stretch assignments and leadership development programs might just see like-minded professionals become their strongest advocates and future executives.

And if you’re one of the 15% who feel energized and on track, spread the word about what’s working: Clear communication from leadership, company values that align with your own, and continuous opportunities to learn.

Remember, growth doesn’t have an expiration date.

Xo,

The FQ

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