Dec 16, 2019
Learn how to lead and succeed, no matter your gender!
I had the pleasure of
interviewing Susan Chodakewitz about her own personal journey
through aviation management, aerospace and defense work. It is
unusual to find women in these industries. Part of our discussion
was about this very topic: how do we get more women into the
defense, aerospace and aviation industries? And why have these
important sectors not been places where women felt they belonged?
These industries are so dominated by men that women have a
difficult time breaking in and staying relevant. Susan, however,
created a successful career and now shares with others how she did
it and why they should as well. Listen and share!
Susan Chodakewitz is highly
recognized as an accomplished and dynamic leader in business
and government services, and her skills are in
high demand, particularly when companies need to find the right
strategies and deliver upon them in today’s challenging business
environment.
In 2015, she became the chief executive officer of Nathan Associates Inc., guiding this premier economics consulting firm through a new phase of accelerating growth. Previously she was at Tetra Tech AMT, where she is credited with more than doubling revenue by building its human resources and market position. Before that, she spent more than a decade at SAIC, a major defense and national security contractor, where she almost doubled its revenue and directed a unit that reached nearly $200 million in annual revenue.
Susan and I discuss not just what she does but how she does it
Gender differences bring cognitive diversity to companies. Recognizing and capitalizing on this, Susan knows how to build and work with teams across disciplines, develop future leaders, and both spot and cultivate business opportunities. She is a strong communicator who has the ability to listen before she makes decisions, and on a strategic level, knows how to think about the future, create an action plan, and harness resources to make sure the action plan gets fulfilled. These are the very traits that women can bring to any industry—not just defense, aerospace and aviation—to help them sustain their growth in fast-changing times.
Some background on Susan Chodakewitz
Strikingly, Susan is neither an engineer nor an economist. She came to consulting as a Soviet specialist, having received her M.A. in Russian Studies from Columbia University in 1981. After stints at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Library of Congress, she began her consulting career at Booz, Allen & Hamilton where she did a significant amount of work for the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
To learn more about what makes women leaders successful, check out this blog and 3 podcasts:
- Blog: Why Women CEOs Are So Different And So Successful
- Podcast: Stephanie Breedlove: How Women Entrepreneurs Can Think Bigger, Build Sustainable Businesses, and Change the World
- Podcast: Andi Simon—Women Entrepreneurs Changing Corporate Cultures
- Podcast: Sarah Soule—Busting Those Stereotypes of Women
Additional resources