A little known fact is that Michele Thornton, the senior director of CNN Multi-Cultural Ad Sales who leads the CNN Advantage business groups with sales across CNN, HLN and CNN Airport networks, was a nontraditional college student who worked in hospitality to pay her tuition and graduated at age 30. These facts make her story dynamic and once you read her book which is due out next year, you’ll gain more insight on when to press reset like she did, “walking away from a situation that was very comfortable.”
A graduate of Golden State University, the California native almost walked away from the job offer by CNN, and she is the first to admit she didn’t always know when it was time to test the waters. That’s why she considers her boss, Greg D’Alba, one of her biggest advocates for encouraging her to see the bigger picture and to “move out of [her] own way.”
Thornton is the beneficiary of a Walter Kaitz Foundation initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in cable telecommunications. You can call it serendipity, but she was a member of the last graduating class and she avers, “Michele Thornton has divine intervention written all over her.”
Here, the mother of two young children, Taylor and Jordan, shares her perspective on mentors and some strategic tips to get the best out of networking. –yvette caslin
What is your stance on mentors?
Mentors don’t exist in the same way as before. People are extremely busy with their jobs and their families. I don’t have an official mentor. I have created a board of directors and narrowed it down to advocate, sponsor, and advisors, including an executive coach, Sam Bryant, who I take all of my advice [from my advocate and sponsor] and we build strategy around it. I think every individual, whether you are in college or starting off in a company should have their very own board.
How do you maximize events to build your network?
- We have to learn to listen. Understand who the people we meet are and why they are attending — [that’s how you] understand your value to them.
- Be prepared to have meaningful conversations. What is the purpose of the event? Who runs it? What boards do they sit on? What are they passionate about?
- Write down what you remembered about them and get their business cards.
- Follow up with them to tell them what you learned from meeting them or the impact they made.
- My tag line is “Be a brand, not an accessory.” You need to be able to articulate who you are when you are there.
Recommended reading …
The Missing Mentor: Women Advising Women on Power, Progress and Priorities by Mary E. Stutts
