Paula Price’s career spans more than 30 years in senior-level finance, strategy and general management. She landed the role of chief financial officer at Macy’s in July 2018, and is responsible for leading the company’s finance, accounting, investor relations and internal audit functions. Prior to Macy’s, Price was a full-time, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, where she taught accounting and management.
Price received her MBA in finance and strategy from the University of Chicago Booth School and her bachelor’s in accounting from DePaul University. She has served on several boards, including Western Digital, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Dollar General, and is currently the board director and chair of the Audit Committee at Accenture.
Price recently attended the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit during the first weekend in March, where she was a featured speaker on the panel “Corporate Board Breakthrough: Land Your First (or Next) Corporate Director Role.” The discussion revolved around helping women prepare themselves to serve on corporate boards.
Rolling out sat down with Price to glean insight on the importance of embracing diversity and advice on moving up the corporate ranks.
Why is it important for corporations to embrace diversity?
Diversity and innovation go hand in hand. And it’s really about diversity of ideas and diversity of thought. So, if you are marketing to a diverse customer base, you should have diversity in your management team and diversity on your board so that you can really harness the power of innovation and diversity.
What advice would you give someone who is trying to rise through the corporate ranks?
The advice I would give is to just keep pushing through. Keep pushing through all of the adversity that you’re going to face, and then to reach out and to ask for help. Leaders like to help others.
So, get up every day, keep pushing and remember to ask for help.
