Wendy Selig-Prieb
Wendy Selig-Prieb
RPO: Please tell me about your love of and connection to baseball. Did you fall in love with the sport as a child? Did you play on a team?
WSP: Baseball is and always has been a big part of my life. My earliest memories are listening to Cubs games on the radio (how’s that for dating myself!) When I was ten years old, my father brought baseball back to Milwaukee as the Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers. If my father had been a history professor, as he wanted to be when he was in college, I probably wouldn’t have been particularly interested in going to the office with him. But because going to the office meant going to the ballpark, I never turned down a chance to go with my father. I learned about the game and the business. The more you learn, the more you love baseball!
RPO: When you served as an executive with the Milwaukee Brewers, I read that you were the only female president and chairman of a Major League Baseball club. How did your gender shape your experience? In retrospect, did you face challenges or barriers that your male counterparts didn’t?
WSP: My goals never included being the first woman to do anything; however, that is where I have sometimes found myself. I came to understand the influence I could have as the only female CEO in Major League Baseball. I often had people tell me that my success gave them the confidence to pursue their dreams. Sometimes it was a woman who wanted to pursue an “unconventional” path, other times it was a young person who was defeating himself by thinking he couldn’t do something before he had even tried. I learned that when you have success, you gain a voice and I like using mine to mentor, inspire and empower others.
RPO: Though you spent years at a sports organization, you don't seem to be a woman who lives in sweatpants and team jerseys. Please discuss your personal style and talk a bit about your time as President at Worth New York -- specifically, the observations you made about the relationship that women (and you!) have with fashion.
WSP: You’re right! I would describe my style as classic with a feminine twist. But the most important thing is how clothes make you feel. When you feel your best, you can be your best.
Worth clothes were in “a league of their own” but the sisterhood of the Worth community was truly extraordinary. My forever Worth friendships are the thing I cherish the most.
RPO: Whether at the Brewers, Worth New York, or the March of Dimes, you always hold executive positions. What personal characteristics make a great leader? What is it about you that enables you to reach the top of your field and succeed there?
Great leaders communicate with optimism, transparency, empathy and good stories. They are lifelong learners, they find the opportunities in challenging times and circumstances and they are unrelenting in their mission.
Great leaders build great teams and help them be the best they can be collectively and individually! They create a vision, help everyone understand their role in achieving it and are undeterred by challenges and critics.
In baseball, the most successful teams are not always the ones with the most talent. They are, however, filled with players who believe they owe it to themselves and to their teammates and coaches to do their best EVERY day and to always put the collective goal of a championship ahead of their personal goals. That may mean sacrificing, taking a backup role or playing through the fatigue of a long, grueling season. The same is true in business. High performing teams are driven to achieve their corporate mission and are prepared to do whatever it takes to do so. There is no “I” in team and that is true on and off the field.
RPO: Talk a bit about how you've balanced your family and your illustrious career. Any tips for women who struggle with this?
WSP: My name is hyphenated and so is my life! While I’ve had different roles and goals at different times and certainly a non-linear path, there are several common threads that connect my journey—they include following my passion, hard work, making difficult choices, and taking risks.
One of the things I understand today that I did not in my 20’s and 30’s is that a life can be measured in decades. Too many people (including my younger self) want happiness, love, career success, kids, and we want it all now! The truth is our opportunities and priorities change as we age, and we hopefully have many decades to realize our goals and dreams.
For me, it started in high school where I worked hard to get into a good college. I did and then did the same in college so I would be in good stead when I applied to law school. Likewise, I wanted to graduate at the top of my law school class so I could begin my career at a large corporate law firm. Check! Moving on to be General Counsel for the Milwaukee Brewers and then President & CEO was something I would have thought would be the pinnacle of my career. But in 2005, I wanted to be more family-focused so starting my own business with Worth New York was the perfect fit. I was ultimately recruited to be the President of the Company, which you might think is the happiest of endings, but really the happiest part of this story is the knowledge and confidence I gained with the reinvention of myself in pursuit of my definition of personal success.
"SCRIBBLES" — Scribe New York’s short answer section:
Which is better: Designated hitter or no DH? DH
Do you have a motto/personal mantra that inspires you? Onward and Upward
What ONE social/political or economic change would provide the largest benefit to women around the globe today? I can’t pick just one. Every woman should have paid family leave and access to affordable childcare (no woman should have to pick between her paycheck and her family!) and every woman should be able to make reproductive decisions with her doctor and family and not have them dictated by politicians.
Paper books or Kindle? Audio books
Handwritten or typed? Handwritten, especially if by Scribe New York
Favorite app? Facebook and Instagram to stay in touch with friends, and MLB App