Carla Harris understands it takes more than being smart and working hard to be successful in a career.
The renowned public speaker learned this lesson after graduating from Harvard Business School in 1987 and starting her career as an investment banker. She has remained on Wall Street for the past 37 years and today serves as a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley.
“I really was naive,” Harris said. “It didn’t take me very long to realize that there were a lot of different things that informed a person’s success equation.”
For example, she learned that a person’s perception will impact how they interact with someone and that relationships are important to maximize ones success. Harris distilled the lessons and information she learned throughout her career into her pearls of wisdom to share with others. These pearls are included in her newest book, “Lead to Win,” which focuses on how to be a powerful, impactful, influential leader in today’s environment.
Harris will share “Carla’s Pearls” with emerging and established entrepreneurs at Village Launch’s enterprise luncheon and fireside chat on May 9. Village Launch is a program part of Mill Village Ministries that provides resources to under-resourced entrepreneurs in the local community.
At the event, Harris will talk about intentional leadership, authenticity, building trust, creating clarity, creating other leaders, the importance of diversity, how to choose your team and more. She said she hopes people leave the event feeling as though they have a playbook for approaching investors and effectively leading their company.
“I just think there’s so much opportunity for some of those entrepreneurs, with the right tools in their hands, to see what they can do after that so I’m excited about it,” Harris said.
Rhonda Rawlings, Mill Village Ministries’ community director, said it is an incredible opportunity for the Village Launch entrepreneurs and the community to hear Harris speak.
“I think it really is an opportunity for people to come and see their possibilities of what they can become and realize that they’re not limited,” Rawlings said. “They just need to open up their minds to what can be and I think Carla is the perfect person to speak to those opportunities and to speak to those possibilities.”
Harris will also be the keynote speaker at Village Launch’s business entrepreneur academy graduation on May 9. For more information, visit villagelaunch.org/events.
Carla Harris bio
Harris works as a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley. She serves on the board of directors of Walmart, Cummins and MetLife. Harris is also known as a renowned international public speaker and author.
In 2013, Harris was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. Some of her other accolades include being named to Fortune Magazine’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America” and Essence Magazine’s list of “50 Women who are Shaping the World” among many others.
