HUNTSVILLE – As of December 2021, the percentage of women who were CEOs of a Fortune 500 company was 8.2% according to career experts, Zippia Research.
However, if that figure sounds low, consider that until Katherine Graham became CEO of The Washington Post in 1972 (on the list at the time), it was 0%. Furthermore, it would be 14 years before another woman affected that statistic.
Though women have made significant strides in the professional and corporate world, they were still facing headwinds just 20 years ago when Momentum was founded by Barbara Royal in Birmingham.
The statewide women’s leadership program launched its inaugural nine-month Momentum cohort in Huntsville in September. It began with an in-depth application process followed by a rigorous selection process by a committee of Momentum alumni.
The first class of 16 will graduate from the Momentum program in Huntsville in May 2023.
They are Jenny Askins, CEO of Destination Huntsville; Laurel Bailey, COO of Industrial Properties of the South; Veronica Cram, founder & CEO of Insight Strategic Solutions; Tina Davis, software engineer manager at Northrop Grumman; Mindy Finafrock, director at PeopleTec; Ashley Garrison, interim director of Test Planning & Design for the Missile Defense Agency; Carolyn Henderson, chief academic officer and dean of Instruction at Drake State Community & Technical College; Angela Holmes, program manager at MDA; Stephanie Kelley, executive director of the Schools Foundation; Melissa Marty, CFO at Huntsville Utilities; Paige Nix, CFO at Radiance Technologies; Sarah Savage Jones, president of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation; Connie Spears, Madison City Councilwoman; Kathi Tew, COO at Baron Critical Weather Institute; Laura Tynan, director of Human Resources at MDA; and Ashley Young, public relations specialist at Blue Halo.
Momentum CEO April Benetollo compares the Momentum program with other leadership and women’s support programs in Huntsville.
“Community leadership programs are centered around different issues facing the city with the goal of advancing the city or the region,” she said. “Class members learn a lot from each other, about their roles as citizens of that city.
“Catalyst is a women’s support network, offering resources to women business owners and entrepreneurs who want to start something new. Momentum is more about personal and professional growth as a woman, even at the highest levels of corporate power.”
One of the criteria the selection committee considers is how diverse each class is in order to prevent group think. Every class must be well-represented in terms of real experience, ethnicity, background, community service and whatever spattering of rich and diverse experiences the women can bring to the table she said.
“Momentum intentionally kept the inaugural class in Huntsville small,” Benetollo said. “We need at least 15 to get the diversity we are looking for, but our sweet spot based on Birmingham’s cohorts is 30 and that will be our goal in the future.”
The board felt strongly about going ahead and launching in Huntsville since it had the funds to do it, she said, even if they did not have the support in place.
“That way, companies can see the value and want to offer more support in the future. We know Huntsville is a very supportive and philanthropic community,” she said.
Twenty years ago, Royal sat on the board of the YWCA of Central Alabama with female executives from Alabama Power, Blue Cross Blue Shield, large banks, and law firms. After those meetings, the members would gather.
“Barbara commented they needed to do more than meet for a glass of wine,” said Benetollo. “With her background in curriculum development and interactive learning, she started Momentum as a way for select high-level and influential female leaders, who have reached executive and vice presidential levels within their companies, to continue their journey to very deep personal and professional growth.”
Part of Royal’s success was getting buy-in for the program from the CEOs of major Birmingham-area companies. She did not want men to find out about it and think it was being done in secret. She also wanted 100% support from those CEOs with high-level executive women on their teams.
“Many women start out wanting to make the climb and break that glass ceiling, but the higher you go, the lonelier it gets,” said Benetollo. “Many decide once they achieve a senior-level role, going any higher is not right for them so they settle out of the climb, leaving those that continue to higher levels in a very isolated place where they face very different pressures than male counterparts.”
The Huntsville class opened with a half-day welcome and two-day orientation retreat at the Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa in Florence. However, most of the classes in the future will be in greater Huntsville.
“We like to host the all-day monthly classes at a business facility of the cohort members as a way of showcasing those businesses,” said Benetollo. “However, if that is not possible, Momentum will rent a place.”
Momentum brings in executive class facilitators and trainers such as the West Point Academy Fellows and instructors from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
While the first class is for the highest-level senior executives, Momentum has two more upward cohorts to launch next year.
One is for early career, and the other is for midlevel career, but they all follow similar personal and professional growth trajectories, only with a different level of facilitators. They also meet for half-days rather than full days for nine months.
Benetollo said there is a Men with Momentum program in Birmingham aimed at helping male leaders uncover ways they can be more inclusive in their companies. The program can also determine whether they are operating in ways that exclude a diverse range of voices without realizing it. That too might make its way to Huntsville eventually.
Following graduation, Momentum provides a lifetime membership program for $150 a year. It offers access to ongoing community programming, meetings and social events.
Further subsidized by community and individual support, graduates can go back and take a class they missed or retake a session with another cohort. They also have access to facilitators so they can schedule personal time to discuss problem areas.
“Some time around the first of the year, Momentum will be hiring a part-time program manager in Huntsville,” Benetollo teased. “We are looking for someone who is connected locally and can manage both the application process and the selection committee process, build and maintain relationships with local companies, and be on-site with the classes.”
Anyone interested in that position can apply now by clicking here.
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