FORTUNE -- Last week's Fortune Most Powerful Women dinner in Manhattan convened established stars, like Martha Stewart and Barbara Walters, with rising stars, like Chelsea Clinton and Barbara Bush. Two daughters of political dynasties converging in the same orbit.
And then there were 26 rising-star women from across the developing world--each a participant in the Fortune-U.S. State Department Global Women Leaders Mentoring program. These young women were in the U.S. shadowing American women leaders--and hearing, at the dinner, how to succeed.
Google (GOOG) VP Marissa Mayer, No. 42 on the Fortune MPW list, advised taking career risks--as she did in 1999 when, fresh out of Stanford University, she chose Google, then a brand new startup, over a slew of big-name companies. Google was barely ready for its first female engineer, who was Mayer, and she was barely ready for Google. But, she explained, "I wanted to work for smart people, and I wanted to do things I wasnt't ready to do."
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Photo credits: Asa MathatWhile Diane Sawyer bowed out of the MPW dinner last minute to fly to Joplin, Mo., to cover the tornado disaster, Walmart (WMT) EVP Susan Chambers paid homage to Missouri's heroes. At a Walmart in Joplin that got flattened by the twister, Chambers told us, a store manager had taken it upon himself to figure out which wall inside the store was the sturdiest. One wall of the Walmart stood through the storm; by gathering 200 people behind it, he may have saved 200 lives.
Xerox (XRX) CEO Ursula Burns, whom I interviewed on stage, dished out essential career advice: "Do what you love." With her daughter Melissa Bean, a student at NYU, in the audience, Burns talked about a key career moment, over a decade ago, when she lost faith in Xerox and took a job at Dell (DELL)--and then she reversed her decision. Burns stayed at Xerox. And over her career there, she rose from summer intern to CEO, the first Black female CEO in the Fortune 500.
More power to Burns and all those she inspires. Here's the Xerox chief with me on stage at the MPW dinner, telling her story.
Fortune dinner attendees Barbara Bush (left) and Chelsea Clinton. Photo credit: CARE Conference and Kyle Cassidy
"Leaders must role model what GREAT looks like."
In her comments at the "Fortune Most Powerful Women Evening With..." dinner in New York City Tuesday night McKinsey & Co. 's Joanna Barsh was talking about the importance of corporate women leaders helping middle managers. But her comments helped set the tone for the evening, which MORE
Stephanie N. Mehta, Executive Editor - May 24, 2011 10:09 PM ET
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In a funny and candid interview, Google VP Marissa Mayer explains how she got to the top. Watch
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns shares how she once accepted a job with Dell but ended up staying with Xerox. Watch
Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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Fortune Most Powerful Women
Sheryl Sandberg:
Gina Bianchini
