bizSanDiego the business of san diego county

As the owner of a local business, Cunningham takes very seriously her role of providing opportunities for women and ensuring that everyone at the dealership has an excellent work environment. Cunningham BMW has a reputation for providing excellent customer service, and that focus starts from the top.

“We want to provide our employees with the opportunity to excel, to earn a good living so they can buy homes and send their kids to college,” Cunningham says. “Any business is as strong as its weakest link, so to promote excellence we make sure everyone feels included and appreciated. One of my most important roles is to promote inclusion, making team members and customers feel welcome.”

Cunningham has no regrets about where her career has taken her. She feels proud that she’s had a variety of achievements in different disciplines and has had the opportunity to consistently give back to the community.

What business woman does Gina Cunningham most admire and why?

Gail Stoorza-Gill, a marketing professional who served as the first female chairman of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Nikki Clay, one of the power players recognized in bizSanDiego’s February issue who’s been actively committed to advancing the San Diego business community for more than 25 years. Cunningham has had the pleasure of working with both women.

The Developer

Tracy Mehki didn’t play with dolls as a child; she played office. Raised by her grandparents and a single working mother, she was instilled with Midwestern values, first on a Kansas farm and later in Kansas City.

Fast forward to 2007, where 45-year-old Mehki, one of the principals of Sand & Sea Capital Inc., is focused on community development and is responsible for market selection and acquisition analysis, oversight of construction and entitlement teams and serves as the point person for financial and legal matters. She and her business partner, Anna Marie Barnard, are well known in the real estate community for their passion to offer like-new, affordable, quality housing throughout the county.

Mehki purchased her first rental income property, with her stepfather, when she was still in college. After graduation, she was selected as one of just eight people for the prestigious JMB Properties’ property management training program, putting her on the fast track for success in the residential real estate arena. By 1984, she was the company’s youngest female assistant vice president.

“My career had a great start, as I met so many wonderfully talented people and had phenomenal opportunities to learn new things, including value-rating assets for acquisitions,” Mehki says.

Mehki’s career continued to blossom after she married and the Navy transferred her husband, John, to San Diego. She hooked up with Barnard in 1996. While still holding down full-time jobs, the partners renovated some homes in the Sunset Cliffs area and, ultimately, got into bigger projects, leading to the formation of Sand & Sea.

“In 2000 we acquired our first asset, and we fell into doing condo conversions—ahead of the craze. Since then, we’ve worked on some amazing redesign projects,” Mehki says. “We’re the only two women who are out doing this stuff, and we actually see that as an advantage, since we stand out.”

That doesn’t mean Mehki hasn’t had her share of challenges doing business in a male-dominated industry. She and Barnard walked out of a meeting with an elderly man who was interested in selling his building to their company, after he inquired as to whether they’d gotten their money through marriage or inheritance. Before leaving they set him straight—they had worked hard to earn it.

Mehki also finds she must handle family obligations a bit differently than men. The mother of 12-year-old Brooke and 6-year-old twins Jonathan and Caroline, she makes time for her children but doesn’t use them as a scheduling excuse.

“There are times you are available and times you aren’t, for many reasons. I find it’s better not to explain,” Mehki admits. “When a man says he can’t make a meeting because he has to be at his kid’s school, many people think ‘what a great dad.' If a woman does the same thing, they think she’s not really working full time or committed to her career.”

With few exceptions, Mehki says the challenges she’s faced in her career haven’t been due to her gender. Like other business owners, she wonders how big she wants her company to get and what direction it should go in her face of so much opportunity, and she constantly focuses on earning a reputation as a good person to deal with.

“I don’t think women have any limitations when it comes to where their careers can go, even in an industry like mine, which is male dominated. I wouldn’t hesitate to encourage my daughters to pursue whatever career path they choose,” Mehki says. “There’s always money to be placed, and investors want to place it with people—men or women—who have a good track record.”

What business woman does Tracy Mehki most admire and why?

Karen Marshall, who was the highest-ranking woman at JMB Properties when Mehki was there early in her career. She was dynamic and energetic, two characteristics Mehki tries to emulate.

The Branding & Marketing Guru

Instead of despairing, she worked hard to exploit her differences, first on Capitol Hill— taking Bob Dole to lunch when she was just 18—and later in the corporate world, where she established herself as definitively “non-vanilla” and a proponent of the basic marketing precept to stand out from a sea of similarity.

Today, the 45-year-old is the chief “nuancer” at The Nuancing Group, counseling clients on branding strategy, authoring her monthly Duh! Marketing Awards, and spreading her “laugh and learn” philosophy via speaking engagements to groups across the country. Her book, Duh! Marketing: 99 Monstrous Missteps You Can Use To Learn, Laugh & Grow Your Business, was published last year.

After her time in the political arena, Goodgold worked in sales for McMillan Publishing and then Times Mirror before realizing she wanted to do “enormous, outrageous”marketing. She managed to join Quaker Oats’ brand management program despite not having the prerequisite master’s degree.

“My mother always told me I’d get ahead using my brains,” Goodgold says. “I was motivated by the abject poverty I’d grown up in to not just get ahead, but get out and prove myself, early and often.”

Goodgold parted with Quaker Oats after losing a battle to reformulate its 100% natural cereal to lessen its 14 grams of fat per serving. She wanted to connect consumer expectations (a healthy cereal) with the brand promise, but she was ahead of her time, as FDA labeling was years in the future.

Deciding her place as a different voice was best served as an entrepreneur, she started the seemingly aptly named Good as Gold Marketing in Chicago, making a marketing blunder she cites in her comical presentations.

“I had great expertise to share, but no one was going to pay big bucks to a firm with such a cutesy name,” Goodgold jokes. “Eight years ago, I decided to move to San Diego to start fresh, without a single client and not knowing a soul. I changed the name of the company to The Nuancing Group, and within three days I was on the front of the San Diego Business Journal.”

Goodgold has never felt her gender has held back her career development. She did make the mistake early in her career of trying to imitate the behavior of a male boss, and she earned the nickname of “Ice Queen” as a result. She feels it is unfortunate that successful women are often perceived as “bitches” while men are considered to be determined and competitive.

“Women are fabulous leaders. We teach by example, have more compassion and are great communicators,” Goodgold maintains. “You can be firm and accomplish your goals while still being nice. I’m proud to say that I’m still in touch with every intern and employee I’ve ever had.”

Goodgold juggles her career responsibilities with raising her son Adam, 9. She never misses one of his school performances or sporting events, and is unapologetic about putting business on the back burner when necessary.

“I will adjust my schedule to accommodate my son. I will never regret for a moment that I didn’t spend more time working,” Goodgold says. “I surround myself with people with positive energy, and most importantly, I believe in myself. For instance, my advisory board said there’s no way I’d command $10,000 per speech. The first time it happened, I went out and bought myself a Mercedes the same day.”

What business woman does Liz Goodgold most admire and why?

Martha Stewart, who built an empire after it was initially thought that she merely fostered women’s traditional roles. What she did was make her business profitable, something Goodgold has admired for years.

The Accountant
After spending the first 10 years of her life in Chicago, Theresa Drew relocated to Phoenix with her family. She knew from an early age that she wanted a career in business, and after graduating with a degree in accountancy from Northern Arizona University in 1979, she had the premonition that she’d find her niche in the accounting world.

Drew joined Deloitte & Touche’s Arizona practice right after college, working as a member of the audit team. By 1991, she was promoted to partner.

“It was very unusual at that time to see a woman in a management role at any accountancy firm,” Drew says, looking back fondly on her accomplishment. “In 1991 at Deloitte, less than 4% of the partners and directors were women, and that was the highest percentage in the industry. Today, that number is about 20%.”

Drew, 49, acknowledges that she faced challenges trying to climb the corporate ladder in a male-dominated field, but she focused on being professionally competent to get ahead. As a woman, she felt like she had to be the very best to ensure that opportunities came her way.

“In the very early years of my career, like a lot of other women, I tried to blend in with the men,” Drew says. “We wore suits with ties and white blouses, and we learned to talk about football. At that time, we felt we had to do what men did to get ahead. Thankfully,” she adds, “diversity is now valued today, and women don’t have to hide their gender to be successful.”

In 1998, Drew was promoted to partner-in-charge of the audit practice in Arizona, before being asked in 2001 to transfer to San Diego as managing partner. She jumped at the opportunity to join the ranks at the largest local accounting firm, which currently has 275 employees. Add to that the fact that she is the only female managing partner of a Big Four accounting firm in San Diego, and one of just a handful across the country.

She attributes her ladder-climbing to leading by example, never asking her staff to do something she won’t do. She constantly praises people in public and limits making constructive criticism to private conversations. She values having balance in her life and is glad to work for an organization that does, too. Drew and her husband, Doug, share the parenting duties for Alexander, their 9-year-old son.

“Having a child adds another dimension, so time is usually at a premium,” Drew says. “Deloitte is very supportive of flexibility, so I’m able to leave work early to go to a soccer game or a doctor’s appointment, as long as I get the job done.”

Drew notes that since 1993, Deloitte & Touche has had initiatives in place supporting women’s advancement. The firm is also big on corporate giving, something Drew wholeheartedly supports. She’s exactly where she wants to be, for now, but she admits that her second career choice would be to head up a nonprofit.

Drew has been honored with a number of awards throughout her 28-year career, but she’s most proud of those people who honor her commitment to helping other women successfully climb the corporate ladder. She continues to build on her biggest career triumph, growing the San Diego Deloitte & Touche office after arriving from Arizona and knowing no one in the firm or the local business community.

What business woman does Theresa Drew most admire and why?

Sharon Allen, chairman of Deloitte & Touche’s board of directors, a pioneer in the accounting field whom Drew has known since 1981. In 2006, Allen was named as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes magazine.