4 female CEOs share the 1 decision that made the difference in their careers

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The Women's Tennis Association announced that Saudi Arabia will host its next three finals tournaments, women executives lost 60 C-suite roles in 2023, and four CEOs share the decisions that made the difference in their careers. Have a restful weekend.

- Rising up. We spend a lot of time examining what keeps women out of the C-suite—with good reason. But it’s just as important to dwell on what gets female executives into the corner office. At a Most Powerful Women breakfast at the Fortune Innovation Forum in Hong Kong last week, I asked four female CEOs on stage what one decision or strategy made the difference in their odds-defying careers.

Walmart International CEO Kath McLay says it was the recognition that she should be her authentic self. Early in her career, she sat at a board table and realized she was the only woman, and the only person in their 30s. Initially, she thought she’d act like those around her; people who “took up a lot of space” with voices that were "a lot deeper than mine.” She did that for the first board meeting, but then thought, “That’s not who I am.” From then on she realized, “in your uniqueness there is strength.”

For Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com, a turning point came in 2005, when the Trip.com board asked her to return to China from the U.S. to become the company’s CFO. She was lured by China’s fast-paced growth at the time. But she followed her gut as much as she followed the numbers. She believed in the value of travel and in the mission of the company. “Always ask yourself, ‘What do you feel passionate about?’”

Bonnie Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which operates the city’s stock exchange, said her critical moment arrived when she first stepped out of her comfort zone. Several years into a career as a lawyer, she questioned whether she wanted to commit to becoming a partner. She pivoted hard. “The original plan was to become a chef.” She applied to culinary school and got in. Ultimately, “I got cold feet.” But the detour opened the door to another career—banking—and to a new ‘why not?’ mindset. “The desire to learn about new industries, new companies, new jobs is what has pushed me forward so far,” she said.

Yum China CEO Joey Wat’s breakthrough came when she took on the risky assignment of turning around a struggling U.K. business. “Nobody believed in the business,” she said. “But I believed in it.” That job gave her experience that was relevant years later when Yum China came calling. It too was “a bit of a turnaround situation.”

Wat identified a common thread among the CEOs’ experiences: “There’s a theme here of being true to ourselves.”

Another component, of course, is the need for employers to hire and groom leaders who defy the typical CEO profile.

McLay was on the receiving end of a rare woman-to-woman CEO handoff at Walmart. She said the company’s deep bench of female talent reflects its interest in leaders with different perspectives. “When you create an environment where you welcome divergent thought,” she said, “you’ll end up allowing women to kind of rise up.”

Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com

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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com