Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/704649
B M & T ••• March/April 2016 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 20 In January 2016 she moved into the presi- dent and CEO's position replacing Ferguson as he retired. It's as impressive a climb up the career ladder as Coker Graham is herself. The first thing she thinks of when she considers her climb, not Just as a woman, but as an African-American woman, is accountability. "Being the first in anything makes the accountability and the responsibility extremely important. The first at something means that you are hopefully going to pave a path that others are going to hopefully go down. Fortunately for me, this position was similar to my career with Hyatt in which I was one of few African-American female general managers. Actually there were few African-American females with all brands, not just Hyatt," she said. "I've always understood that others will be com- ing behind me, so I've worked hard and very willingly to create opportu- nities for them. I also understand that the barriers I've knocked down or the doors I've opened should have a lasting effect, which means the things I do, the actions I take, the decisions I make, and the way that I present myself in meetings, and lead people overall, will hopefully open doors for others." Coker Graham attributes her fast climb to a foundation of sup- port – something that started as a child – being flexible and treating others well. "I was fortunate to be in a situa- tion where my mom was a very big proponent and advocate for educa- tion. So it was always believed we kids would not only graduate from college, but move forward with a col- lege career…So I believe education is key. The other thing I learned start- ing early on with Hyatt is you have to be flexible. There were times that opportunities in other cities came to me, for example, on a Wednesday and I had to make a decision as to whether I was going to take advantage of that opportunity, but I might need to move in a week. So being flexible is very important," she explained. "Finally, I think the way that you treat others has a way of coming back to you ten-fold. And throughout my career it was very important for me that when I left a hotel or a city I left a footprint behind me and always left a situation where others would want to work with me again, whether it was an owner of a Hyatt hotel or a manager. If people are left wanting to work with you again, because they see you have a good work-ethic and are project driv- en rather than ego-driven, I think that then cre- ates opportunities for you." It is not lost on Coker Graham that she is in a field where the upper tiers of management are predominantly occupied by men, usually white men. She said it's pretty unique to have a female executive vice-president or president of a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) or Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). Being a Black woman has presented some challenges but Coker Graham believes you will only be dis- couraged by those things you allow to discourage you. "One challenge is that when you are starting in the industry, if you don't see people who look like you in the positions you are aspiring to have, you can become discouraged and think that that's not something that's attainable. So you've got to see diversity in order to see that it's a possi- bility," she said. "Many women in business will say it's easy to become discouraged because they don't see many women at the top levels. So that can be discouraging too." "What I have always believed is you find men- tors, so when someone has something that you want, you should take the time to ask them how did they get there and how can they help you get there," she added. "That would be my advice to women in general: When you see a role that you want and it's been predominantly males in that role, you need to find a male who's willing to be a mentor to you and ask them what path they took and how can they help you get there. That's cer- tainly how I think I've been successful in moving up the ladder. It's only as discouraging as you make it." Coker Graham has been fortunate to have wonderful mentors along her professional jour- ney. The one that sticks out most is the man she replaced – Jack Ferguson. "When I began the interview process, Jack said to me 'Julie, there is potential that I see in you that you probably don't even see yourself.' And from that day he really took and made it his mis- sion to make sure that when he was ready to retire I was fully equipped to step into this role and take it over," she said, adding that for the last five years they have been going through the tran- sition process of grooming her to succeed him as president and CEO of PHLCVB. "That has included introducing me to contacts that I'll need to use or customers I'll be working with after he's gone; reviewing reports; or more importantly just teaching me lessons he's learned along the way as a first-time CEO of a CVB. He's been a fantastic mentor and sup- ported me 110 percent." Coker Graham has worked with the Bureau's various teams all along. But in June of 2014 when she was promoted to executive vice president, she and Ferguson started in earnest aggressively working with the various depart- ments for them to see her as the next president and CEO. "We did the same thing with our board of directors. Jack started that process probably two years ago, letting them kn ow that he thought I was ready, having me do presentations at board meetings so I felt familiar and comfortable presenting in front of the board. And as EVP I worked with him to facilitate and moderate a lot of our board meetings, so they felt comfortable, too, and knew who I was," she said. "We also did that in the community. So if there were events or seminars, or evening events, I would always attend with Jack and he would introduce me as the new executive vice president, soon to be president and CEO. So we've been on this transition plan for really about the last 18 months or so. That has also made me feel very comfortable in transitioning to my role in January." Another mentor who stands out for Coker Graham was Jerry Simmons who was one of her managers at Hyatt: "He was probably the first "First and foremost is diversity and inclu- sion. (Those before me) have done an out- standing job with that. Our team at the Bureau is very diverse, in terms of thought, as well as age, gender, LGBT and all the other sectors in the market that we do business in. I can honestly say that our team is a reflection, not only of our city, but also as it relates to the customers that we serve – the meeting planners an d their associations, not to mention the guests,"