International Women’s Day is an important day for PBA to recognize as our organization is led by a strong female owner and CEO, Patricia Phillips. She believes in equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion. It’s not a coincidence that PBA has a diverse team with over 50% being female in administrative, management, and executive roles. So, this year, on International Women’s Day, we want to take the time to recognize and celebrate our female leader, Patricia Phillips and her achievements which have blazed trails for other women. Patricia is an accomplished leader in numerous male-dominated industries such as Investment Banking, Energy, Real Estate and Land Development, and Hospitality. She was among the first women to work on Wall Street;  she founded and was CEO of three successful private oil and gas companies at a time when few women worked in energy; and she is currently one of the only recognized CEO’s in real estate and  land development, and hospitality. Being in a minority position within these industries, she sought out opportunities and thrived to overcome challenges. She identified what men required from her and culturally adopted to succeed with them. Through these experiences, she developed resiliency which has ultimately led to her success.

So, how did she accomplish all this?

Patricia has always had big goals and ambition. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) in Economics from Mount Holyoke College, one of the most prestigious, female Ivy League liberal arts colleges in the USA. Mt. Holyoke has fought for equal rights and championed women since their inception in 1837, nearly a century before women gained the right to vote. She furthered her education by obtaining a Master of Business Administration from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas (Austin) and attending the Sciences Po in Paris, France. Her experience as a competitive athlete on the US National Alpine Development Ski team and captain of her college’s tennis team, has played a tremendous role developing who she is; a team player who collaborates with others to win, resilience to overcome any challenge, drive and diligence to perform, and finally, a willingness to take calculated risks.  People and community are important to Patricia and she realizes the importance of inspiring others to become the best versions of themselves. She believes mentorship is a key component to providing opportunities to people in positions they otherwise would not have access to.

Celebrating Women and Equality

So, on this International Women’s Day we celebrate women’s achievements and increasing visibility. Collectively, each one of us can help create an equal world by raising awareness against bias and calling out inequality. We challenge you to do what you can to make a positive difference for women. After all, “An Equal World is an Enabled World.” – International Women’s Day