Linda Latsko Lockhart and Karen Derr Gilbert, both MBA ’85, share their career trajectories and offer aspiring woman leaders career tips.
BY: JANICE ENDRESEN – Two Johnson MBAs inspired by their knowledge and experiences, driven by their desire to optimize unique and effective approaches to achieving goals, and determined to address inequities have been named to Forbes’ 50 Over 50 lists. Linda Latsko Lockhart, MBA ’85, was named to the inaugural Forbes 50 Over 50 “Impact” list in 2021, and Karen Derr Gilbert, MBA ’85, was named to the 2022 Forbes 50 Over 50 “Money” list.
The Forbes 50 Over 50 list, produced in partnership with Morning Joe cohost Mika Brzezinski’s “Know Your Value” initiative, recognizes women over the age of 50 “who are shattering age and gender norms across every sector of business, politics, the sciences and society.”
Latsko Lockhart and Derr Gilbert certainly fit the bill. They were MBA students at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management when the school was housed in Malott Hall and women made up only 25 percent of the school’s student body (by contrast, women constitute 39 percent of the class of 2024 in Johnson’s Two-Year MBA program). They both went on to successful careers in financial services, a male-dominated industry, and continued to buck trends. Both are firm believers in the power of networks and are themselves network power builders. And both are champions for diversity and inclusion. Their achievements represent a proud legacy for Johnson MBAs.