In 1966, Mary Wells, while working at the man-led agency ‘Jack Tinker & Partners’ single-handedly turned one of their biggest clients at the time in the grey airline industry into a high-fashion spectacle. Marketing Braniff Airways, she painted planes pastel and hired the legendary Italian designer: Emilio Pucci to dress flight attendants, turning flights into runways. After this staggering success, she asked for the Presidency of the agency. Instead, partners offered a $25,000 bonus (over $240,000 today) to keep her quiet and in “her place”.

Mary’s A-HA moment was a masterclass in self-worth: If her silence was worth a quarter of a million dollars, her value was limitless. She walked out, founding Wells Rich Greene, smartly using male partners as the “price of entry” in 1966, but remained the undisputed leader. Years later, she became the first female CEO to take a company public on the NYSE. Yet her greatest legacy was building a powerhouse where women like her protégé, Jane Maas (the force behind “I Love NY”), held the pen and the power.

The Lesson: Never let a big check blind you to your true equity. Sometimes the most strategic move isn’t climbing the ladder; it’s building the skyscraper yourself and making sure there’s room in the elevator.

Read more about Mary Wells Lawrence on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Wells_Lawrence