WOMEN. AFTER A LEGENDARY CORPORATE CAREER AND RAISING TO FIERCELY SUCCESSFUL DAUGHTERS, DEB ELLEN GRANT IS CONTINUING TO MAKE EVERY MEETING MATTER. AND SHE’S DOING IT BY FAILING RETIREMENT. GOOD EVENING, LADIES, AND HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. I LITERALLY PLAN TO COME HOME TO NEW ORLEANS TO RETIRE AND BECOME A LADY WHO LIVES. THAT IS THE GOD’S HONEST TRUTH. I WANTED TO RECONNECT. WITH FRIENDS, PEOPLE I HADN’T SEEN IN A WHILE. AND PEOPLE STARTED CALLING ME TO DO STUFF. COULD YOU MAYBE COME AND COACH THIS PERSON? COULD YOU MAYBE COME AND SPEAK HERE? AND I SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, OKAY, YEAH, MAYBE I CAN. AND SHE IS DEB ELAM. GRANT HAS BEEN DOING WHAT OTHERS WON’T OR COULDN’T. HER ENTIRE ADULT LIFE RETIREMENT WILL NOT SLOW DOWN. I’M VERY COMFORTABLE WITH WHO I AM. AND AS YOU AGE, I THINK YOU BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE NOT. AND SO FOR ME, YOU KNOW, I’M AT THE POINT IN LIFE I’M BETTER SEASONED IN LIFE WHERE IT’S REALLY ABOUT BRINGING OTHERS ALONG BECAUSE I’VE HAD A CHANCE TO LIVE MY DREAMS. ELLEN GRANT LEARNED TO DREAM BIG FROM HER MOTHER, JEAN CUNNINGHAM AUGUSTINE, A 1946 GRADUATE OF MCDONOUGH, 35, WHO RETURNED AFTER COLLEGE TO TEACH. EVERYBODY KNOWS MISS HAAG, WHO WENT TO 35. AND SO FOR HER, AGAIN, IT WAS ABOUT ENABLING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL. ELLEN GRANT GRADUATED FROM URSULINE ACADEMY OF NEW ORLEANS IN 1979, AN EDUCATION SHE SAYS FORTIFIED THE FEMALE SUCCESS, MODELED BY HER MOTHER AND ADDED AN UNDERSTANDING THAT WOMEN COULD DO OR BE ANYTHING. I WAS THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE CORPORATE OFFICER AT GE, SO THAT PUT ME IN THE TOP 185 LEADERS OF 300,000 EMPLOYEES. IT WAS A BIG DEAL AT THE TIME. MY FONDEST WISH AND EVERYTHING THAT I DID WAS TO ENSURE I OPENED THE DOOR FOR THE NEXT BLACK FEMALE AND THE NEXT BLACK FEMALE. SO FOR ME, IT’S NEVER ABOUT BEING FIRST AND ONLY BEING FIRST IS A BLESSING, YOUR HONOR. YOUR PROUD BEING ONLY IS A SHAME. I’M SO HAPPY TO WELCOME YOU TO DINING WITH DEB 2023. BUT THERE’S NO RISK OF SHAME IN ELLEN GRANT’S CIRCLE. SHE’S IN GOOD COMPANY. I LOVE THIS CHAPTER OF HER STORIED LIFE. IS NOT THAT DIFFERENT THAN ELAM. GRANT’S CORPORATE CAREER. SHE’S STILL OPENING DOORS, EXPOSING OPPORTUNITIES AND ELEVATING EXPECTATIONS. I SEE POTENTIAL AND POSSIBILITY. I SEE UNO LEASHED. AND SOMETIMES UNTAPPED TALENT. WE ARE THE ORIGINAL MULTITASKERS. THAT’S NOT ALWAYS RECOGNIZED IN THE CORPORATE NATION. SO WHAT I DO NOW, I FEEL LIKE I’M A CONNECTOR. I BUILD A BRIDGE. AND THEN WITH THE WOMEN, I SAY, HEY, LET’S LOOK AT WHAT YOU’RE DOING. HOW DO YOU POSITION YOURSELF SO THAT YOU CAN ADVANCE IN THE CORPORATION? AND IF BOTH OF THOSE THINGS WORK, WE WILL HAVE MORE WOMEN LEADERS EXPONENTIALLY. DEBBIE LUM GRANT IS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CORPORATE PLAYBOOK. SHE SERVES ON BOARDS AND FOUNDED DINING WITH DEB, AN EXPANDING NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN. ALL OF THIS AFTER DECIDING TO RETIRE. SO I HAD TO ASK, WHAT’S NEXT? WHAT’S LEFT TO DO IN MY RETIREMENT? MY RETIREMENT? TURNS OUT THAT’S A QUESTION BEST LEFT OPEN ENDED BECAUSE SHE SAYS ALL THAT’S REALLY IN FRONT OF HER OR ANYONE ELSE IS A DAILY DETERMINATION AND DECISION TO LIVE YOUR DREAMS. IT’S REALLY ABOUT WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTED IN? WHAT DO YOU WHAT WHAT MAKES YOU TICK, SO TO SPEAK. AND I THINK I THINK THE SKY’S THE LIMIT. I THINK MORE SO THAN EVER BEFORE. EARLIER THIS MONTH, ELLEN GRANT HOSTED 300 WOMEN AT THE FOUR SEASONS IN NEW ORLEANS FOR HER LATEST DINING WITH DEB. SHE’S ALSO COACHING WORKING WOMEN, MEN AND HELPING DIVERSIFY MAJOR CORPORATIONS. AND SHE SAID SHE DOES STILL FIND TIME IN THIS BUSY RETIREMENT TO DO WHAT SHE SET OUT TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE. CONNECT WITH GOOD FRIENDS OVER A GOOD MEAL.