Former Saatchi X CEO Howell Supports Female Leadership With 30 Percent Coalition

As you’ll read in our cover story, Saatchi & Saatchi X CEO Dina Howell retired from the Springdale agency on July 1, and in a recent interview, she reflected on the fact that she was often one of the few women in the room at the C-suite level. 

“You know, I could tell you all kinds of stories from 30 years ago — but I won’t — about how different it was,” she said. “Even having children as a business woman was not really understood well by the company that you worked for.

“The fact that it is now fully embraced by most companies is wonderful, but there’s more work to do — getting women in senior roles, in C-suite roles,” Howell said.

When she announced then-senior vice president of account leadership Jessica Hendrix as her successor, Howell recalls that one of the agency’s clients jumped up and gave Hendrix a hug, stating that they were pleased that the promotion was from within the company, and it was another female.

Women in leadership roles are rare in many businesses, including the agency business, Howell said. “We’re really, really delighted that Jessica was the best choice, and she just so happened to also be a woman.”

Promoting women in senior business roles is an issue that’s close to Howell’s heart.

Last year, she joined the board of the national organization 30 Percent Coalition, which aims for 30 percent representation of women on public boards.