I was impressed with Gisele Marcus from the very first day we spoke. She has enough energy to light up Las Vegas and an intense drive to succeed in corporate America. She has done assignments around the world, most recently in South Africa, and has been identified as a rising star in executive circles. She also came from humble beginnings, growing up in a single parent household in Harlem, with a mother who pushed hard for Gisele to have a better life. In fact, her mother's story reminded me of that of Kelly Williams-Bolar, the woman was sent to jail for sending her kids to a school outside their district. I don't care what the law says, there's nothing unethical about a mother fighting to give her children hope for the future. Just like the days of slavery, there remain systemic barriers to keep our kids away from opportunity, but also like our ancestors, good mothers don't allow anything to keep us away from our dreams. It is for her dogged pursuit of excellence and the remarkable example she sets for young black women that Gisele Marcus is today's Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight on AOL Black Voices.

What is your name and what do you do for a living?
My name is Gisele Marcus and I am a Strategic Customer Business Director with a career at Johnson Controls, a global diversified company in the building and automotive industries. Many of the world's largest companies rely on us in 125 countries to manage 1.5 billion square feet of their commercial real estate. I have responsibility for improving the methods we use to strategically manage our customer relationships for the Americas. This includes, but is not limited to, collaborating with our Fortune 500 clients to set and ensure execution of joint strategic plans, ensuring resources from our corporate operational excellence team are made available to our clients as needed, and ensuring that innovative solutions and cost saving ideas are delivered to the customers we serve.Tell us about your educational background and professional success.
I have a B.S. degree from the Whitman School of Business at Syracuse University as well as an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.


My professional success started early. While in my 20s' I was a director at the regional Bell operating company in the Midwest, Ameritech. While there, I had roles of increasing responsibility, going from being a manager leading a team of 70 high-performing professionals in the development of a new product offering, to the role of director of Customer Operations for the wholesale division. The manager role afforded me the opportunity to present this new product offering before a commissioner of the FCC. This role also resulted in my name as author on two patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As the result of a merger with SBC, and the elimination of duplicate roles, I received a golden parachute offer (that would have afforded me the opportunity to be in semi-retirement mode for three years) to leave Ameritech/SBC. This provided the opportunity to pursue my passion of entrepreneurship for two years. During this time I was part of the Runner's Club, an entrepreneurial development program in Chicago that trains people of color to run multi-million dollar businesses. While in this program I pursued the opportunity to acquire a small manufacturing company. Due to the market conditions at this time, this dream was deferred and followed by my return to corporate America.


I have worked for Johnson Controls for the past 8 years, and have been a leader in five different roles ranging from establishing and executing a client retention program, running a $20 million+ business, and leading the operational mobilization efforts of a new client within our facility management business valued at $100 million + in South Africa during a one-year expatriate assignment. Currently I am part of the executive leadership team of our Americas facility management/real estate business. It has been exciting and I have enjoyed the diversity of the roles offered to me by my company.

What was it like as a black woman from Harlem attending the Harvard Business School?
African Americans represent about 5% of a Harvard Business School class. This was not a challenge as most African Americans in business are accustomed to being the only African American, or one of a few, within a corporate setting. Nevertheless, having illustrious classmates like the godson of the President of the Ivory Coast, the son of Stephen Covey, and a descendent of the John D. Rockefeller family (yes, I had a Rockefeller in my section) was quite impressive. At Syracuse University, a great deal of my classmates who were African American were from urban settings, such as New York City, like me. However, Harvard had students of color from the suburbs, urban areas, and the continent of Africa. This type of diversity was new to me. It afforded me the opportunity to truly see how where we are from truly affects who we become.

What are your goals and plans for the future?
From a corporate perspective, I have aspirations of climbing the corporate ladder to run a $100 million+ business. From a community perspective, I have a passion to encourage African Americans to consider foster care and/or the adoption of children that are wards of the State. According to the Annie Casey Foundation, in 2006 there were 733,051 children in the foster care system across the United States. The majority of them are African American. I have had success in mentoring girls to be productive members of society who are a part of this statistic. As a result, I believe that we need to take responsibility for our kids that are in this system. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? Since this is a phenomenon that hurts people, we either pay now by investing time in these young people, or we pay later for the challenges that some of these children face in terms of the costs of health care, drug addiction, incarceration and the like as these young people become adults. This problem needs to be addressed by us and for us.

Is there any advice you'd like to share with other young African Americans seeking to replicate your success?
I would share several points of advice to other young African Americans:

First, do not be afraid to apply to a top-tier educational institution or for a challenging role within an organization. Never count yourself out. You do not know whether you will be accepted until you try. Remember that your competition is polishing their applications and submitting them, as you ponder and potentially miss the opportunity for success. Know that your competition may not be certain of acceptance either, but they take the chance and allow the system to make the decision for them.

Second, do not give in to negative stereotypes that others may present. Be resilient about your career and your beliefs. I was told that because I was a black girl from a divorced home in Harlem, raised by my mother, that I would not make it, that I would not succeed, and that I should settle for being an administrative assistant. (I was a secretarial studies major in high school.) There is nothing wrong with being an administrative assistant, if that is what you desire to be. Actually that is how I made great money in the summers while pursuing my college education. However, I had career dreams, goals, and annual targets to move in another direction. If I would have listened to the rubbish of naysayers, my outcome would be very different than what I share with you today.

Finally, remember that to whom much is given, much is required. Though I have not completed the final chapter of who I want to be from both a career and community activist perspective, I am proud of my accomplishments to date. I give both time and money to causes that aid the less fortunate. Why? Because many of us, whether we want to admit it or not, are one action away from having no shelter, food, or clothing or alternatively a lifestyle that is a stark contrast to the one we have today. Be good to others in need. It will come back to you.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with our AOL Black Voices audience?
To enhance your career development efforts, consider hiring a leadership coach. Find out if your company would invest in this effort and include it as part of your development plan. It will alter the outcome of your business life positively. I have had a Leadership Coach for the past five years-- Patricia Perkins of Exodus Coaching. She has enabled me to turn on my full potential, helped me experience improved relationships with peers and leaders, and kept me mindful of watching out for obstacles and preparing for greatness in numerous transitions including, but not limited to a corporate move, and an international assignment, as well as taking on roles of increasing responsibility. The lessons have been invaluable and life changing.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the bookBlack American Money To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. To suggest a subject for a Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight, please click here.