Finding Your Niche & Making An Impact Through Board Service (With Jana Rich)

Finding Your Niche & Making An Impact (With Jana Rich)

Supporting women and lifting each other up is what embodies The She-Suite Sisterhood, and is exactly why Melissa invited Jana Rich to join her on the podcast this week; her mission and work do just that. 

Founder & CEO of Rich Talent Group, Jana first launched her company almost 8 years ago. The mission of Rich Talent Group is to recruit and find diverse talent within the consumer and technology industries, specifically supporting women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community, to get on both leadership teams, as well as boards. 

In Episode 3, Jana shares more around her journey of starting a company, what led her to that place, and lessons learned along the way. She also gives some insight and wisdom around board service, including what you should do and consider before joining a board. 

jana rich
  • 4:00: The origins of Jana’s idea to start Rich Talent Group
  • 8:05: Some challenges and speed bumps in executing her vision 
  • 13:15: On saying no, and staying focused on the long-term
  • 17:12: Where to start when considering Board service
  • 24:00: Determining what type of Board is right for you
  • 28:01: What Jana sees is up next for her future and company
  • 31:20: Who inspires Jana, and why
  • 25:20: Her favorite must-read book, and final takeaways

More about Jana Rich

Jana Rich is Founder and CEO of Rich Talent Group, an executive recruiting firm that focuses on building diverse leadership teams and boards. She’s worked in executive recruiting for more than 25 years, partnering with leading companies, from early stage to Fortune 500. Some of her clients include Adobe, Peloton, Eventbrite, Affirm, Lululemon, and Sony, among others.

Jana is an advisory board member for MAKERS, a media brand that exists to accelerate the women’s movement . She has served on the Forbes Executive Women’s Board and has been honored three times by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business. She received a BA in psychology from Vassar College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. You can connect with Jana on Linkedin here

Want new episodes, free tips and tools and more delivered straight to your inbox? Sign-up below!

Melissa Dawn Simkins Coined “The First Lady of Personal Branding”, Melissa is the CEO of Velvet Suite, a trusted advisor to Fortune 100s, C-Suite executives and influencers, highly-sought after keynote speaker on leadership innovation, a contributor to Inc.com and a frequent guest on news and business media, including CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Essence, Black Enterprise and more.

Listen to us on

Contact Us