Alumna offers experience, insight as Women Making Waves keynote speaker

Women Making Waves returns this March with a powerhouse keynote speaker, alum Michal Shapira. A former senior vice president and head of marketing solutions and brand studios within Warner Bros. Discovery Ad Sales, Shapira is a 1995 Newcomb grad who is passionate about the importance of women networking and sharing stories. 

“I am a big believer in women being there for other women – for guidance, help and support. We need each other! My entire career, I’ve searched for other women whom I could learn from, look up to, be inspired by… . I think it’s important to always strive to learn and grow, and you never know when that teaching moment will come. You have to be open to it, in all situations,” says Shapira. In her role at Warner Bros., Shapira oversaw strategic partnership marketing across the entertainment and news divisions’ multiplatform footprint, including HBO Max, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, CNN, HLN and CNN Digital. 

The annual women’s leadership conference, now in its ninth year, offers attendees plenty of avenues for growth. The event offers panel discussions, where alumnae share both personal and professional stories of success, as well as ample opportunities for attendees to connect with one another both individually and through small group discussions. Held March 30, all sessions will be held exclusively in person at the Lavin-Bernick Center on the uptown campus. Early bird registration is now open and will run through January 31. 

Shapira’s openness to seizing opportunities for education may be one of the secrets to her success. Shapira majored in sociology at Newcomb, drawn by the themes of the coursework, such as “Women in Third World Countries,” rather than adhering to a strictly targeted career path. But the opportunity Newcomb offered Shapira for tracing her own path was a revelation. 

“Little did I know, it would ultimately lead me down the absolute right path. When I graduated, I decided to attend business school to get my MBA. As it turned out, my undergrad studies were a fabulous foundation for a focus, and ultimately a career, in marketing. Knowing how people interact, behave, live is critical to understanding how to market to them. So, it all kind of came together,” reflects Shapira. 

The flexibility and intellectual curiosity that Shapira demonstrated at Newcomb proved significant assets as she embarked on a career in the then-burgeoning field of digital media. “When I graduated business school, it was very early days of the Internet, and I was anxious to be there – on the forefront of all that was happening. The rest of my career unfolded in a similar fashion. I always wanted to be a forward-thinker, on the cutting edge of innovation …” she recalls. 

Centered around the theme of “Finding the Leader Within,” the conference will offer attendees a welcome from Tulane Alumni Association President and President & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices DeAnn Golden, breakout and network sessions, and the ever-popular “Herstory” panel in addition to Shapira’s keynote address.