Sue Foley

Former Partner, Harris Bretall Investment Management

Bio:

Sue is a retired partner of Harris Bretall, a leading large cap growth investment fund in San Francisco. Over her 24 year career, Sue led the portfolio management group, sat on the investment policy committee and was the lead portfolio manager on the Technology, Communications & Entertainment Portfolio. Over the past twenty years Sue has devoted substantial time to UCSF Breast Cancer and Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative where she has served as a founding Board Member and Interim CEO. She has served on numerous private corporate boards as well as boards of a number of charitable organizations.

Story:

Sue grew up in the developing Silicon Valley, the oldest of six children. Sue’s parents modelled values of a strong work ethic, personal accountability and a desire to be one’s personal best both in career and personal life – virtues that were a foundation of her success in a challenging industry. Often the lone female professional in a predominantly male industry, Sue relied on the quality of her work and her contribution to the team to build trust and leadership.  A serious cancer diagnosis at the young age of 38 brought her path to UCSF, Quantum Leap and a leading cancer surgeon, Laura Esserman, MD. Because of her personal journey and the personal relationships she developed, Sue has committed much of the past past twenty years to dramatically improving the delivery of health care to cancer patients globally.

Why Committed:

Through thirty plus years working with young people in both corporate and philanthropic leadership positions, I’ve seen the benefit to organizations of conscientious leadership and the detriment to organizations where clear purpose and principles were missing. And that inspired me to share my experiences with the next group of leaders who will impact our workplace and ultimately our world. To me, mentoring young professionals is critical to helping them discover their own strengths and weaknesses so they best lead themselves and others. Why am I so involved in The Center? It is a unique community. I have seen its power of inspiring young professionals and also seen amazing bonds of support and friendship develop. It’s a great match with my own mission.

Sue Foley - Value of “Soft” Skills in Effective Leadership (1:20 min)